Courses/Retreats

‘Sumer is icumen in, Lhude sing cuccu…..’ Let your writing blossom as summer arrives with its seasonal influx of house martins, curlews, lapwings and oyster catchers. Enjoy the space to write, free from domestic distractions and fuelled by outstanding food.

We’ll consider the craft and mystery of poetry, along with the creative choices we make. This course welcomes both new and experienced poets who are keen to develop their work within a friendly, supportive environment.

For writers with ideas and some experience, looking for some dedicated time to progress a longer prose project in a supportive and friendly environment. Workshops and daily one-to-one tutorials as well as clear writing time will help you move your novel forward.

Leave those domestic chores behind and escape to the peace and tranquillity of a Garsdale summer.  Indulge yourself with space and time to write in idyllic surroundings. Meet up with your muse… 

This tutored retreat is designed for a limited number of writers to work intensively with a focus on individual sessions to help them develop a body of work. This tutored retreat includes one group workshop and one 30 minute individual tutorial each day.

Departing summer hath assumed / An aspect tenderly illumed.....' 'Tenderly illume,' your writing with an autumnal excursion to the unfaded beauty of the Yorkshire Dales. Dedicate time and space to your writing, escape domestic chores and be nurtured by outstanding hospitality.

A course for new and more experienced writers on the art of memoir/life-writing/the writing of recollection at short or book length. Participants will learn techniques to access and shape their own stories. 

Treat yourself to the mists and mellow fruitfulness of Garsdale and give your writing a seasonal massage! Dedicate time and space to your writing, escape domestic chores and be nurtured by outstanding hospitality.

How might poets respond to the violence, crises and dislocations of the contemporary world?  Do Apocalyptic times demand a new, Apocalyptic poetics?  On this course participants will encounter a range of approaches, techniques and methods that might help them explore the turbulence of the times without resorting to the ranter’s soapbox or succumbing to lyric despair.

This course is suitable for writers arriving with a blank page as well as those bringing a project they have already started work on. Whether you are interested in writing a novel or a short story, this course is for you.