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On a fine Saturday morning in the middle of May 2008, Martin and I paid a visit to the workshop of Steve Stratton of DIY Archery, located in an old farm building on the outskirts of Moreton-in-Marsh, a pretty honey-coloured stone market town in the Cotswolds not far from Chipping Norton. We were there to see for the first time a couple of Celestino Poletti yew bows that Steve had brought back for us on a recent trip to Italy, bows that we had pre-ordered the previous year as demand is high and supply limited.
Steve began by handing each of us in turn a selection of bows ranging from a maximum of 135 lbs draw weight, down to a more manageable 100 lbs, asking us to draw a test arrow on each bow to 28 inches at first, then to 29 and finally 30 inches to see if the bows were within our capabilities. After much grunting and face pulling Martin settled on a bow of 110 lbs @ 32" draw weight, and Nick of one at 123 lbs @ 32".
The bows were crafted from Yew trees grown at altitudes of between 1800m to 3500m, where the cold air and dry climate ensures growth is slow and therefore wood grain is tight and dense, ideal qualities for a bow. These trees are protected by Italian law, with only a small quantity allowed to be harvested each year, a job Celestino's family have performed for generations.
After choosing our bows we moved off to a nearby field to try them out.
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