THE sedate art of woodturning will change into high gear at weekend as it becomes a high octane sport in the first Bodging Olympics.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the Friends of Chopwell Wood, near Rowlands Gill, in Tyne Valley, woodturners from across the region will be pumping iron - or rather the foot pedal - and getting "focused" with the chisel to claim the crown of the North's quickest bodger.

The event to turn a log into a leg will be just one of the highlights at England's biggest forest festival, which takes place at the Chopwell Forest Festival in the 1,000-acre beauty spot on Saturday and Sunday.

Among the competitors will be Chris Helliwell, 40, from Darlington, who gave up his job as a vicar for the world of bodging and furniture making.

More than 5,000 people are expected to descend on the venue to celebrate a revival in forest arts and skills and enjoy woodland-themed fun aimed at the whole family.

Demonstrating their talents will be whittlers (carvers), charcoal makers, horse loggers, tree climbers and the country's only female coracle maker.

Elsewhere, artists will create work using chainsaws, while the strains of African dance music will echo through the trees.

New attractions this year include Rent-a-Peasant - a medieval camp set-up by Durham University archaeologists, out to prove history does not have to be as dry as old boots by reviving medieval games, spinning and cookery.