LeisureCourses.net – short courses & residential study breaks in great locations

Creative Patchwork

Come to Knuston and create your own Patchwork! Whether you already know what to do or whether you need to start from scratch does not matter I can get you going. You will go home with knowledge and enthusiasm to carry on sewing!

Sing A Sound of Music

A fun filled weekend singing the amazing songs from the musical The Sound of Music. No previous singing experience or the ability to read music is needed, just the willingness to join in and enjoy yourself. There will be structured vocal warm-ups and tips to achieve the best from your voice and all of the...

Chinese Brush Painting

This weekend course will study a number of subjects such as flower, bird, fruit, animal, fish or landscape, all taught in the traditional method of demonstration and practice. Learning will continue on Saturday evening with a presentation on painting or travel for example. This course is suitable for both beginners and the more advanced. New...

Chinese Brush Painting

This midweek course will study a number of subjects such as flower, bird, fruit, animal, fish or landscape. Examples will be provided for use during the course, which will be taught in the traditional way of demonstration and practice. Learning will continue in the evening with a presentation on painting, culture or travel. This course...

Canal Boat Art: Roses and Daisies

Canal Boat Art is the colourful decoration found on working narrow boats that travelled on the many canals that radiated out from the Midlands. It was the ‘Folk Art’ of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that has now been adapted to suit contemporary boats found on our inland waterways. The traditional styles included Roses,...

Beadweaving: A Geometric Journey

Geometric Bead work is a fascinating technique and one that is actually fairly easy to learn. Students will be working with Japanese Delica cylinder beads which sit together perfectly creating a firm foundation. A working knowledge of basic peyote stitch would be an advantage for this technique. Help with colour combinations will be given. All...

Pyrography Workshop

The course wil be structured to allow the following areas to be covered: Introduction to the course; History of Pyrography; Demonstration of techniques and practicing a variety of basic techniques working on Leather, Veneer and making a Greeting Card. You will get to work with Getting to know the equipment and materials and produce small...

Creative Patchwork

Come to Knuston and create your own Patchwork! Whether you already know what to do or whether you need to start from scratch does not matter I can get you going. You will go home with knowledge and enthusiasm to carry on sewing!

Creative Patchwork

Come to Knuston and create your own Patchwork! Whether you already know what to do or whether you need to start from scratch does not matter I can get you going. You will go home with knowledge and enthusiasm to carry on sewing!

Canal Boat Art: Castles

Canal Boat Art is the colourful decoration found on working narrow boats that travelled on the many canals that radiated out from the Midlands. It was a ‘Folk Art’ of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that has now been adapted to suit contemporary boats found on our inland waterways. The traditional styles included Roses,...

Canal Art with a Contemporary Twist

Canal Art, the colourful decoration found on canal narrow boats, is based on the traditions of the late 1800’s, early 1900’s, and now includes many contemporary designs that reflect the countryside, animals, places, film, television characters, etc. The traditional styles have been adapted to suit the many different types of boats now found on canals...

Antique Furniture Restoration

Marquetry

Massenet’s Cendrillon [Festi’Val de Musique Valois] (Cinderella)

Dillington String Quartet Coaching Weekend

The Coull Quartet will lead a further weekend of coaching for string quartets who play to a good standard. The Coull are one of the finest and most experienced quartets in the country and we are delighted that they are returning to Dillington for a weekend of serious music-making and fun. The course includes a...

Argyll Scottish Country Dancing Weekend

Suitable for those who already have a good working knowledge of common steps and formations in Scottish Country Dancing, this weekend will provide you with an opportunity to improve your technique, learn new dances and enjoy all social aspects of Scottish Country Dancing. There will be social dancing on Friday and Saturday and classes both...

Singing For Larks – Jazz & Swing Harmonies

Singing with others is an exhilarating and liberating experience that everybody can enjoy. Singings for Larks workshops, run by Faith Watson, are based on the tradition of learning songs by ear. This approach makes the joy of singing with others easily accessible to those who are new to singing, whilst offering more experienced singers the...

Bobbin Lacemaking – British and European

This is a practical course for all abilities of lacemakers from those who have a knowledge of only the basic stitches to those who wish to study advanced techniques in the British and European laces. Many of the continental laces are taught with the aid of a colour-coded diagram to help students continue their work...

Music & Revolution

During this weekend we shall explore the work of four great composers whose careers, and the very different paths they took, illustrate clearly the impact of the huge changes that came about in Russia in the early twentieth century. They are: Serge Rachmaninov, who fled his homeland just before the Revolution in 1917; Igor Stravinsky,...

September In Somerset

Dillington is located in a region that is steeped in history and has a rich and varied landscape, from moor to sea all within easy reach. Enjoy a three night stay in the beautiful surroundings of Dillington and be free to explore the wonderful counties of Somerset, Dorset and Devon. Return to a delicious evening...

Singing Workshop: Best of Bacharach & David

Dynamic song-writing duo Burt Bacharach and Hal David dominated the pop music scene during the 1960s and 70s, penning 52 Top 40 songs and bringing a new sophistication to the traditional ‘pop’ sound with their unique combination of memorable melodies and unsentimental, bittersweet lyrics. Spend a day with experienced vocal coach Jo Sercombe delving around...

Let the Train Take the Strain: Planning Your Own Travels Through Eastern Europe

This day course takes the form of a workshop for planning your own travels by train through Eastern Europe. This year Mike Shaw extends his focus to the Western Ukraine, Rumania, Bulgaria and on to Istanbul. He will explain the origins of each of the national networks, the resulting choke points and how to avoid...

Edward I & Queen Eleanor

King Edward I (1272-1307) is best remembered for his Welsh and Scottish wars, and his great series of castles around Snowdonia. Less well known, but more significant, were his promotion of law, parliament and currency reform, as well as his patronage of the arts. His wife, Eleanor of Castile was less well known, and this...

Pop-Up Tree House

Tree houses have fascinated us for centuries and here is an opportunity to make one yourself albeit a pop-up model of one! We make a 180-degree pop-up on a base comprising over fifty separate pieces all interlocked into the one structure. All-comers welcome.

Shakespeare 400

2016 marks the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and as part of the celebrations during this short course we are hoping to include a visit to Stratford to watch the magnificent Sir Antony Sher in his performance of King Lear (*see below). The course is designed to engage with some of the key issues surrounding...

News From the Fronts: August – September 1916

This standalone day course is one of a rolling series covering the centenary of events as they occurred during the Great War. The approach taken is broader than the conventional narrative treatment. Each course starts with a strategic overview of events across all Theatres of the war thus highlighting the immediate problems confronting the leadership...

Creative Writing Workshop: “The Child is Father to the Man…” (Wordsworth)

What are the most important influences which make us the adults we are today? Nature, nurture or our education in the widest sense? During this day we will explore the many areas of education we had as children: the teachers who inspired us with a love of learning and conversely those who sadly made us...

Verdi and the Force of Density

The hammer blows of cruel fate drive the plot of this dramatic tale, one of Verdi’s longest, richest and most incident-packed operas. We explore the tragedy befalling Leonora and the men in her life - her lover Alvaro, and her vengeance-obsessed brother, Carlo. But mostly we focus on Verdi’s superb score with its plethora of...

Meeting Me on The Cloud

Do you feel that you would like to keep up with family events and share your news online but are daunted by just how to start using social media, and nervous of who’s out there? Keep up to date with friends and family, news, research, reviews and more; social media is more than just a...

Stumpwork Pansies & Violas

Inspiration for this course comes from the beautiful costumes and books of Elizabeth I, where the emblem of the pansy and viola was widely used. Raised work techniques work extremely well for these lovely flowers, which come in a wealth of colour combinations. Try something new and learn how you can incorporate real flowers in...