A new website, and news of some future events…

Welcome to my new website, designed once again by Jonathan Thompson who did such a great job last time. We have incorporated a few of the features from the last website, but lots of new material too.

Here you can see details of the two courses I will be running next year, one, my 29th! on the magical Hebridean island of Iona, and the other at beautiful Rydal Hall in the heart of the English Lake District. with brochures for both. 

Just now we have been planning the 16th Maryport Arts and Literature Festival for the weekend of 27th February 2026 at Senhouse Roman Museum. It's coming round really quickly! The title we have decided on for this coming year is Light over Water: A Journey of Discovery which will be a very exciting theme. We have been talking for months about the possibility of featuring ideas of light and voyages, inspired by the fact that this year is the 50th anniversary of the Brendan voyage in a leather boat by Tim Severin and his crew, documented in Tim’s brilliant book The Brendan Voyage, which recreated the supposedly mythical journey of St Brendan from Ireland to America in the 6th Century in a leather currach, a traditional canoe-like Irish boat, the like of which is still in use today. We hope to have some coverage of that very special journey which set out to prove what had been dismissed as a legend was actually possible, documented in the first book by Tim Severin, who went on to be a highly successful travel writer, re-experiencing a number of historical journeys, including by Marco Polo and Odysseus. Other highlights will include a lighthouse keeper’s new book, and an exploration of the River Cocker through music and words. Lots more to come!

I will also be running my usual Zoom Super Group for writers in the Autumn, which has been so successful since I began it right at the beginning of Covid five years ago. I have a fabulous group of writers, some published already and some who have just started! It has become a real community over the years, and new members would be warmly welcomed. I have kept the cost very low so everyone can find it accessible. The Zoom sessions run over 10 weeks on a Thursday morning and the cost is £95. There are always five live sessions and five weeks of Writer Prompts inbetween. If you are interested just get in touch via my email and I will be delighted to hear from you.