READ, WRITE AND WALK, IN THE LANDSCAPES THAT HAVE INSPIRED WRITERS FOR CENTURIES
For anyone who loves books, there's something special about reading and writing in the places that shaped the words. Our literary holidays come in three kinds: book club breaks for readers who like to talk over what they've read, creative writing holidays for those who want to write fiction of their own, and travel writing holidays for putting place and journey into words.
All are based at our country houses, with full board and good company, and all pair time at the page or in discussion with the countryside outside. Come with friends or on your own, and whether you've written before or never tried.
Book club breaks
Our book club breaks bring readers together for a few days of good conversation about good books, with discussions led by an expert who knows the titles and the writers.
Each break takes a theme rooted in the landscape around you, and reads a handful of books that speak to it. On the Lakeland break, based at our country house in Coniston, you read works connected to the Lake District, from the women of the Romantic circle to contemporary Cumbrian fiction, and spend an excursion day in Wordsworth country, with entry to Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount included. Others draw on the Brontës' Yorkshire or the stories of the Shropshire Hills.
They suit a reader travelling alone and looking for company every bit as much as a book club holidaying together, with time to walk and explore between the conversations.
Creative writing
Our creative writing holidays are for those who want to write fiction of their own and could use the time, the guidance and the quiet to do it. Across the week you work through the building blocks of storytelling, ideas and inspiration, character, plot, setting and dialogue, in group workshops led by a published author, with one-to-one time to talk through your own writing and evenings given over to readings.
The afternoons bring an optional guided walk in the countryside around the house, time to let an idea settle or simply enjoy the air, and there's space through the day to write. Beginners are welcome to start from scratch, and there's plenty to work at if you've been writing for years.
Travel writing
Our travel writing holidays are about putting place and journey into words, the view that stops you, the history underfoot, the strangers who stay with you long after. Morning workshops led by an expert tutor look at how the best travel writers bring a place off the page, drawing on the likes of Jan Morris, Paul Theroux and Nan Shepherd, and how travel finds its way into fiction too.
The afternoons take you out on an optional guided walk through the landscape you'll be writing about, so the day's subject is right there under your feet. Like our other writing breaks, they welcome complete beginners as readily as those looking to sharpen an established style.
