WRITING RETREATS IN GLENCANISP LODGE
Details below.
For a week of writing inspiration come to a writing retreat at Glencanisp Lodge in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. There are no qualifications required to come and no compulsory activities, just an opportunity for writers or other creative people to develop their work in progress in a peaceful and stunningly beautiful environment.
Six retreat weeks are available from 2010 to 2011:
• 26 June – 3 July 2010
Midsummer in Assynt gives long, long days and the flowers, birds and other wildlife are at the peak of their season.
• 11 – 18 September 2010
Out on the moors the heather is in full flower, while the woods are bursting with fruit and the sea is at its warmest.
• 30 October – 6 November 2010
Late autumn in Assynt is sheer magic. Low-angled light sets the moors ablaze. Stags roar for the rut and flocks of migrant birds steal the last of the berries. Bring your camera, paints or wools as well as your pen. The next week is also available, giving you the option of a fortnight’s retreat.
• 6 – 13 November 2010
This week we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Norman MacCaig, who wrote so much of his best poetry in and about Assynt. There will be lots of opportunities to visit some of the places he stayed and wrote about, to share and appreciate his poems and to meet local people who knew him.
• 8-15 January 2011
After the season of over-indulgence, it’s the perfect time to quieten down and keep your new year’s resolutions to be creative: whether that’s writing, painting or craftwork. There will be a log fire burning at all times and both writing and textile crafts experts on hand to give encouragement.
• 26 March – 2 April 2011
Spring comes quietly in Assynt, but its song is beautiful. It’s the time of primroses and violets, thrushes, warblers and the wingbeats of geese skeins heading north.
This is the fourth year Glencanisp Lodge has hosted writing retreats. Over this time, the retreats have provided space, tranquility and stimulation for more than 40 published and aspiring poets, short story writers and novelists including Margaret Elphinstone, Rodge Glass, Jason Donald, Paula Jennings and Colin Will.
Previous retreaters have said: ‘The best writing retreat in Western Europe…’, ‘I had a wonderful time, thank you so much. I feel refreshed and inspired…’, ‘I adored the peace and quiet, the scenery, the food and the company…’, ‘What did I write? One new poem every day…’, ‘It was great. Being here allowed me to have insights into how to progress my novel…’, ‘Distance from my normal existence has produced work that I’m proud of, encapsulating some of the magic of this place…’, ‘A lovely house overlooking the most wonderful views…’.
Any writers or other creative people are welcome on the retreats, which cost £480 per person (June, September) or £420 (October, November, January, March). The retreats run from Saturday to Saturday, a whole week’s writing time. Everyone gets a private and comfortable room to themselves, many of which have spectacular views out to the iconic mountain of Suilven or into the mature woods around the Lodge. Delicious home-cooked food is included. A facilitator is on hand to give feedback or writing advice if desired.
Some practicalities
1. Dinner is cooked for us each evening, and the kitchen is stocked so participants can help themselves to breakfasts and lunches as and when we please. Please let us know any dietary requirements in advance.
2. No-one needs to share a room, though you can if you want to (there are three rooms with double beds and several more with twin beds). Places are limited to 12 and the rooms with best views will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. The spacious bedrooms each have a table, chair and lamp. Pillows, sheets, duvets, towels, etc., are all provided. There are three ensuite rooms, one with full disabled access and five other bathrooms.
3. There is a big comfortable lounge downstairs, with a log fire, hi-fi and books. Usually we gather by the fireside in the evenings to read work, share a drink, talk about writing and ceilidh.
4. There is a phone (01571 844122) but no mobile phone signal. There is a wireless broadband network in the Assynt Foundation office above the Lodge stables and a printer in the lounge. The nearest mobile phone signal is a glorious mile walk down the road at Lochinver, as are the shops, post office, pubs, fair trade café, pottery, harbour, bank, health centre, leisure centre and other trappings of civilisation.
5. There are various public transport options for getting to Lochinver, which is a 2-hour drive north of Inverness. We will help with transport arrangements.
Glencanisp Lodge is owned by the local community of Assynt, along with a vast area of land, as a result of a series of historic land buy-outs, which make this a particularly vibrant and positive part of rural Scotland. See www.assyntfoundation.org.uk for pictures and information about Glencanisp Lodge and the surrounding area.
We will arrange guided walks or other opportunities for meeting local people if there is interest from retreat participants. For example, the local ranger does fascinating walks, including to various places that appear in poems by Norman MacCaig. One retreat involved a visit to see a whale that had washed up on a nearby beach. There are ceramics and music studios at Glencanisp and several artists and craft producers in the area, Anything is possible, so please ask!
Mandy Haggith, who organizes the retreats, is a poet, novelist and non-fiction writer. Her novel, The Last Bear, won the Robin Jenkins Literary Prize and she is currently writing about the history of people in Assynt, thanks to a Scottish Arts Council award.
To reserve a place on a retreat please send a deposit of £200, cheque made out to 'Top Left Corner'. Deposits are non-refundable in case of cancellation by you, but if we cancel, we will repay in full. Full payment is due 8 weeks before the retreat begins.
For more information please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Email: hag@worldforests.org
Phone: +44 (0)1571 844020
Mobile: +44 (0)7734 235704
Address: Top Left Corner, 95 Achmelvich, Lochinver, Sutherland, IV27 4JB, Scotland
All unmarked photographs are by Agnes Dickson of the Assynt Foundation except stalking pictures which are by Ashley Coombes.