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March 2017
How to Change the World Public Talk
Public Talk with John-Paul Flintoff in conjunction with his weekend course
Find out more »Zentangle: Meditative Drawing
Zentangle is a meditative drawing method that allows people to slow down, relax and develop their creativity.
Find out more »Create a Mosaic
Create your own mosaic panel working from a selection of glass, ceramic and china pieces.
Find out more »Aurora Wind Ensemble
For the eighteenth successive year, the Aurora Ensemble returns to Hawkwood to run their popular Wind Chamber Music Course.
Find out more »Beginners
Raw to relative beginners. Exactly what you'd expect! For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check out…
Find out more »April 2017
Painting the Seasons: Spring
Explore your creativity through painting and colour. Cultivate your connection with Nature and the renewing season of Spring
Find out more »Speaking with Confidence
Transform your communication skills in job interviews, public speaking, presentations, teaching or social groups and learn how to express yourself freely.
Find out more »Flutes Inspired
This intensive course includes flute choir, chamber music, and technique classes as well as yoga and Feldenkrais sessions.
Find out more »Letterpress Printing for All
An introductory course for those who would like to learn the skills of letterpress printing. Complete beginners welcome.
Find out more »Bookbinding for Beginners
An introductory course for those who would like to learn the skills of traditional bookbinding. Complete beginners welcome.
Find out more »Rhythm
Every aspect of Rhythm: Blues, Bossa, Funk and much more. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change -…
Find out more »The Music of William Walton
Explore the life and music of one of the greatest among English composers, Sir William Walton with Terry Barfoot and Andrew Burn.
Find out more »Introduction to Woodwork
An absolute beginner’s introduction to the hand and power tools and materials used by boat builders and furniture makers. This is a classroom-based course with some very simple bench work.
Find out more »Basic Woodworking 1
Set solid foundations in tool sharpening and maintenance, wood selection and preparation. Make basic joints including framing and lengthening joints. An intensive four day course suitable for beginners as well as those with a little (perhaps school day) experience. You will make a bespoke picture frame to take away with you.
Find out more »Mindful Drawing
Mindful Drawing is an exploration of drawing as meditation. This fascinating approach stimulates us to observe and capture the beauty of life
Find out more »Paper Marbling
An introductory course for those who would like to learn the skills of traditional paper marbling. Complete beginners welcome.
Find out more »Leading with Grace and Resilience
A conversational workshop on a new paradigm of leadership from Rising Women, Rising World.
Find out more »Basic Woodworking 2
Impress your friends with the beauty of your lapped and through dovetail joints. Using your new skills you will make a simple dovetail box with a lid to take home. The course follows on from ‘Basic Woodworking 1’, but is also suitable for people with other basic woodworking experience. Contact us to find out if this is an appropriate course for you.
Find out more »Introduction to Sounding Bowls
This workshop for Sounding Bowl owners (and prospective ones) takes you through all you need to know to care for and play your Sounding Bowl.
Find out more »May 2017
Basic Woodworking 3
Learn basic routing and wood bending and expand your dovetailing skills. You will make a curved, dovetailed box to take home. To join you should be practically minded with a little woodworking experience. This course builds on skills learned in ‘Basic Woodworking 1 and 2’.
Find out more »May Day Festival
Free taster workshops from our extensive 2017 programme, stalls, delicious home-made organic food and ice cream, children’s activities, live music and singing, Maypole dancing and more
Find out more »Faust and the Devil
The legend of Dr Faustus has fascinated writers and musicians since the sixteenth century. Faustus, intelligent, restless, self-deluding, has inspired the most intense and tender of compositions, and shocking scenes in drama and fiction. We will explore Renaissance, Romantic and twentieth-century approaches to this disturbing and resonant tale. Bartley Lodge is a splendid Grade II listed country house hotel set in the heart of the New Forest, in eight acres of grounds. The facilities are well appointed and versatile, including…
Find out more »Re-wilding the Soul
This writing retreat is an invitation to explore the untamed terrain of our souls by connecting to the earth’s landscapes and our cosmological origin story.
Find out more »DIS/rupt Textile Workshop
Starting with brightly coloured fabrics, we will cut, insert, and overlay strips to change the fabric surface. A course for those with an enthusiasm for colour and stitch.
Find out more »Furniture Making
Improve your woodworking skills using bandsaw, router and biscuit jointer to make one of three pieces (chair, side or wine table) to take home. Expert designer/maker Mark Ripley instructs on design principles and ergonomics before you make joints, assemble, sand and wax your piece. You need some woodworking experience to join this course.
Find out more »Bookbinding – Limp Vellum
A chance to learn the skills of limp vellum bookbinding. Beginners welcome.
Find out more »The shock of the new: Stravinsky and The Rite of Spring
A weekend to explore all these aspects of this extraordinary masterpiece. The weekend will conclude with a live performance of Stravinsky’s piano duet version, by Philip Moore and Simon Crawford-Phillips, Britain’s leading piano duo, for which tickets are included.
Find out more »Improvisation
Introduction level; escape out of the pentatonic minor scale. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check…
Find out more »Pillars of Strength Salon 2
This salon will focus on the virtues of Selflessness, Compassion and Courtesy
Find out more »Letterpress Printing for All
An introductory course for those who would like to learn the skills of letterpress printing. Complete beginners welcome.
Find out more »Americana/Bluegrass
Country/Rock techniques, licks, riffs and grooves. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check out our website…
Find out more »Esoteric Philosophy
Learn about the profound implications of modern spiritual development and the means to express the soul more effectively in the outer world.
Find out more »Stars, stripes and maple leaves — songs from across the pond
A weekend of luxury learning songs from across North America. Come and celebrate amazing singer-songwriters from both Canada and the USA.
Find out more »Nature Consciousness and Personal Transformation
This fascinating course will reveal how you can live with meaning and purpose in co-operation with nature spirits and the natural world.
Find out more »June 2017
Introduction to Ayurveda
We will cover Ayruvedic philosophy; the basics of anatomy, physiology and constitution; diagnosing with pulses; de-toxing, diet, herbs and lifestyle.
Find out more »Performance
How to prepare for a deliver a solo, duet and band performance. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can…
Find out more »Music of the People
The folk music inheritance has inspired composers across many national traditions, sometimes in arrangements designed to preserve music that might have been lost in the new industrial age, and sometimes as the basis for major works in the concert hall. We will explore aspects of this rich legacy, with illustrations on excellent hi-fi equipment. Originally a coaching inn, Highgate House is a country house hotel set amongst rolling countryside in the picturesque Northamptonshire village of Creaton, just seven miles from Northampton town centre. Terry…
Find out more »Letterpress Printing for All
An introductory course for those who would like to learn the skills of letterpress printing. Complete beginners welcome.
Find out more »Bookbinding – Progressing with
A course designed for those with some bookbinding skills who would like to learn a few different binding styles.
Find out more »Rock
Classic songs from the '60s to '90s. Tunes galore. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check…
Find out more »Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen in Budapest
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen in Budapest at the Bartók Béla National Concert Hall with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adam Fischer
Find out more »Introduction to Boat Building
Ever wondered what thwarts or cold moulding are? This ‘boat building beginners’ course looks at how different boats are shaped and why, terminology, construction methods, materials, propulsion, sails and rigs and rigging. Unusually for the Academy this is a classroom based course, but workshop walkabouts and strolls to the harbour and Cornish Pilot Gig shed mean legs are regularly stretched.
Find out more »The F.M Alexander Technique
Learn how to relieve pain, improve posture and breathing, and relieve tension and stress.
Find out more »Build a Boat – Initial Set-up
Set up building frames and construct the backbone for modern and traditional wooden boats. Produce the stem, keel, hog and transom for a small dinghy and fit the components together to form the backbone. Also covers the theory of setting up for cold moulded, strip planked and carvel builds and includes a workshop tour of the set-up stage of the boats being built on our flagship ’long’ course.
Find out more »Pillars of Strength Salon 3
This salon will focus on the virtues of Contentment, Patience and Clarity
Find out more »Running with the Mind of Meditation
Enjoy a weekend improving your running techniques with guided mindfulness/awareness meditation, group discussions and a one-to-one with the tutors
Find out more »Systemic Constellations
Uncover hidden dynamics in your relationships, family or organisation in order to release potential and find new ways forward.
Find out more »Monteverdi Madrigals
In this Monteverdi year, come and spend a weekend singing and learning about his music from a world-class specialist in his music.
Find out more »The Classical Symphony
The Viennese Classical Style lies at the very heart of the symphonic literature, and is dominated by the work of four great composers: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. We will explore aspects of this rich repertoire, including how the style developed from its beginnings through to its maturity. Sheafhayne Manor is a Grade II listed Elizabethan manor house, commanding wonderful views across the East Devon countryside. Originally a medieval hall, it later became the hunting lodge of Sir Francis Drake. The house has recently been extensively…
Find out more »July 2017
Modern Wooden Boat Building
Shape and fit glued clinker and cold moulded planks, practice methods of strip planking and stitch and tape boat building. Learn the basics of scarfing (lengthening planking timbers) and lamination of timber components. Understand the theory of modern methods for setting up building moulds, backbone arrangements and lining-off planks.
Find out more »Workshop
Afternoon workshop. Pay on the door. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check out our website…
Find out more »Singing holiday in Provence
Combine your love of singing with a holiday in Provence this July. Come and join our chorus for Faure's Requiem plus Suor Angelica & Pagliacci
Find out more »GRP Repairs
Start with the basics of working safely with polyester based glass reinforced plastic (aka GRP) and understand the functions of components (e.g. resin, catalyst, pigments) before moving on to practical hands-on activities from gel coat repairs and colour matching to larger hull repairs requiring temporary moulds and formers. Six students maximum.
Find out more »Pillars of Strength Salon 4
This salon will focus on the virtues of Courage, Discretion and Magnanimity
Find out more »All aboard the gospel train
A fabulous weekend of gospel singing for people of all faiths and none in the beautiful English Lake District — for anyone who loves to sing, no experience necessary.
Find out more »Basic Woodworking 1
Set solid foundations in tool sharpening and maintenance, wood selection and preparation. Make basic joints including framing and lengthening joints. An intensive four day course suitable for beginners as well as those with a little (perhaps school day) experience. You will make a bespoke picture frame to take away with you.
Find out more »August 2017
Basic Woodworking 2
Impress your friends with the beauty of your lapped and through dovetail joints. Using your new skills you will make a simple dovetail box with a lid to take home. The course follows on from ‘Basic Woodworking 1’, but is also suitable for people with other basic woodworking experience. Contact us to find out if this is an appropriate course for you.
Find out more »Basic Woodworking 3
Learn basic routing and wood bending and expand your dovetailing skills. You will make a curved, dovetailed box to take home. To join you should be practically minded with a little woodworking experience. This course builds on skills learned in ‘Basic Woodworking 1 and 2’.
Find out more »Marquetry
No woodworking skills required to learn the intricate art of marquetry. Make simple motifs before progressing to more complex designs. You will also learn parquetry, shading and finishing techniques. You will take home at least two coasters and a decorative panel and some of the tools used to produce them.
Find out more »September 2017
Rhythm
Every aspect of Rhythm: Blues, Bossa, Funk and much more. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change -…
Find out more »Antique Furniture Restoration
Learn how to restore and repair antique furniture, reviving original patination and finishes. Guided by master restorer Christopher Booth you will reduce furniture to component parts, clean and repair joints and match veneers, stringing and timber for colour and quality and revive brassware and other decorations. You may work on a piece of your own furniture; please submit photographs in advance of the course.
Find out more »Bookbinding – Photo & Wedding Albums
An opportunity to learn the specific binding skills for making a traditional photo album, skills that will also useful for other bookbinding projects. Beginners welcome.
Find out more »Themed
The songs of Clapton, The Beatles and The Eagles. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check…
Find out more »Improvisation
Introduction level; escape out of the pentatonic minor scale. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check…
Find out more »Maintenance
Intonation and action set-up. Acoustic or electric. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check out our…
Find out more »October 2017
Sacred songs to soothe the soul
A weekend of glorious harmony singing in the midst of autumn splendour. Enliven your spirit with a feast of harmonies and learn songs from a range of cultures and traditions spanning the globe, all in a wonderful Derbyshire setting.
Find out more »Paper Marbling
An introductory course for those who would like to learn the skills of traditional paper marbling. Complete beginners welcome.
Find out more »Exploring the Second Half of Life Through Mindfulness
A 3-day retreat for women to embrace the potential of the second half of life, teaching mindfulness and meditation techniques.
Find out more »FICTION
Following the success of Arvon’s first-ever queer writingcourse, we return with another week on a queer slant. We will tackle the basics – character, dialogue, plotting – and also explore the challenges and opportunities that alternative sexualities bring to narrative, from pronoun concerns (he, she, they?) to avoiding the excesses of political correctness and writing inclusive and honest fiction. All genders, all sexualities, and all subject matters warmly welcomed.
Find out more »Letterpress Printing – Greetings Cards
Come and learn how to print greetings cards the traditional way. Beginners welcome.
Find out more »Performance
How to prepare for a deliver a solo, duet and band performance. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can…
Find out more »CHILDREN’S TV
Explore writing TV for six- to twelve-year-olds. Children’sTV has come a long way in the last 25 years. The audience may be young, but they’re fiercely critical – and spoilt for choice. So although there’s a strong market for children’s material, it’s highly competitive. We’ll look at how to hook your audience in and keep them watching. We’ll also cover the differences between writing live action and animation and talk about new opportunities in the digital space. You’ll leave equipped…
Find out more »Bookbinding – Half-leather
This course will cover the skills required to bind a hardback book with three-quarter leather binding. Some binding skills required.
Find out more »POETRY: TOWARDS A COLLECTION
Making the leap to producing a collection is differentfrom writing single poems. Yet it’s a hugely creative and enjoyable process, which includes plenty of new writing as well as reading and editing. We’ve designed this week to support you at this exciting stage, whether you’re doing it for the first time or the fifteenth. Working on a collection also allows you to think beyond the single page, and see poems as an extended, related work: so the course is also…
Find out more »November 2017
Fingerstyle
Picking patterns, solo fingerstyle, all genres. Acoustic and electric. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check…
Find out more »NARRATIVE NON-FICTION
This week we will explore a wide variety of narrativebasedtechniques for telling vivid non-fiction stories, with particular focus on reportage and memoir. Through an exploration of structure, research, storytelling, character, dialogue and scene-building, we will encourage authentic and vibrant writing with strong narrative and a deep respect for language. This week will suit all levels of experience. Participants are invited to submit up to 2,000 words of a work-in-progress, to be sent to The Hurst by 6 October 2017.
Find out more »FICTION
‘The course of true love never did run smooth’, andneither does the writing of a romantic novel. Like any strong relationship, a romantic novel needs firm foundations: a strong plot, secure framework and credible characters. Guiding you through all the above elements and more, we will explore the broad genre of romance and the market for it. Whether you’re newly embarked on a relationship with romantic fiction or much further along the path, we will help you deal with the…
Find out more »Intro to Jazz
Turn Pop/Rock/Blues/Country/Folk into smooh jazz arrangements. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check out our website…
Find out more »POETRY
Poets write out of their personal chaos – thepreoccupations that arise from their lives and relationships. But can private experience be poetically shaped to connect with a wider audience? Can we draw on the personal to create work that is publicly engaged? Drawing on concepts such as vision and inspiration, and poetic forms and approaches including ballads and confessionalism, we will explore ways to bear witness to our lives and times.
Find out more »Improvers
Focus on note quality and practice. Build on Strugglers. For details and Course Overviews please contact Ronnie on info@guitarweekends.co.uk or have a chat on 0844 272 4433There is an Early Bird Offer on until midnight of the 6th ofJanuary on all residential courses of £25 discount. Vouchers are available for anyone who wants to come on a course but not sure which one is best (also makes a fantastic gift for someone else) The above list can change - check…
Find out more »STARTING TO WRITE: NON FICTION
Do you have a non-fiction subject you are burning towrite about? Are you unsure how to turn it into a book, or what kind of book to write? This week will help you understand how to turn facts into compelling stories and how to make non-fiction as engaging as a novel. We will inspire you to explore the best ways to research and frame your story. We’ll include whether and how to put yourself into the book, and, crucially, how…
Find out more »December 2017
EDITING A NOVEL
An early draft of a novel is a very different beast froma finished manuscript. How do you get from one to the other, and how do you create distance between yourself and your manuscript? How can you hone your sentences while also digging deeper to discover three-dimensional characters and a natural narrative drive? Here is your chance to work with an experienced editor and novelist. You’ll sharpen your writer’s ears and eyes; you’ll explore the ‘deep wiring’ of your novel;…
Find out more »January 2019
Diploma in Practical Spirituality and Wellness
Join us at Hawkwood College for this pioneering course, the first Spirituality and Health qualification to be on the Ofqual register.
Find out more »