top of page
Crafting Retreat at Cober Hill
22nd - 27th February 2026

Embark on a week-long crafting retreat at the picturesque Cober Hill, nestled along the North Yorkshire coast, hosted by North Yorks Art School and bookaclass.com.

 

From 22nd to 27th February 2026, this immersive experience invites crafters of all levels to dive into a vibrant creative journey, exploring new techniques, refining skills, and connecting with a warm, supportive community of like-minded individuals. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced crafter, this retreat offers the perfect blend of structured learning and creative freedom in a stunning coastal setting.

 

Over four days, Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, you’ll engage in expertly led workshops by our talented tutors Heather Croft, Helen Gordon, Sheila Downing and Tara Binns. Each day features focused morning and afternoon sessions, with ample breaks for reflection, informal discussions, and enjoying Cober Hill’s serene surroundings.

 

The retreat covers four distinct crafts, rotating daily to ensure every participant experiences each discipline:

​

  • Enamelling with Heather Croft creating vibrant, kiln-fired enamel tiles

  • Glass Fusion with Helen Gordon crafting stunning fused glass pieces

  • Mosaic with Sheila Downing exploring intricate mosaic tile arrangements

  • Botanical Bas Relief with Tara Binns sculpting nature-inspired low-relief artworks

 

Each session is designed to spark creativity, build confidence, and deepen your understanding of diverse crafting techniques. All workshop materials are supplied, ensuring a seamless creative experience.

 

The residential package includes full board, basic en-suite accommodation in Cober Hill’s historic mansion house with breakfast and evening meals provided, alongside a daily buffet lunch.

 

Complimentary refreshments, including tea, coffee, and snacks, are available throughout the day. We will also have a number of optional evening activities for participants to take part in, including evening films, guest speakers and a quiz night.

​​

Residential Details:

  • Accommodation includes full board stay, including breakfast, lunch and evening meals 

  • Room check-in from 3pm on Sunday 22nd February 2026

  • Room check-out by 10.30am on Friday 27th February 2026

  • Participants on the residential will be allocated their own en-suite bedroom at Cober Hill 

  • Participants have full use of the lounge areas, grounds and facilities while staying at Cober Hill 


Materials: All workshop materials are provided. 

 

Workshop Schedule:
Core Sessions: Monday–Thursday 10am–4pm​

​

Closing Session:

Following breakfast and check-out on Friday morning you are welcome to join your tutors and other participants for refreshments and a chance to discuss your week and say your goodbyes before departing Cober Hill.

​

​This retreat is available as a residential or non-residential option.

​

Residential includes:

  • Full board accommodation (including breakfast and evening meal). 

  • All materials for all workshops.

  • Refreshments and Lunch. 

 

Non-Residential includes:

  • All materials for all workshops.

  • Refreshments and Lunch.​​

Introduction to Enameling

​

Tutor: Heather Croft

​​​

You’ll explore the essentials of enamelling, learning to apply powdered glass, use kilns, and experiment with colours and textures to craft pieces. 

 

This workshop offers a supportive and inspiring atmosphere, ensuring you leave with beautiful enamel creations that you will take home on the day and the skills to continue this radiant craft.

 

Enamelling, an ancient art form dating back to 1500 BC in Mycenaean Greece, involves fusing powdered glass to metal surfaces through high heat, creating durable, colourful designs. From Byzantine jewellery to medieval religious artefacts and modern decorative arts, enamelling has been prized for its luminous quality and versatility, used in everything from jewellery to architectural panels.

​

Requiring only enamel powders, metal bases, and a kiln, it’s an accessible craft that produces vibrant, long-lasting pieces suitable for personal adornment, home decor or fine art.

​​

Skills covered:

  • Introduction to the enamelling process

  • Using glass powder to create colour

  • Working with the kiln to create your pieces

IMG_20230914_022736_980.jpg
IMG_0786.jpg

Vibrant Mosaic Plaque Workshop

​

Tutor: Sheila Downing

​

This engaging session invites you to discover the materials and methods of making mosaics while creating your own indoor mosaic plaque. This workshop fosters a friendly and fun atmosphere, perfect for exploring the ancient craft of mosaics and crafting a unique piece to take home.

​

Mosaics have adorned surfaces for millennia, dating back to Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC, where artisans used coloured stones and shells to create intricate patterns. In Ancient Greece and Rome, mosaics became a hallmark of grandeur, decorating floors and walls with vivid tesserae (small, hand-cut pieces of stone, glass, or ceramic celebrated for their durability and beauty).

 

Today, mosaics remain a versatile and sustainable art form, using materials like recycled glass, tiles and porcelain to create everything from wall art to garden features. Their usefulness lies in their ability to transform spaces, from private homes to public installations, offering both aesthetic appeal and longevity.

 

This workshop introduces you to the direct method of mosaic making, a hands-on technique that allows you to craft durable, eye-catching designs with minimal equipment, making it an accessible and rewarding craft for all.

​

Skills covered:

  • Creating your own design (or use of provided templates)

  • Colour selection and tile cutting

  • Application of tiles to your design

  • Grouting your finished design

Botanical Bas Relief

 

Tutor: Tara Binns

​

In this immersive and creative workshop, you will learn the art of crafting bas relief flower and nature plaster cast tiles. Guided by Tara, an artist inspired by the breathtaking Yorkshire Moorland, this experimental workshop will teach you the techniques to create two unique rectangular tiles (approximately 7.5 x 5.5 inches) using flowers, foliage, and natural elements.

​

​There will be flowers and foliage for you to choose from; however, you might want to bring a very small bunch of flowers/herbs/leaves/wildflowers/grasses from your garden, as it is always lovely to make a cast specific to your garden.

​

Skills covered:

  • Clay Preparation

  • Learn how to thoughtfully design and arrange flowers and foliage to create visually appealing compositions

  • Understand the steps to create a layout and execute the plaster casting process to produce stunning bas relief tiles

botanical bas relief.jpg

Fused Glass Creations

​​

Tutor: Helen Gordon

​

This beginner-friendly session welcomes those exploring glass for the first time as well as those with some fusing experience, requiring no drawing skills.

 

You’ll work with a clear glass base, adding cut glass elements, frit, and stringers to build a unique design, choosing from Helen’s provided templates or bringing your own. 

​

Learn to translate themes into glass artwork, experiment with textures, and understand glass compatibility, all while creating a piece inspired by templates or your imagination. 

​

Requiring only glass and a kiln, glass fusion is accessible yet versatile, producing durable pieces for decor or functional use.

 

This workshop introduces you to the art of glass fusion, empowering you to craft a textured picture, flat or free-standing that captures light and colour, perfect for display or gifting, while fostering creativity and technical skill.

​

Skills covered

  • Creating your own design

  • Glass, frit and stringer selection

  • Glass cutting

  • Application of glass ready for firing

​

*Please note, your finished design will be kiln fired following the workshop and will be posted to your home address. 

Book Now

Click on the link below to secure your space 

Pay For Your Residential in Instalments

North Yorks Art School are able to offer a bespoke payment plan for anyone unable to pay for the residential in one payment. With a 25% non-refundable deposit, you are able to secure your space. The final payment must be received by 11th January 2026.

​

Click on the link below to arrange a repayment plan today. 

Your Stay at Cober Hill​​

​​

Duration: Five nights, with full board accommodation included.

Check-in: From 3pm on Monday 22nd February 2026.

Check-out: By 10.30am Friday 27th February 2026. 

​

Non-Residential options are available and include all materials, refreshments and lunch. 

​

Workshops take place Monday - Thursday 10am - 4pm.

​​

Your Room at Cober Hill

On check-in you will be allocated your own en-suite bedroom. Accommodation at Cober Hill is basic but clean. There are no TV's in the bedrooms but there is free wi-fi throughout the site for you to use. 

​

​Meal Times

Your buffet-style breakfast is available from 8.30am. 

Lunch will be served at 12.30pm

Evening meals are served at 6.30pm.

 

Entertainment

Your group will have use of a private drawing room for the duration of your stay. This includes a TV, board games, a selection of classic literature as well as views of the gardens and, in the distance, the sea! 

 

Cober Hill has wonderful grounds which you are free to explore. There is also a tennis court, croquet lawn and a bar. Participants are responsible for settling any bar bill at check-out. Cober Hill is a short distance from the North Sea and there are excellent transport links to Scarborough, Robin Hood's Bay, Whitby and beyond. 

​

Parking and Public Transport Links

There is ample parking at Cober Hill as well as good public transport links to the site.​

 

Extending Your Stay

Subject to room availability, you can also extend your stay. Please add a note at the time of booking and we will contact you to arrange any additional accommodation required. 

​

If needed, we will be able to provide secure storage for any luggage after check out. 

 

​Accessible Rooms

There are a number of accessible rooms available at Cober Hill. Please confirm at the time of booking if you require an accessible room. 

 

Guests

If you would like to stay at Cober Hill with someone who won't be attending the course, we will be able to arrange this for you. There will be an additional cost which we can confirm with you before booking. ​​

Do You Need More Information?

If you have any questions before booking, please click on the button below.

How to Find Us

Cober Hill_edited_edited.jpg

bookaclass.com events in Cober Hill are located at:

​

Cober Hill

Cloughton

Scarborough

North Yorkshire

YO13 0AR

bottom of page