The Great Craft Retreat

Description

Spend 3 days in the Stunning Chiltern Hills AONB and learn 5 traditional rural crafts from experts who live and work in the industry sharing with you their skills and wisdom of their ancient craft. The fully catered weekend will see you experience the mouth watering delights of our open fire chef 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 crafts people will run a 3.5hr long workshop session where you will get hands on with the tools and techniques of the craft. Under the guidance of your tutor you will take raw materials and transform them into handcrafted treasures. These sessions are all designed for beginners who are new to each craft and wish to explore the realms of practical, traditional creativity! Take a look below to see what you will be making!

What's included in the price?

What's Included? 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 dessert for the evening, afterwards enjoy our Friday night evening session and get warmed up for the craft 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 craft 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 3.5 hr 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 creations. After an hour lunch break the next session will commence at 1.30 where you'll be learning more traditional 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 a 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 craft will begin much the same with a simple and energising breakfast before our 9am Art workshop session begins. Under the wing of another crafter you will walk away with a finished piece to adorn the home. Lunch at 1:30pm with be our last meal together once again prepared by our chef. Your final 3.5hr session will give you the opportunity to get you hands mucky and embrace your final activity. We will round up for a farewell at 6pm where its over to you to discover more mediums to try for yourself or better yet speak to the instructors about perusing a subject specific course 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. -Hill-billy 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. Accommodation- 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 hot steel 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 you 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.​

Cancellation policy

Strict - Cancellation and a full refund can be obtained up to 8 weeks before the course starts

Maker

The Great Craft Retreat

with Craft Courses since 2025

Message the tutor

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!