Rambles with a Sketchbook Holiday in Cornwall
Create your own artistic impressions as we walk through some of Cornwall’s most inspirational landscapes. We’ll walk up to 4 miles (6½ km) each day, sketching scenes along our journey. Your sketches may be the finished result or used as a source for further painting or drawing.
What’s included
- High quality Full Board en-suite accommodation and excellent food in our Country House
- Tuition from our knowledgeable HF Holidays’ leader, to ensure you get the most from your holiday
- Loan of wooden A3 art boards
- All transport to and from locations on your holiday
You can check in to your room from 2.30pm onwards (better rooms from 1pm). Please join us for afternoon tea. All guests are invited – we’ll introduce your leader and welcome you to your holiday.
On our first day there will be a short discussion on sketching techniques and composition, then we will walk into the town and to the harbour and island where there are many different subjects to sketch. Be prepared for some hills and steps!
Today we'll head for Cape Cornwall, where we will walk to Priest Cove (painted many times by Kurt Jackson) then down to the peaceful Kenidjack valley (a steep narrow track) with a stream, wild flowers and an abandoned tin mine.
On our last day we will travel by bus to Zennor where we can sketch the village and church before walking to the dramatic cliffs. In the evening there will be a chance to exhibit your work if you would like to.
Depart after a leisurely breakfast.
Chy Morvah
Sea, sand and (hopefully) sun await at Cornwall’s Chy Morvah. This coastal bolthole, whose name means ‘House by the Sea’ in Cornish, basks in the famously lovely light of this artist-retreat town on the north coast of one of England’s most desirable holiday destinations. Those artists may have come to paint the sea and sky but you can simply admire it from the house’s privileged position. The building has been designed to maximise the effect of its elevated location, with stunning sea views and vistas of sandy beaches, while the bustling harbour and array of cafés and artists galleries are just a short cobbled street walk away. As well as 38 bedrooms, there are a large main lounge with panoramic views across St Ives Bay and a dining room that boasts similar mouth-watering views. To keep you entertained there’s a garden in which to enjoy the hazy pinky glow that falls on this seaside sanctuary every evening. Beyond the house, the Cornish Coast is the gateway to exploring the area, with easy access to St Michael’s Mount, the pretty fishing village of Mousehole, the beaches and cliffs of north Cornwall and the rugged cliffs of Land’s End. There’s even the option of an evening adventure to the Minack Theatre
Rooms
Tea & coffee-making facilities, TV, Hairdryer, Toiletries, Wi-Fi
Stay in one of the main building’s beautifully presented rooms or in the adjacent Lanyons House. With 38 bright and airy bedrooms, Chy Morvah has plenty of space and there’s a range of Good and Better Rooms to choose from. Simply but smartly furnished they let the view through the window do the talking.
All ‘Good’ rooms are ensuite and furnished to a high standard. There are also several ‘Better’ Rooms that are either larger or have a desirable view, a more luxurious mattress, larger television, enhanced toiletries and a fluffy bathrobe & slippers – upgrade your stay for just an extra £15 per person per night. You can choose a specific room for an extra £30 per room, subject to availability. Upgrade supplements still apply.
Facilities
Free Wi-Fi, boot room and drying room, attractive gardens with sea views, heated outdoor swimming pool, multi-purpose activity room, ballroom, library and board games to borrow
After a day strolling the coast, come back to the house and its specially tailored walkers’ facilities. Relax by sitting in the pretty gardens beneath the large mature trees and looking out over the sea. Take a turn in the heated outdoor pool if you still have the energy, or simply relax on the sundeck adjacent to it. Indoors, kick back in one of the lounges. The small bar with its seaside paraphernalia is well-stocked and welcoming while light floods the dining room through panoramic windows.
Food & Drink
As at all our country houses, holidays are full board, from afternoon tea served as a welcome treat through that evening’s meal to a hearty breakfast on the day of departure. Lunch is a chance to stock up on our famous picnic snacks. Food at Chy Morvah is varied and eclectic but has a strong emphasis on ingredients from the area and seasonal produce. Once a week the dining room hosts a Local Food Night, when, over a sociable evening, you might tuck in to Cornish cauliflower and award-winning blue cheese soup, snack on a Stargazy pasty featuring locally caught fillet of mackerel and tuck in to either locally reared pork with a Cornish cider jus or fillet of plaice stuffed with white crab meat, prawns and chives for the best that Cornish land and sea has to offer.
Getting to Chy Morvah
Find out more about this location including travel details and room types.
More InformationWhat to Bring
- Sketchbook – good cartridge paper (e.g.150gm), A4 or 8” square and/or A5 or 6” square (spiral bound or hard back – the smaller ones are fine
- 2B & 4B pencils and a water soluble graphite pencil
- Craft blade for sharpening pencils
- Putty rubber
- Bulldog clips or large elastic bands for holding paper in windy conditions
- A sketching pen
- Blank slide mount or small cardboard mount for view finder (e.g. ½ postcard)
- A rucksack to carry the materials
- Good hiking shoes or boots, hiking sticks if you need them
- A foam seat pad or lightweight stool that you can easily carry
- Protection against weather & insects – waterproofs, sunblock & sunhat, insect repellent, long trousers & long sleeved shirt (to prevent sunburn).
Optional –
- a set of Caran D’Ache Neocolour water-soluble pastels, or a set of water-soluble crayons (e.g.Derwent Inktense)
- a water brush
- Any other lightweight materials you like to use
Please remember - You will have to carry your equipment and lunch/drink so keep it simple.
*Lightweight wooden A3 painting boards are available for guest loan at the Country House.
Guest Reviews
4 nights from 0pp
...or call 020 3974 8865
For group bookings of 10+ people click here