3 Night Introduction to Watercolours in the South Downs
With the countryside or coastline as an inspiring backdrop, this holiday caters for all ability levels; from absolute beginners to more experienced artists hoping to shake up their style. Led by expert tutors in groups of no more than 15, you’ll learn how to get comfortable using watercolour paints - and try out new ideas. You’ll also have ample time to practise in peaceful surroundings.
What you’ll love
- Learning how to work with watercolour paints
- Taking advice and guidance from an expert tutor
- Expressing yourself through art
- Gaining confidence by using various techniques
- A more personalised experience thanks to small group sizes (maximum 15 people)
What’s included
- Expert tuition
- Loan of wooden A3 art boards
- Comfortable en-suite accommodation in our country house
- Cream tea on arrival day
- Cooked or continental breakfast every morning
- Daily packed lunches
- Three-course evening meals, plus tea & coffee
- Easy-to-follow routes, maps, and information available in our Discovery Point if you want to explore independently
Trip Notes
Easy to download as a PDF, our trip notes provide detailed information for every holiday. Please click below to find the trip notes for your departure date.
All our carefully-curated itineraries are designed by our experts. While we make every effort to adhere to the described itinerary, we may take alternative routes or adapt the running order for weather and/or operational reasons.
Check-in at the hotel is available from 4pm. Enjoy a complimentary cream tea on arrival.
We’ll start with the basics on our first day. Learn about the materials involved in watercolour painting and how to use them. We will talk through the various elements of the watercolour artist’s kit and build a solid foundation on which to develop our skills.
Following on from yesterday’s introduction, we’ll experiment with traditional watercolour techniques, with a particular focus on wet-on-wet painting. Creating paintings in this way means we can take full advantage of the medium to produce soft yet complex effects in our work.
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before making your way home.
Abingworth Hall
Country living just got cosier at this former farmhouse. Abingworth Hall is just a skip away from the village of Thakeham at the foot of the South Downs – a landscape of ancient woodland, hidden valleys, chalky cliffs, and high-backed hills so deserving of its national park status finally bestowed in 2010. While the views from the doorstep are as wow-worthy as you’d expect, the walking opportunities around the sightseeing greats such as Devil’s Dyke, Seven Sisters Country Park, Kingley Vale, Parham House, and the Clayton Windmills (known locally as Jack and Jill) are equally standout. You’ll also be within easy driving distance of several historic towns and cities, most fabulously Arundel, Chichester, and Brighton.
Rooms
Designed with your comfort in mind, Abingworth Hall has 27 well-appointed guest rooms available in two categories: Classic and Premium.
Classic Rooms are comfortable en-suite guest rooms, ideal for a peaceful night's sleep. Amenities include free Wi-Fi, tea and coffee-making facilities, toiletries (hand wash, shampoo, and shower gel), and a TV.
Premium Rooms are more spacious en-suite guest rooms*. Amenities include free Wi-Fi, tea and coffee-making facilities, toiletries (hand wash, shampoo, body lotion, shower gel), and a 32-inch TV. Extras include bathrobes, slippers.
We love: The Premium Rooms for views of the impossibly pretty surroundings.
The Choose Your Room service is available at our UK country houses, allowing you the option of choosing and confirming a specific room for an extra charge of £30 per room. This is subject to availability. Upgrade supplements apply.
Room supplements
| Premium single | Premium double/twin | Choose your room |
| £20 pppn | £20 pppn | £30 per room |
*Views and layout reflect each properties unique character and location
*Please note, pool opening hours are: 07:00am – 09:00am and 16:00pm – 18:30pm
About your stay
A warm welcome
We want you to feel comfortable from the moment you arrive. You’ll find a welcome pack in your room with guest registration forms, menus, order forms for dinners and picnic lunches, the Wi-Fi password, and the front door code. Our houses are locked at night, so we recommend noting the Duty Manager’s number on arrival in case of an emergency (or getting locked out).
Evening entertainment
While evening entertainment varies from house to house, HF Holidays Inter-House Quiz night held after dinner on Wednesdays is a weekly staple. Your HF Holidays leader may be around for tips on guided and self-guided waking routes as well as visit-worthy local attractions.
Walks talks
Our HF Holidays walk leaders host guided walking information briefings before dinner on guided walking holiday arrival days. This is followed by a group Walks Talk for information on the following day’s guided walks (held before dinner every evening). Self-guided walking guests are, of course, welcome.
The walking day
Prior to setting off on guided walks, your HF Holidays Leader will run you through a short safety briefing. There’s also an up-to-date weather forecast on display at the house to ensure you have appropriate clothing and footwear. If you choose to do your own walks or are on a self-guided walking holiday, we ask that you please complete an Independent Walker Card each day. These can be found near the Discovery Point in the house.
Food & drink
Seasonal dining, tailored for you
Our team of skilled chefs design our dinner menus to showcase the best of each season, from warming winter comfort food to vibrant summer dishes, including vegetarian, vegan and high-protein options. We also source fruit and vegetables within a 40-mile radius of each house, open every break with a Chef’s Special menu inspired by dishes and flavours of the local area, and are able to adapt dishes to suit special dietary requirements.
Welcome Cream Tea
What better way to start your stay than with a cream tea, served fresh on arrival to make you feel instantly at home. A quintessentially English tradition, our scones are baked in-house and served with preserves and clotted cream, providing the perfect opportunity to meet fellow walkers.
A hearty breakfast to start the day
Start the day with a freshly-prepared cooked breakfast and a wide choice from our continental buffet, including hot drinks, juices and fresh fruit. Our team offer a quick and friendly service, leaving you fuelled and ready for your day’s adventures.
Our famous picnic lunch
Our personalised picnic lunches are perfect for a day out walking, ready to enjoy when hunger strikes. Choose from a large selection of fresh sandwiches and salads, freshly baked cakes and snacks, including the ever-popular Freddos chocolate bar! Everything is designed to fit neatly into your rucksack, and all of the packaging we provide is recyclable or compostable.
3-course evening meals
Our à la carte evening menus feature a wide choice of starters, mains, and desserts, made with seasonal ingredients and, wherever possible, herbs and vegetables from our own gardens. Shared around sociable tables, dinners are relaxed occasions, with drinks available to order at the table or from the bar, and a traditional Sunday roast to round off the week.
Accessibility
For accessibility and assistance information, please contact our expert team on 020 3974 8865 or view the accessibility information online for Abingworth Hall
Getting to Abingworth Hall
Find out more about this location including travel details and room types.
More InformationAddress
Abingworth Hall
Storrington Road
Thakeham
West Sussex RH20 3EF
Tel: +44 (0)1798 813636
By train
The nearest station is Pulborough.
Pulborough station has a short platform, so you’ll need to check the departure boards for which carriage to sit in.
National Rail have up-to-date routes and train times.
By taxi
The six-mile journey from Pulborough railway station takes about 15 minutes.
It’s best to avoid arriving at Pulborough station between 2:50pm and 3:20pm as there may not be any taxis available due to school pick-ups.
For pricing, please contact the taxi company directly.
MJ Cars
You can pre-book a taxi from with MJ Cars*. We recommend booking your taxi at least seven days in advance by contacting:
Tel: +44 (0)1903 745414
Email: mjcars@btconnect.com
A return journey can be arranged on your behalf by the HF Holidays House Manager at Abingworth Hall.
*MJ Cars is not owned or managed by HF Holidays.
Sue's Private Hire
You can pre-book a taxi with Sue's Private Hire* by phone, text or email. Please pre-book asap as there are no taxis based at Pulborough Station. Your journey will be mostly with a lady driver and an electric car.
Tel: +44 (0)1798 874848 / +44 (0)7918 137066
Email:- sueph520@yahoo.com
*Sue's Private Hire is not owned or managed by HF Holidays and prices are subject to change
By car
From the M25
Take either the A24 or the M23 and then the A264 towards Horsham. At the Great Daux roundabout go south on the A24 towards Worthing. Go straight over two roundabouts and then at the traffic lights turn right onto the A272 to Billingshurst and Petersfield. After three miles turn left onto the B2139. Abingworth Hall is approximately four miles from this junction on the left hand side (go past Abingworth Meadows and Thakeham Pre-School).
From the M27
Continue onto the A27 around Chichester. At the second roundabout take the first exit on to the A29, then the second exit on to the B2139 to Storrington. At the mini roundabout, take the second exit onto the A283. Continue through Storrington then turn onto the B2139 towards Thakeham. Continue straight ahead at the traffic lights, and then take the first exit at the mini roundabout then the first exit. Continue down this road until you reach Abingworth Hall on the right.
By air
The nearest airport is Gatwick Airport.
The easiest way to get from Gatwick Airport to Abingworth Hall is by taxi, a 29-mile journey taking around 40 minutes.
For introductory art holidays, all guests will require the following materials and tools, to be purchased before the start of your holiday. The listed items should be available from all good art supply shops, and we recommend that you try to purchase the best quality that you can afford. Well-known brands, such as Daler Rowney or Winsor & Newton have ‘student’ quality ranges which are ideal for our exercises.
Paints & Pencils
Watercolour paints in tubes or dry pan sets, in the following colours:
- Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue & Cerulean Blue
- Cadmium Red & Alizarin Crimson
- Lemon Yellow, Yellow Ochre & Cadmium Yellow
- Sap Green
- Burnt Umber & Burnt Sienna
- Payne’s Grey
Plus:
- Designers Permanent White Gouache in a tube
- 2B & 4B pencils
- Black/Sepia-coloured fibre-tipped drawing pens (waterproof ink, in fine and medium thickness)
Surfaces
- 10” x 14” 300gm watercolour book or pre-glued pad (cold pressed/not, surfaced), 10-12 sheets
- A4 Cartridge Sketch Pad
Tools
- Watercolour brushes: No. 10, No. 6 & No. 3
- Small Rigger brush
- Pencil eraser
- Mixing palette (can be a white dinner plate!)
- Small craft knife or pencil sharpener
- Water pot
- Kitchen roll x 1
- Bulldog clips x 6
Abingworth Hall Calendar
- Guided Walking
- Self-Guided Walking
- Special Interests
- Unavailable to Book
For 2024: Easa Ali
Self-taught artist, Easa, has been painting all his life. Earning a living as a professional for the past four decades, his paintings have been showcased in London’s Mall Galleries, as well as exhibitions by The Royal Society of Portrait Painters. As an expert tutor, he hopes to make our special interest breaks as fun and interesting as possible – especially where painting is concerned.
For 2025: Carl March
A qualified art teacher with over 25 years of experience, Carl enjoys experimenting with different mediums and helping people explore their creative side. He’s worked as a guest art lecturer on premium cruises worldwide and his many travels have inspired his work. Whether you’re a regular at the easel or have never picked up a paintbrush before, Carl’s patience as an expert tutor will help you create a piece of art of which you can be proud.
Guest reviews
54Kg of CO₂e
Average carbon footprint per person Learn More