A weekend of creativity in the most inspiring setting imaginable in deepest, lush mid summer Kent.
Dates: Friday 18th 12 noon to Sunday 20th 12 noon
What you’ll be doing
Attending workshops on writing, finding your creative voice, building confidence and finding outlets for your words and music.
The Music Workshops
You’ll be working with Thomas Binns, founder of The Guitar Social and former front man of countless bands as chief songwriter. Workshops include; Traditional songs forms; working within a key; finding the melody; avant garde composition; feeling good about being a song writer; what to do with your music and home recording.
The writing workshops
You’ll be working with Josh Hallam, founder of Word Space, one of London’s most popular poetry events, publisher of Kite String Poetry Magazine, musician and UK poetry competition winner and multiple festival performer. Workshops include; the folk canon – between poetry and song-writing from Dylan Thomas to Bob Dylan, musicality on the page, spoken word performance, and using music to write.
The accommodation
We have a variety of options for you from camping to glamming in hints and cabins dotted around glades and woodland.
Food and Drink
Your price includes all your food and drinks. Food is made as a collective effort and as traumatic as that might sound, many report this is one of the most fun parts of camp! All diet requirements are catered for.
What will I be eating and drinking?
Here’s a typical menu
Breakfast – Fry up – veggie and meat versions or fruit, pastries, cereal, toast and spreads
Lunch – BBQ with Greek salad
Afternoon tea – Scones with jam and clotted cream
Dinner – Chile con-carne – Vegan and non-vegan varieties
Snacks – Crisps, chocolate, fruit
Campfire snacks – Olives and Marshmallows Drinks – Beer, ale, wine, cider, fruit juice, Fizzy drinks
Extra stuff
Your home for the weekend is a rich and historic woodland and the sites owner, Laura, runs a fascinating foraging tour for £5. Feeling mystic, have your tarot cards read by moon light for £10. Feeling inspired and need to get your song recorded right now-book yourself into our on site recording studio for free or, for something extra special, record your song underneath a tree and have it pressed to Vinyl right there and then at our onsite Vinyl Factory. Yes, you read that right, crazy isn’t it? All campers get a Guitar Social note book
Who typically comes
The Guitar Social’s members range in age from about 20 to 101. We actually do have someone learning with us who is 101. All levels of players are welcome, however, this is not a guitar tuition retreat (for that you’d need to book onto band camp so you will need to be able to string some chords together. However, your song is your song so if you want to come and write a two chord song, there isn’t anything wrong with that.
A typical day
You wake to the smell of wood smoke, that’s your breakfast cooking. We eat together. Someone will likely play us a song. Then, book yourself onto the workshops taking placer throughout the day. In between all that learning and discussion there’s plenty of space for idle walks, time on your own and of course, writing.
When night falls, you follow the candle lit path into the woods for an evening of music and performance by not one, but five fire pits. It’s magical.
Prices: These are our early bird prices at 30% off for the first 5 people who book
We have different sleeping options which all come with a different price tag and bell and cabin options are limited and sell out very fast
Bring your own tent: £250.
Sleep in a bell tent shared with up to 4 other people £230:
Sleep on your own in a bell tent: £370:
Not included in the price is your travel.
