Writing Our Legacy's Art & Nature Weekender
About this Event
Join Writing Our Legacy for a weekend at Saddlecombe Farm, where nature's restorative power meets the arts. Dip into a treasure trove of tasters designed for your creative unfolding.
We've brought together writers, artists and creative practitioners to share an inspiring, nourishing programme rooted in the landscape, designed for all ages.
Explore water, nearby landscapes, wildlife and the South Downs as we mark the end of summer. Take part in creative workshops, health activities, readings, performances, walks and more.
Event details
Saturday 3 October (10:30am-5:15pm) & Sunday 4 October (10:30am-4:45pm).
Location: Learning Barn at Saddlescombe Farm, Saddlescombe Road, West Sussex, BN45 7DEU.
- Free lunch provided both days.
- Transport available from Brighton train station and back.
- Open to all
- All ages welcome.
See the agenda below for activity details.
For more information about programmed artists, please see: writingourlegacy.org.uk/event/wol-art-nature-weekender/
About our funders and partners
WOL Art & Nature Weekender is produced in partnership with Waytu and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund (Downs to the Sea programme) and Arts Council England (Writing Our Legacy's National Portfolio Organisation 2023-28).
Tickets
You can join us for both days, a full day, or a half day if you're a WOL member (morning/afternoon).
Ticket prices:
- Both days: £25 - Non-members | £15- WOL Members
- Full day: £15 - Non-members | £10 - WOL Members
- Children and young people under 18: free
- Shuttle tickets : free
- Half days: Limited number of £5 tickets for WOL Members
If you are a Black, Asian, or ethnically diverse/BPOC creative, you can sign up for our free WOL Creatives’ Network to access the discounted tickets.
We are providing 20 x £5 tickets for those in need and a limited number of free spaces for unemployed or low-waged people. To request, please email us at [email protected].
Venue & how to get there
The Learning Barn at Saddlescombe Farm has disabled access and a disabled toilet. Cars can pull up right outside the front door. Loose gravel on a flat surface surrounds the Learning Barn, and it's wheelchair accessible.
What3 words: ///familiar.submitted.keeps
Transport:
- We are organising minibus from Brighton Station for those who need it. You can book this when selecting your tickets. The minibus will depart twice a day, once in the morning around 10am and again in the afternoon around 12pm, with returns in the afternoon and evening. More information will come soon.
- You can get there by car. Paid parking on site.
- By bus: The 77 bus service travels up to Devil’s Dyke from Brighton city centre seven days a week in the summer, passing the pier and the train station. From the bus stop it is a gentle 20 minute walk to Saddlescombe along the South Downs Way.
The number 17 bus from Brighton to Horsham will drop you at Poynings crossroad/ Rushfield roundabout, and it is approximately a mile’s walk from there. - By train: Brighton train station and Hassocks train station are both 5 miles away from the venue. A train ticket gets you a 2-4-1 offer on adult single and return tickets for the 77 bus to Devil’s Dyke, or 1/3 off the standard single adult price.
Find out more information on Saddlescombe Farm.
Accessibility
The terrain can be uneven in places. There is an accessible toilet. Cars can come right up to the door for drop-off.
For the walking activities, there will also be alternative options for those who prefer not to walk or take part.
Please let us know if you have any access needs we need to be aware of or if you need more information by emailing [email protected] or [email protected].
See our Access Policy for more info about how we can support.
Saturday 3 October
🕑: 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Opening ritual
🕑: 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM
Workshop 1 - Writing Through Listening
Host: Sarah Forbes
Info: Building on her Downs to the Sea commission observing and writing about Falmer Pond, join Sarah Forbes to find moments of stillness to listen for new creative sparks in our writing. Drawing on her training as a classical singer, Sarah will lead a set of exercises to encourage us to listen in different ways - to our bodies, our voices, the world around us, recorded music and our own inner thoughts - to inspire new writing.
🕑: 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Lunch
🕑: 01:30 PM - 02:50 PM
Workshop 2 - Voice, Movement & Creative Expression
Host: Marya Malas
Info: A playful and curious exploration of voice, body, movement and imagination.
Come and explore how we can use our voices, breath, bodies, movement, sound and imagination to express ourselves, connect with others and have fun. Using our outdoor surroundings and imagination as inspiration, we'll play with natural sounds, rhythm, movement and creative expression.
🕑: 03:00 PM - 04:20 PM
Workshop 3 - Writing the Waves: The Bridge between Sound, Poetry, and Song
Host: Heather Pearson
Info: Join us for this interactive writing workshop—where music is our muse. Together we will explore how music and sound can inspire our writing; discover musical techniques to use in poetry; and try out these new techniques in a supportive, creative environment. We’ll discuss rhythm, repetition; texture, tone; constraints vs flow, and set our own words to music. No previous experience required!
🕑: 04:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Rest Meditation
Host: Akila Richards
Info: Akila will lead you into a poetic journey, gently guiding to the most needed parts for rest, dreaming and rejuvenation. This will include spoken word, humming and song.
Kharis Epiphany will use the power of sound to stimulate deep relaxation with Crystal sound bowls, calming the nervous system and amplifying presence. Gently creating the space for people to rest into the peace and connect deeply with themselves as they listen to the poetry and song.
🕑: 05:00 PM - 05:15 PM
Closing - Brief Gratitude Ritual
Sunday 4 October
🕑: 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Opening Invocation
🕑: 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM
Workshop 1 - Exploring the landscape through senses: Earth, Air, Water, Fire
Host: Dulani Kulasinghe
Info: This workshop invites children and young people to use their senses to engage with the beautiful landscape in and around Saddlescombe Farm. Weather permitting, we will spend some time outside so please be sure to wear comfortable shoes and suitable clothing. We also encourage participants to bring their own refillable water bottles.
🕑: 12:30 PM - 01:00 PM
Readings - Changing Chalk Anthology
🕑: 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM
Lunch & Readings - Covert 6 Launch
🕑: 02:45 PM - 04:05 PM
Workshop 2 - Water Memory // Mapping Our Ecologies
Host: Dionne Elizabeth
Info: Spacemaking as Sanctuary // Water Memory
An art + embodiment workshop to explore our relationship with waters, space and sanctuary through creative mapping in community. Led by artist and facilitator Dionne Elizabeth, you’re invited to engage with inner and outer ecologies of care, memory, and presence, integrating Saddlescombe Farm as living, breathing backdrop.
Rooted in indigenous wisdoms and knowledge systems, we will connect with sounds of water using hydrophones and field recordings of the South Downs and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Here, somatic movement, zinemaking, mark-making, and storytelling become tender tools for remembering and re-imagining how we inhabit histories and rehearse collective sanctuary.
EveryBody is welcome, no experience needed.
🕑: 04:15 PM - 04:45 PM
Readings - Changing Chalk Anthology
🕑: 04:35 PM - 04:45 PM
Closing Ritual
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00 to GBP 16.96
