Description
Spend a weekend surrounded by nature in the stunning Chiltern Hills and dive into creativity, discovering five artistic mediums: lino carving, sign writing, botanical, water colours and ceramics! Taught by nationally renowned artists with years of experience, you are bound to walk away with fantastic new artworks and a rediscovered artistic passion! The fully catered weekend will see you experience the mouth watering delights of our open fire chefs as they bring you organic local produce from farm to plate! Camp in our luxurious bell tents and gaze at the stars from around the campfire in the evenings among new friends! Tailor made for this event, each of our artists will run a 3.5hr long workshop session where you will get hands on with the styles and techniques of the medium. Under the guidance of your tutor, you will take blank canvases and bring them to life with colour, texture and no small amount of soul. These sessions are all designed for beginners who are new to each artistic medium and wish to re-discover the joy of art! Take a look below to see what you will be creating!
What's included in the price?
- 2 nights in a spacious bell tent. - All food, including our Saturday night feast provided by Alex Halfpenny. - 5 different crafts/arts sessions with professional artists and makers. - 50 hours in the beautiful Chiltern Hills. - Car parking on site. - All PPE and safety equipment. - Tea/coffee 24/7. Day 1 - Friday evening. Arrive between 4-5pm and be welcomed to your home for the weekend, settle into your bell tent meet the team and relax in nature. After a bit of a meet and greet with everyone, you will be given your personal itinerary and shown the site and locations of our workshops. Our chefs will prepare a beautiful meal and desert for the evening. Afterwards, enjoy our Friday night mixed media evening session and get warmed up for the sessions the next day. Once finished around 8/9pm, all that's left to do is chat around the campfire and get ready to jump into crafts the next day! Day 2 - Saturday. After a simple but scrumptious buffet style breakfast, you will begin your first art session at 9am at one of our teaching spaces. With 7 people per group, you will receive plenty of personal tuition and be guided through the 3.5hr session under expert tuition. At 12:30 you will head back to our main field where a hot lunch will be served by our chefs giving you a chance to show off your new artworks. After an hour lunch break the next session will commence at 1.30pm where you'll be trying your creative skills at a different artistic medium until the early evening. Dinner will be a 3 course banquet of the most sumptuous variety! A serious feast! Among new friends, afterwards you can take an evening stroll in the countryside to explore the beautiful Hardwick estate, or sit round the fire and relax. Day 3 - Sunday. Our second day of art will begin much the same with a simple and energising breakfast before our 9am art workshop session begins. Under the wing of another professional artist you will walk away with a finished piece to adorn the home. Lunch at 1:30pm will be our last meal together, once again prepared by our chef. Your final 3.5hr session will give you the opportunity to get your hands mucky and embrace your final activity with your new friends! We will round up for a farewell at 6pm, where it's over to you to discover more mediums to try for yourself or, better yet, speak to the instructors about further subject specific courses that they teach! Accommodation & facilities: - Our accommodation for the 2 nights will be spacious bell tents with 3 people per bell tent, in same sex arrangements. - Couples can book their own tent together (limited availability) and groups can book with up to 4 in a private tent (limited availability). - You are expected to bring all sleeping kit you will require, roll mats, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, etc. Facilities: - Environmentally friendly compost loos are located on site. - Rustic showers located onsite. - Tea and coffee and snack station available 24/7. - Our outdoor kitchen is located in the 'cathedral', a cedar shingle building in our main camping field this will also be our dining and feasting space. - All the teaching areas are under cover (although are not fully enclosed) to protect from any wet weather or intense sunshine! - Phone signal is usually good on site although no wi-fi is provided. - No power is onsite for charging devices or personal equipment - battery packs recommended. - Parking is located onsite. The Important Stuff: Food: Al is a seasoned open fire chef and will be concocting a variety of sumptuous meals for us with local produce from local farms and small businesses supporting the local area, while enabling us to use the highest quality produce imaginable! Including using forged utensils and grill from Bill's Workshop to cook all your meals! Al will be assisted in his open fire kitchen by the rest of the team when our Saturday night feast is in preparation. All prepped in our outdoor kitchen and served in the 'cathedral'. The menu is a down to earth approach to open fire cooking with simple ingredients that will pack a flavoursome punch for all. The menu is subject to change due to the availability of local produce. Most dietary requirements can be catered for however please get in touch with any severe allergies to see if we can cater to your needs. After all, the outdoor kitchen is outdoor, and some allergens are unavoidable in this environment. Menu: From grilled halloumi and charred peppers to beef roasting joints this menu is the real star of the weekend! Our Saturday night feast will see a ladened table of flame roasted goodness Dietary requirements: - All dietary requirements and allergies must be stated beforehand! - We can cater for veggie, vegan, gluten free. - Please get in contact before hand to enquire about severe allergies including nuts, lactose, wheat. What to bring: - All sleeping kit, roll matts, sleeping bag, blankets, pillows. - A set of clothes for getting mucky during workshops - including a warm layer and shoes. - A set of clothes that aren't so mucky for the evening if you wish. - Warm layers and waterproofs are recommended. - Towels and toiletries. - Any personal medication. - Walking books recommended. More important stuff! Need to knows: - Adults only due to the nature of our art workshops using sharp tools and a place to relax away from little ones! - You need to be reasonably healthy to be able to come to this retreat as it's a full day up and active on your feet and walking between workshop locations with your hands kept very busy crafting! - Just the date shown is the one available this year, sign up to our newsletter for future dates when they are released. - Unfortunately, our chefs cannot guarantee to cater to specific dietary requirements including sensitive & severe allergies due to the nature of our outdoor kitchen.
Duration
2½ days
Cancellation policy
Strict - Cancellation and a full refund can be obtained up to 8 weeks before the course starts
Maker
The Great Craft Retreats were created to give people the opportunity to jump into crafts head on, trying multiple mediums across a weekend. Once the idea formed we realised quiet how special it was. From the Creator of Bill's Workshop, a small but highly respected blacksmithing experience provider, come The Great Craft Retreat & The Great Art Retreat. A brand new unique craft experience to give people a one of a kind weekend to learn multiple craft & art forms over a weekend of good food, beautiful scenery and simply awesome people! Spend a weekend surrounded by nature in the stunning Chiltern Hills, South Oxfordshire and dive into creativity discovering 5 Artistic & craft mediums from lino carving to ceramics! Taught by nationally renowned makers with years of experience, you are bound to walk away with fantastic new pieces and a rediscovered artistic passion! The fully catered weekend will see you experience the mouth watering delights of our open fire chefs as they bring you organic local produce from farm to plate! Camp in our luxurious bell tents and gaze at the stars from around the campfire in the evenings among new friends!
Suitable for
- Adults
- Seniors
- Parking provided
- Suitable for beginners
- Accommodation offered
- Residential
- Fairs, festivals & exhibitions
FAQs
We prohibit the bringing of alcohol to our event. While you have the option of having some alcohol during your stay with us on our feasting night, we are supporting fantastic local business by only having their alcohol for consumption - thank you for your understanding on this matter.
Yes, you can bring your own snacks but we will have plenty for you over the duration of your stay.
Due to the nature of our outdoor kitchen, we cannot guarantee our food will be free from allergens - our meals will be suitable for veggies, vegans and meat eaters with gluten free options. Requirements must be declared (via the 'message the tutor' button).
Yes, many of our instructors are first aid trained including our on the day organiser who will see to any first aid incidents.
No it won't, although the site does normally have good signal.
Although it is the summer, we are outdoors so prepare for some cooler nights. Bring casual clothes for hanging about in the evening and some practical clothes you don't mind getting mucky. Please bring full length trousers for your blacksmithing session!
Our weekend is made specifically for adults to relax, enjoy and escape for a few days so, unfortunately, all under 18s are not allowed to partake or 'come along and watch'.
No all the workshops are designed for beginners.
Unfortunately not, it is a working farm and as a result we cannot have dogs at our event.
Subscribe to our mailing list to be the first to know when we release new dates for future retreats!
We have compost loos (accessed via a small set of stairs) which are cleaned regularly. Rustic style shower area, a 24/7 hot drink and snack area, under cover seating and a few fantastic woodland and outdoor teaching areas. We run off solar power so we do not have enough power to charge phones or devices as this is what will be keeping your showers hot!
Yes, we have ample field car parking. Valuables should not be kept in your vehicle overnight.
The site will have team members on it throughout the day and night and the camping field is locked at night. We do everything in our power to keep security concerns at the top of our priority list. We cannot, however, take responsibility for your own valuables over the weekend.
We have very limited power for participants to use, it's best to bring a battery pack to charge phones.
We are staying in large bell tents or teepees, a traditional Nordic tent, if you have a standard booking you will be sharing in tents of three people. You need to bring all your own sleeping kit as the tents will be freshly cleaned and empty upon arrival. If you book a couples tent you will be staying in a smaller two person tent.
Yes, staying onsite is part of the retreat aspect of the weekend to lose yourself in creativity and get back to roots with nature all around, waking to the sound of bird song.
Just send us a message in the contact form with the number and names of participants - we only charge extra if the numbers are 2 or below. The tents have a 6 person max capacity, which is for close friends only, as it's a bit snug!
Yes if you would like to. However, this is in the car parking field which is separate to the camping field and you will not be granted access to the camping field between 11pm-7am, as the gate will be locked for security. We do not offer a discount for this option. You MUST inform us of this before booking with a simple message.