This November, escape to our creative writing retreat, where you will unlock your creative writing potential, improve communication skills, and cultivate innovative thinking through the power of storytelling and poetry.
Monday 10th November - Tuesday 11th November 2025.
- Foster creativity and innovation, using storytelling and poetry to make you look differently at your work, whether it's product development, marketing, PR, speech writing or just emails.
- Improve communication, by enhancing participants' ability to craft clear, compelling narratives that resonate with audiences, both inside and outside of their department organisation or business.
- Develop leadership and teambuilding by empathy, and understanding through shared writing and reflection, encouraging authentic written voices that create excitement.
- Business leaders and their teams. Ideal for start-ups, creative agencies, marketing teams, legal firms, and those in all sectors looking to improve internal communications, tap into their employees' imaginations, and sharpen their skill with words.
Day One (Monday 10th November)
- 12:00pm - Check In
- 12:30pm - Relaxed Lunch
- 2pm-3:20pm - Writing Workshop 1. Led by a poet, fire up imaginations and develop your voice
- 3:20pm-3:40pm - Tea/Coffee Break
- 3:40pm - 5pm - Writing Workshop 2. Led by a novelist to help you learn the art of storytelling. Where do ideas come from? How do you start? What is a plot? How do you develop character?
- 5pm-7pm - Exploration, Writing Time & Tutor Consultations
- 7pm-8pm - Dinner
- 8:30pm - 9:30pm Reading and Q&A
Day Two (Tuesday 11th November)
- 7:30am-8:30am - Breakfast
- 8:30am - Check Out
- 9am-10:20am - Writing Workshop 3. Focussing on poetry, with examples, exercises and feedback to sharpen your writing
- 10:20am-10:40am - Tea/Coffee Break
- 10:40am-1pm - Writing Workshop 4. Experimenting with further aspects of storytelling. What makes dialogue convincing? How do you create suspense? How do you end and polish a tale?
- 1pm - Lunch
- Free afternoon to roam the grounds of Hensol Castle, play a round of golf and use all of the leisure facilities at the Vale Resort
- Depart
One night, two day intensive writing retreat
- Signature Room: £900 + VAT per person
- Prestige Room: £1,000 + VAT per person (includes garden view, spirits gift and espresso machine)
- For course queries, call Tanya Sheasby on 07879 636343
- For group bookings (5 or more), call our reservations team on 01443 667800
Terms & Conditions: 50% deposit at the time of booking. Non refundable. The remaining balance must be paid two weeks before the course commences via telephone (Monday 27th October 2025).
Writers in Residence - Your Course Tutors
Christopher Walking is the author of seven acclaimed novels, including What I Did, The Devil's Mask, and Escape and Evasion. He has published travel writing, short stories, and adventures for children too.
A former city lawyer, Christopher has held Royal Literary Fund Fellowships at the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, and has tutored numerous creative-writing courses for The Arvon Foundation and Curtis Brown Creative.
Mona Arshi is a British poet, novelist, and former human rights lawyer. Mona practiced civil liberties law for a decade, working on landmark cases, including Dianne Pretty's right-to-die case. She turned to poetry in 2008, completing an MA at the University of East Anglia. Her debut collection Small Hands (2015) won her Forward Prize for Best First Collection, followed by Dear Big Gods (2019) and Mouth (2025). Her first novel, Somebody Loves You (2021), was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths and Jhalak Prizes. Arshi's work explores themes of identity, loss, and belonging through innovative poetic forms. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Honorary Professor at the University of Liverpool. Her poetry has appeared in The Guardian, Granta, and on BBC Radio 4. Arshi continues to shape UK literature with her powerful, lyrical voice bridging law and art.
Included in your stay is access to the Vale Resort Health Club and a round of golf on one of our championship courses. These are both just a 10 minute walk from the castle. If you want a more relaxed experience, you can book a spa treatment (charged at tariff price). These activities can be enjoyed at the completion of the course on the second day.
