Quirky Workshops at Greystoke Craft Garden Barns

19/06/2026

Hooray!! 🎨

After requests from so many students - we've finally managed to secure a new date for this lovely workshop❤️

'Discovering Soft Pastels' with Lyn Evans Thursday 13th August

https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria/paint-paper-print/764-discovering-soft-pastels-with-lyn-evans

10am – 4.00pm £82 inc tasty home made lunch, fresh coffee and home baking
Material Charges :please bring your own. Full details on the link above

Results shown here were from the last Soft Pastels workshop & were super 💚 - as always the desk easels really help with Pastels - and Lyn does her pieces teaching gently from the front, step by step using the camera and screen – as well as some ‘gather rounds' too when it works better.

There are plenty of B & B's locally, plus a lovely pub, the Boot and Shoe, please see

https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/

for all offerings and check out airbnb too. We are an easy 5 miles west of J40 of the M6, where it crosses with the A66.

Here is our entire programme for the rest of the year in date order ..

https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria

We look forward to welcoming you to lovely Greystoke sometime in the future! X 💚

🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨

16/06/2026

A day learning about wildlife friendly plants, wildlife hedges,wildflowers meadows,dead hedges, bug hotels, wildlife ponds and we will learn how we as human beings benefit from being outdoors surrounded by nature.

We have a couple of places available on Saturday 11th July for our new course titled Wildlife & Wellbeing in The Garden based at Greystoke Craft Garden and Barns, Quirky Workshops near Penrith in North Cumbria.

An opportunity to see what Annie has created in her gardens that surrounds The Swallow Barn , The Squirrel Barn & Poplin Dub.

Sounds like the perfect way to spend a Saturday in July 🍃🌼🐸🐞🐛🌸🦔

Please see the link
https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/print-and-gardens/gardening-for-wildlife-and-wellbeing-shelagh-todd

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZplCGJCOLs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

04/06/2026

Looking for a creative, calming escape? Join woodcarver Alister Neville for a day outdoors, carving your own decorative hardwood piece—be it a house sign, animal motif, bowl, or something entirely your own.

Alister arrives with three hefty, hand-built workbenches and a full set of razor-sharp tools for each participant. You'll have a selection of beautiful hardwoods—sycamore, ash, oak, - and plenty of inspiration to guide your design.

You'll be in the sunshine- or under canopies if it rains, the open-air setup is peaceful and inspiring. These photos show some of the lovely pieces students have created over previous workshops — from delicate butterflies and dragonflies to green men of the forest, and many nature-inspired designs. 🪵✨

Whether you're a complete beginner or have some experience, Alister's patient teaching style and expert guidance will help you create something truly special to take home.

We're in Greystoke, (CA11 0UT) 5mi W of J40 of M6/A66 & Penrith, in beautiful Cumbria, the Lake District. Many local accomm. options are available, local pubs serving food, and Ullswater is just 5mi away. Public transport is available to the village from Penrith station. See https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/

We're a perfect location to combine a workshop with a short break to the Lakes. Day courses include fresh coffee & tasty home made lunches.

Alister's summer workshops are :

Fri 14th August (just 4 spaces left )
Sat 22nd August - now full

Full details and booking - see August:
➡️ https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria

We look forward to welcoming you here 😊

31/05/2026

Pics from some of the wonderful John Harrison Line and Wash painting days here in Greystoke 'Building in the Landscape’ in Line and Wash ❤️.. really impressive work like this is often the result.
Some travel considerable distances for John's workshops, appreciating his clear and clean style of painting (where the line work goes down first) and warm, relaxed teaching style which works perfectly with our overhead camera / projector/ screen. This means a Step by Step painting can easily be taught whilst all students are seated and following from their desks. It always make for a great painting day -we certainly can see how he's managed to accrue over 30k followers on Instagram ☺️
a recent lovely review ...
"My wife, Catherine, and I attended John Harrison’s wonderful workshop and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience - the teaching, company, the catering & the fascinating location. As a pure pen & ink artist I had never dabbled with colour/wash and so was nervous, but John soon put me at my ease with his inspiring examples of bringing pen and ink to life with colour wash. His book too is a very useful reminder of how to perfect this wonderful art form. " (Book is on Amazon 'Line and Wash' or from John directly)

John's August'26 workshop day is full - but he still has spaces on his earlier course which are out of the main school holidays .. full details below

https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/paint-paper-print-workshops/buildings-in-the-landscape

Here is our entire programme for the rest of the year in date order ..

https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria

Please see greystokevillage.co.uk for local offerings and check out Airbnb too. We’re an easy 5mi west of Penrith and 5 mi from Ullswater and the glorious Lake District!

We look forward to welcoming you to lovely Greystoke X

21/05/2026

** Thursday 4th June and £20 off! **

A lovely painting day coming up soon with very popular local artist, Frances Winder, who'll be sharing tips and tricks for how to depict Water in the wider Landscape.

These lovely photos are previous student pieces (except the last which is by Frances) from previous years identical workshop -

Frances will demonstrate techniques in Watercolours - and Acrylics - and mixed media too - maybe even gouache if students wish. You can choose your preferred medium and watch only those demos - or try several techniques if you prefer.

A muddle up with our dates has meant there are still a few spaces left on this usually very popular day, so we've reduced the final spaces by £20 to £65! This includes tuition, fresh coffee, a home made lunch and a cream tea to close. Plus a lovely garden and studio in which to spend your day.

Full details can be found here:
https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria (all courses in date order)

or
https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/paint-paper-print-workshops
for the art courses.

We’re in Greystoke, (CA11 0UT) 5mi W of J40 of M6/A66 & Penrith, in beautiful Cumbria, the Lake District There are many local accomm. options, pubs ,and a Greystoke Summer Heated Outdoor Swimming Pool ... or Ullswater, 5mi for the fans of wild swimming. Public transport is available to/from Penrith

https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/news/

We look forward to welcoming you here 😊

17/05/2026

Some ‘work in progress’ photos from our recent and very busy Pet Portrait needle felting day with 'Jane Makes' 🐾

We think they’re already looking amazing — even though most are still unfinished! Luckily, Corrie has sent us a photo of her completed piece: this beautiful Dulux Sheepdog 🐶✨

We’ve now added several new Needle Felting courses this autumn, run by one of these two amazingly talented tutors, Jane and Helen, — including another popular Pet Portraits day in mid-October.

If you’ve never tried needle felting before… be warned — it’s incredibly addictive and very satisfying too!

Upcoming workshops:

• Sun 19 July — Highland Cow
• Sun 16 August — Cheviot Portrait
• Thu 1 October — Blue Tit
• Fri 2 October — Herdwick Portrait
• Sun 11 October — Wren
• Sun 18 October — Pet Portraits
• Fri 20 November — Xmas Robin (new date)
• Sun 29 November — Xmas Robin (fully booked)

Full details can be found here:
https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria (all courses in date order)

or here:
https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/stitch-and-textile-workshops (info about all the Textile workshops)

We’re in Greystoke, (CA11 0UT) 5mi W of J40 of M6/A66 & Penrith, in beautiful Cumbria, the Lake District There are many local accomm. options, pubs ,and a Greystoke Summer Heated Outdoor Swimming Pool ... or Ullswater, 5mi for the fans of wild swimming. Public transport is available to the village from Penrith station.

We're a perfect location to combine a workshop with a short break to the Lakes, or make it a half day crafty treat if you're already coming. 😊 Day courses include fresh coffee & tasty home made lunches, plus a cream tea to close the day .

We hope to welcome you here soon! X

09/05/2026

I’ve just been notified that there are still a couple of places left on my workshop in July, at a fabulous venue near Penrith….Quirky Workshops.
Check out the link… it’s a lovely day out in the Lake District.

Pen and Wash art classes at Quirky Workshops with John Harrison, Margaret Jarvis in Greystoke, near Penrith and Eden, the Lake District. At the former Greystoke Cycle Café. Art and Craft Courses in...

10/04/2026

💚** New Ceramics Course ** 💚

Make your own Green Man - or Woman - for the Garden! 🪻 🥀

We had a fantastic and fun day a few months ago trialling this new course with Mark Bradley and here are some of the results! As well as guiding us through the build process, Mark provided plenty of ideas for adornment using leaves, acorns etc and also hints and tips about facial features - to ensure faces weren't so scary - for those with young grandchildren especially!

There are few choices of final finish - a rustic glaze is available- or just fired and as it comes of the kiln. Some chose to paint theirs with acrylic paints (once back at home after firing) All are suitable for outdoor use.

We’re in Greystoke, (CA11 0UT) 5mi W of J40 of M6/A66 & Penrith, in beautiful Cumbria, the Lake District. Many local accomm. options are available, local pubs serving food, Greystoke Summer Heated Outdoor Swimming Pool and Ullswater is just 5mi away for wild swims too! Public transport is available to the village from Penrith station.

We're a perfect location to combine a workshop with a short break to the Lakes, Day courses include fresh coffee & tasty home made lunches.

Mark is teaching Green Men in both late May and mid August 2026

https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/ceramic-metal-glass-workshops/green-man-for-the-garden-mark-bradley

All our courses in date order

➡️https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria

We look forward to welcoming you here one day 🪻🥀

25/03/2026

SGRAFFITO on Coloured Glass workshop 💚🩷💛🧡 💙♥️

( Definition : a decorative technique involving scratching through a dark layer of dry paint to reveal the lighter-colored glass ) . workshops .. on beautiful Glass with Vicky B.

We've just noticed we never got around to posting the results of these lovely 1/2 day workshops with Vicky, which have been running a whole year now with some stunning results!

Also included are some ideas from Vicky for those wishing to make a double panel over a day - in which case lunch is included. - each sessions as ever starting with fresh coffee and home made biscuits .

We’re in Greystoke, (CA11 0UT) 5mi W of J40 of M6/A66 & Penrith, in beautiful Cumbria, the Lake District. Many local accomm. options, local pubs serving food, plus Greystoke Summer Heated Outdoor Swimming Pool, and Ullswater is just 5mi for wild swims too! Public transport is available to the village from Penrith station.

We're a perfect location to combine a workshop with a short break to the Lakes, or make it a half day crafty treat if you're already coming. 😊 Day courses include fresh coffee & tasty home made lunches.

Vicky's next courses are running in late May and mid August 2026

➡️https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria

11/03/2026

Last weekend was a super busy return to the first workshops of 2026 - and 6 amazing classes of:

Impressionist sketching with
Ceramics with Mark Bradley
'Gardening for the Terrified' with .todd
Calligraphy with Claire of

Here are a few pics taken over the long weekend - and yes, we had some glorious sunshine! 😊 🙏☀️🌞

1 & 2 Ceramic Foxes with Mark in Squirrel Barn
'Thank you for a wonderful day! I thoroughly enjoyed my first clay work since school. I certainly need more practice but loved it!.
You have a lovely place - I would really like to come again'

3,4, 5 & 6 Impressionist Sketching students with Roy in Swallow Barn, (inc Roy's first Oil Pastels book) - just published on Amazon and highly recommended)
'As always Roy's class was excellent. Thank you very much for organising a great day!'

7 Gardening for the Terrified students with Shelagh .. Sunshine, plus lovely feedback
'The best Christmas present ever!'

8&9 Ceramic Hares with Mark B.
'Please pass on again my appreciation to Mark for an excellent class. Long may Quirky continue - don’t even think of retiring!'

8 & 9 Modern Calligraphy courses AM & PM groups with Claire of Moon & Tide
'I had such a lovely day and thoroughly enjoyed learning a new technique as well as meeting some gorgeous people'

As always, great workshops and tutors,and lovely students.
Many are travelling as we write for the workshops coming over the next four days starting tomorrow- some from overseas. Will post those pictures soon .

Hopefully more workshop dates coming from all of the above - please use waiting lists to be informed..

https://www.quirkyworkshops.co.uk/quirky-workshops-cumbria