The Great Craft Retreat
Premium Retreat
August
A creative retreat like no other!
Early bird tickets now available
Craft Film, The Great Craft Retreat
Spend 3 days in the Stunning Chiltern Hills AONB and learn 4-5 traditional rural crafts from experts who live and work in the industry sharing with you their skills and wisdom of their ancient craft. This fully catered weekend will see you experience the mouth watering delights of our open fire chef as they bring you organic local produce from farm to plate! Camp in our luxurious bell tents and gaze at the stars from around the campfire in the evenings among new friends!
Premium Retreat
Both our 2026 retreats are fully catered and based at the same location with the same accommodation and same team. The main difference is the craft workshops and number of participants. Our premium retreats host craftspeople with more intense workshop sessions, that due to the nature of the craft can only be taught to a smaller number of people per session. These workshops have a higher value with more direct tutorage from your instructors and crafts that you may struggle to find elsewhere. This creates a quieter more personal retreat with a tight-nit, small scale feel. Our Premium Retreat also hopes to offer a wood fired hot tub and sauna!
Craft Itinerary
Craft Itinerary
Tailor made for this event each of our crafts people will run a half day workshop session where you will get hands on with the tools and techniques of the craft. Under the guidance of your tutor you will take raw materials and transform them into handcrafted treasures. These sessions are all designed for beginners who are new to each craft and wish to explore the realms of practical, traditional creativity! Take a look below to see what you will be making!
Blacksmithing
with
Bill's Workshop
Forge a copper and stainless steel Spoon
Details to come
Willow Weaving
Details to come
Glass Work
More details to come in February ...
Glass blowing, Stained glass or Glass fusing
Silversmithing
More details to come in February...
Silver or copper jewellery
Ceramics
-Friday evening workshop
More details to come in February ...
trust me if what I'm planning comes through it will be very cool stuff!
Itinerary
Day 1 - Friday Evening
Arrive between 3-4pm and be welcomed to your home for the weekend, settle into your bell tent meet the team and relax in nature. After a bit of a meet and greet with everyone you will be given your personal itinerary and shown the site and locations of our workshops. Our chefs will prepare a beautiful meal for the evening, afterwards enjoy our Friday night evening session and get warmed up for the craft sessions the next day. Once finished around 8/9pm all that's left to do is chat around the campfire and get ready to jump into crafts the next day!
Day 2 - Saturday
After a simple but scrumptious buffet style breakfast you will begin your first craft session at 9:30am at one of our teaching spaces. With 7 people per group you will receive plenty of personal tuition and be guided through the session under expert tuition. At 12:30 you will head back to our main field where a hot lunch will be served by our chefs giving you a chance to show off your new creations. After an hour lunch break the next session will commence at 1.30 where you'll be learning more traditional skills at a different artistic medium until the early evening.
Dinner will be a 3 course help your self style banquet of the most sumptuous variety! A serious feast! Among new friends, afterwards you can take a evening stroll in the countryside to explore the beautiful Hardwick estate, or sit round the fire and relax.
Day 3 - Sunday
Our second day of craft will begin much the same with a simple and energising breakfast before our 9am Art workshop session begins. Under the wing of another crafter you will walk away with a finished piece to adorn the home. Lunch at 1:30pm with be our last meal together once again prepared by our chef. Your final 3.5hr session will give you the opportunity to get you hands mucky and embrace your final activity. We will round up for a farewell at 6pm where its over to you to discover more mediums to try for yourself or better yet speak to the instructors about perusing a subject specific course that they teach!
Accomodation
Accommodation & Facilities
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Our Accommodation for the 2 nights will be spacious bell tents with 3 people per bell tent, in same sex arrangements.
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Couples/friends can book their own tent together (limited availability, at extra cost) and groups can book with up to 4 in a private tent (limited availability)
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You are expected to bring all the sleeping kit you will require, roll mats, air beds, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows etc
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Photo of our Bell tents at the bottom of the page
Facility's
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Environmentally friendly compost loos are located on site.
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Hill-billy showers located onsite.
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Tea and Coffee and snack station available 24/7.
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Our outdoor kitchen is located in the 'cathedral', a cedar shingle building in our main camping field, this will also be our dining and feasting space.
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All the teaching areas are under cover (although are not fully enclosed) to protect from any wet weather or intense sunshine!
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Phone signal is usually good on site although no Wi-Fi is provided.
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No power is onsite for charging devices or personal equipment - battery packs recommended.
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Parking is located onsite.
Food
Food
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AL is a seasoned open fire chef and will be concocting a variety of sumptuous meals for us with local produced from local farms and small businesses supporting the local area while enabling us to use the highest quality produce imaginable! Including using forged utensils and grill from Bill's Workshop to cook all your meals!
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AL will be assisted in his open fire kitchen by the rest of the team when our Saturday night feast is in preparation. All prepped in our outdoor kitchen and served in the 'cathedral'
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The menu is a down to earth approach to open fire cooking with simple ingredients that will pack a flavoursome punch for all. The menu is subject to change due to the availability of local produce.
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Most dietary requirements can be catered for however please get in touch with ANY severe allergies before booking. To see if we can cater to your needs. After all the outdoor kitchen is outdoor, and some allergens are unavoidable in this environment.
Menu
With our 2026 menu in preparation until February please view last years to get a mouth watering taste of what you may be served!
From grilled halloumi and charred peppers to beef roasting joints 2025's menu was the real star of the weekend!
Our Saturday night feast will see a ladened table of flame roasted goodness, check the menu here!
Dietary requirements
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All dietary requirements and allergies must be stated beforehand - Yes, before booking to avoid disappointment
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We can cater for: Veggie, Vegan and Gluten Free (not coeliac)
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Please get in contact before hand to enquire about severe allergies including nuts, lactose, wheat.
Accommodation - What to bring
What to Bring
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All sleeping kit, roll matts, sleeping bag, blankets, pillows - please no double sized air beds
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A set of clothes for getting mucky during workshops - including a warm layer and shoes
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A set of clothes that aren't so mucky for the evening if you wish
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Warm layers and waterproofs are recommended
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Towels and toiletries - All must be biodegradable and environmentally friendly
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Any personal medication
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Walking boots recommended
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More info will be sent closer to the time after purchase of a place
More Important Stuff
Need to Knows
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Adults only due to the nature of our crafts using sharp tools and very hot steel.
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You need to reasonably healthy and able to come of this retreat, it's a full day active on your feet and walking between workshop locations with you hands kept very busy crafting!
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Only the date shown is the one available this year, sign up to our newsletter for future dates when they are released
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Unfortunately our chefs cannot cater to specific dietary requirements including sensitive allergies due to the nature of our outdoor kitchen.
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All PPE is provided
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Crockery and cutlery provided
What's included?
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2 Nights in a spacious bell tent
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All food, including our Saturday night feast provided by Al Halfpenny
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5 different Crafts/Arts sessions with professional artists and makers
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50 hours in the beautiful Chiltern Hills
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Car parking on site
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All PPE and safety equipment
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Tea / Coffee 24/7
Our Nordic Style Bell Tents
Getting Here
Getting Here
Located on the edge of the Chilterns Hills in on the border of Berkshire and South Oxfordshire:
Address
Path Hill Farm, Path Hill, Goring Heath,
Reading RG8 7RE
Parking will be available on site for the duration of the weekend. This is a private estate and working farm so please do not come for a mooch before the event!