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

Boost Your German

Having even more than a basic knowledge and understanding of a language is extremely useful when on holiday, but not just then. Whether you studied German in the dim and distant past, or more recently, neither your age nor the amount of experience you may have in learning and using German is a barrier to...

Understanding Watercolour

Vincent Van Gogh said you needed twenty-seven heads to paint a watercolour, vowed to get to grips with the medium and then promptly dropped it. Is it any wonder? A big favourite with leisure painters and hobby artists, watercolour is both approachable and unintimidating, but takes a lifetime to master. This one day course will...

Concert with the Sacconi Quartet

The award-winning Sacconi Quartet will perform a programme of wonderful music: Mozart’s String Quartet in D major K499, Sibelius’s Moderato and Allegro appassionato and Schubert’s String Quartet in G major. The Quartet performs with style and commitment and is known throughout the world for its creativity and integrity of interpretation.

Songs, Satire and Sophistication: the History of Revenue’

One of the most popular and fashionable forms of entertainment in the 1920s and '30s was the revue, which provided humorous, fast-moving and sophisticated sketches and songs on topical themes. The early revues concentrated on music and spectacle; but gradually they became more intimate, emphasissing wit and style, as perfomers like Noel Coward joined-in. Come...

Made in Britain: How Prehistory Shaped Our World

Before the coming of the Romans the people of these islands were non-literate, relying on word of mouth to pass on their skills and knowledge. Through an exploration of the archaeological inheritance they left behind this course reveals how their craftsmanship, ingenuity and endeavour shaped our world, laying the foundations for the Britain we inhabit...

No Boundaries Accoustic Band Workshop Extra

This extended 'No Boundaries' acoustic band course is open to any acoustic instrument player. We’ve successfully catered for every combination so far, including fretted and bowed stringed instruments, saxophones, clarinet, piano, flute and harmonica... what do you play? With a good social atmosphere, exchanging ideas and learning from each other, you will be encouraged to...

Embroidery With a Silver Sheen

This course focuses on hand embroidery projects, using stitches such as stem stitch, french knots, long and short stitch, and incorporates a bit of silver work to the design. The silverwork can be using metal threads, such as pearl purl and jap, or simply silver stranded cotton and tiny silver sequins. Participants will be working...

Usui reiki level 1 workshop – learn reiki healing for yourself, friends, family, pets

Usui reiki level 1 workshop – learn reiki healing for yourself, friends, family, pets

Usui reiki level 1 workshop - learn reiki healing for yourself, friends, family & pets 1 day workshops: Friday 4 March &  Saturday 12 March 11.00 - 16.00 Usui reiki level 1 workshop Rei – universal Ki – life force/energy (known as Chi in China or prana in India)   Reiki is an ancient Japanese healing technique for...

Reiki and walking weekend retreat

Sing from the Heart group singing holiday SW France summer 2016

Sing from the Heart group singing holiday May 2016

Forensic science: poisoning (online)

The course will explore the fascinating topic of forensic science. In the first week participants will be introduced to a crime scene and each week will examine a piece of evidence relating to a suspected poisoning. As the course progresses participants will have to decide, based on the evidence collected: was a crime committed? What...

Creative writing: an introduction to short story writing (online)

The short story is often described as one of the most satisfying literary genres, both to read and to write. This course encourages students to identify how these stories 'work' by considering classic examples which, in each class, illustrate a particular aspect of short story composition. An exchange of ideas and responses between students and...

Creative writing: an introduction to life writing (online)

This course is aimed at anyone who wants to write a biography, memoir or other form of non-fiction. It will use examples and practical exercises to guide students through the skills needed to write interesting non-fiction: research, editing, how to tell a story and ways of using discription. Given the nature of creative writing, it...

Learn to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs

The ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic script is beautiful and intriguing. This course will help you begin to learn how to read hieroglyphs, or give you the opportunity to practice or widen your skills. You will learn about the language behind the script and will very quickly begin to read real objects from museums and ancient sites...

Intermediate French: La France et ses terroirs

This course has been designed to give people with a fair comprehension of the language (even though they might lack fluency and confidence at speaking it) an insight into French culture and way of life. In the process they will not only learn more about France and its traditions, but will see their confidence and...

The Renaissance garden in Britain: nature produces better fruit if cultivated

Italian Renaissance design and intricacies arrived in Britain via France and the Low Countries, manifesting a revolutionary attitude to the 'taming' of nature. We compare Tudor England with Stuart Scotland. We explore gardens as settings for collections of antique sculpture, courtly dalliance, philosophical discussion, meditation, theatre, allegorical and moral instruction, horticultural encyclopaedias and centres for...

Basic Chinese taster

This course will be taught in the context of contemporary and ancient Chinese culture. Led by the course tutor, you will focus on written and spoken Chinese, with lots of participation, a combination of traditional culture and digital media, and some creative contributions. Flexible to students’ abilities, the course will engage you in learning Chinese...

Introduction to Classical Greek

This course is intended for complete beginners who wish to gain some understanding of Classical Greek language and culture. It will introduce the Greek alphabet and pronunciation, and explore the influence of the Greeks on our language and all aspects of European culture: literature, art, philosophy, politics, sport and science.

Moving heaven and earth: Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown 1716 – 2016

2016 marks the tercentenary of the birth of 'Capability' Brown, England's Shakespeare of Gardening. The setting of Madingley Hall illustrates just one of his earth-moving projects. His inspirations as well as his engineering, hydraulic, architectural and artistic skills will be analysed through his major works. And still capable? This weekend conference will explore his ongoing...

The early Tudors, 1485-1558 (online)

The Tudor dynasty, which ruled between 1485 and 1603, transformed England and monarchs such as Henry VIII are larger-than-life figures who are instantly recognizable. But where did the Tudors come from and why were they so successful? This online course will examine the first four Tudor monarchs, we will begin with Henry Tudor's victory at...

Applying psychology to the workplace (online)

This course will begin with an introduction to Applied Psychology in work settings by taking a context based approach. Students will be introduced to the development of Applied Psychology and will then see how various psychological theories help our understanding of, and contribute to explaining, human behaviour in the workplace. We will look at the...

Ancient Rome: the city, society and infrastructure (online)

This course describes ancient Rome as the Romans saw it - not as stone ruins, but as a vibrant, living city. We see how the people of the largest metropolis on the planet in AD 200 were fed, governed and entertained; who the ancient Romans were and how they lived.

Tracing ancestry using DNA

Where do I come from? In this course, you will learn how scientists are now answering this question at a number of time levels. Palaeontologists explore our distant past with fossils, geneticists find out about our direct ancestors using ancient and modern DNA, and forensic scientists use ancestry tests and parentage tests in their day-to-day...

The complete Andrea Palladio: architecture, life and legacy

How did a humble miller's son in 16th-century Italy become the most influential architect in the world? If you are interested in architecture then this introduction to Andrea Palladio's life and work is for you. We will examine the buildings Palladio produced in his lifetime, and you will discover how his architecture gained a global...

Getting started with genetics

This one-day course will introduce participants to the fascinating world of genetics; from the basics of how genes code for proteins to the role that modern sequencing methods can play in personalised medicine. This course is a good taster session for those interested in taking the Certificate in Genetics.

Margery Allingham: exploring ‘Margeland’

A look at the career of this classic mystery writer, whose novels have been re-issued recently. In this course we will examine together her early adventure thrillers, her serious - but often comic - detective novels and her later studies of crime such as The Tiger in the Smokeand Hide My Eyes. Learn the secrets of this...

The building stones of Cambridge

In the first part of this course you will learn how rocks are formed and how the different processes involved produce rocks with widely different appearances and properties. This variety makes different rocks suitable for different aspects of building construction. During the second part we will we a walk around Cambridge city centre looking at...

Extinctions: crises in the history of life

A wide-ranging introduction to extinction and its place in the history of life. Did a meteorite really kill off the dinosaurs? Whatever happened to groups such as trilobites, ammonites and mammoths? Is survival simply a matter of chance? This course gives an up-to-date review of extinction controversies, with a field trip to collect fossils of...