Residential Wet Felting Retreat with Natasha 1-5 March 2027
Early bird offer: Book by 7 September 2026 for £50 off the deposit payment (£400 £350)
I’m excited to invite you to join me from 1-5 March 2027 for my first residential wet felting retreat, where we will spend four days creating together, enjoying wonderful food and taking time for ourselves at an incredible country house in Somerset, UK. Imagine spending time in a beautiful countryside location, where you can develop your wet felting skills with an expert tutor, enjoy unhurried time creating beautiful wet felted items with new like-minded friends, and relax in an exclusive private manor house which feels like home. If this sounds like your idea of a perfect escape, then here are more details about your stay.
Our Location/Accommodation
We will be staying at Hurds Hill, a beautiful Regency country house set within five acres of peaceful Somerset countryside, with gardens overlooking the stunning Somerset Levels.
During your stay, Hurds Hill becomes your home. Every guest enjoys the comfort of their own private en-suite double bedroom, each of which has been individually styled. You will have exclusive use of the house, which is full of period character with comfortable sitting rooms and welcoming spaces to create, relax, laugh and unwind together, along with quiet corners (and wifi available throughout). The heart of Hurds Hill lies in its ability to make guests feel truly at home, but with a touch of indulgence, to create an intimate and memorable stay.
Food is an integral part of the experience. Dining at Hurds Hill is relaxed, generous, and thoughtfully prepared. All meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) are provided and catered to your tastes and any specific dietary requirements. Meals are served in the beautiful Grand Dining Room. Complimentary tea and coffee-making facilities are available in your bedroom as well as in the coffee room next to our felting room throughout the day, and a fully-stocked bar is available in the evenings.
Hurds Hill is located just outside the historic market town of Langport, surrounded by the open landscapes of the Somerset Levels and close to the M5 and A303. There is plenty of parking available if you are driving, and Hurds Hill can arrange local taxi pick-ups from the nearest train stations (Castle Cary, on the Paddington line from London through to Devon and Cornwall; Taunton or Yeovil). Exeter and Bristol airports are an hour away by taxi or hire car.
Hurds Hill, Westover, Langport, Somerset, TA10 OND
Our Creative Time
We will have three and a half glorious and uninterrupted (other than for food and sleep!) days to create, focusing on two main projects, with a mini bonus project if time allows. Our main projects will comprise a felt bag and a long textured felt scarf, wrap or cowl, so you will be able to wear your creations home. You will have full choice of what colours and materials you would like to use, and you can even match colours of your creations to complement each other.
Wet felting is an energetic activity so our aim is to complete our projects in an unhurried way, having breaks as we need, taking our time to enjoy the process and create together. Although our creative time will focus on completing our two main projects, you’ll also have time to learn more about different wool fibres and embellishment materials. You’ll be able to consider and prepare your materials in a bit more depth than a one-day workshop allows, such as choosing and carding your own wool fibre blends for your projects. We’ll be using a range of embellishment materials and fibres, some of which will have been specially commissioned from artisanal dyers/producers.
About You
Whether you are a complete wet felting beginner or you already have wet felting experience, you will be very welcome to join the retreat. We will be covering different wet felting techniques, primarily flat 2D felting and 3D resist felting/felting on a ball, using a variety of wool fibres and materials. So you will learn a lot about wet felting and different materials you can use to decorate your creations, all of which can inspire you to continue your wet felting journey at home.
All of the materials and equipment you need will be provided, so you do not need to bring or prepare anything beforehand. If you would like to bring anything, it would be wonderful if you could bring with you a joyful approach to learning and sharing new techniques, a generosity of spirit in helping others (some of the process will involve working on others’ projects and I may need help with moving around bowls of water!) and a general sense of fun.
Our venue is wheelchair-friendly but please don’t underestimate the physicality of spending days largely standing up and moving your upper body a lot. So if you are unsure whether it might be too physical for you, please do look at some of my social media videos of workshops which will give you an idea of some of the physical tasks, and please get in touch with me if you are unsure.
Our Itinerary
- Day 1 Monday 1 March 2027
Students arrive from 3pm. After settling into your room, join me and the other guests for an informal meet and greet with tea, coffee and cake and a first look at the retreat’s projects and facilities. Meet for pre-dinner drinks at 6.30pm. Tea and coffee after dinner with chocolates.
- Days 2-4 Tuesday 2 March 2027-Thursday 4 March 2027
A typical retreat day will comprise:
Breakfast: 8.30am
Workshop session: 9.30am-12.30pm
Lunch: 12.30pm
Workshop session: 2-5pm
Pre-dinner drinks: 6.30pm
Dinner: 7pm
- Day 5 Friday 5 March 2027
Breakfast: 8.30am
Workshop session: 9.30am-12.30pm
Lunch: 12.30pm
Students depart in the afternoon.
Payment
Each retreat place is £1400, which includes four nights’ accommodation in a private en-suite double bedroom, exclusive use of Hurds Hill house and its facilities, all meals, tea/coffee and soft drinks, and all wet felting tuition and materials. You can secure your place with a £400 deposit, with the £1000 balance to be paid two months in advance of the retreat (by 1 January 2027). Deposits are non-refundable unless your place can be filled by another attendee. Payments to be made by BACs/direct UK bank transfer or international bank transfer (there is no additional cost for this).
The retreat is not able to go ahead with less than 8 participants, so please do not book any travel until I have confirmed with you that the retreat will definitely be taking place. In the event that the retreat does not take place, your deposit will be refunded in full.
How to Book
Please email me at natashasmarttextiles@gmail.com to book your place on the retreat. I will confirm by email that there is a place available and send you details of how to make the deposit payment.
Not Included
Travel to Hurds Hill (some complimentary pickups from local train stations may be possible depending on the schedule but are not guaranteed); alcoholic drinks.
FAQs
- I have specific dietary requirements (eg vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free), will the venue be able to meet those?
Yes, the venue caters for individual dietary requirements and preferences (you will have an opportunity to submit those in advance of the retreat).
- What sort of meals are provided?
Breakfasts are based around a Continental breakfast with different additional options daily. Lunches are buffet-style with sharing platters. There is no menu for dinner. Instead, each evening’s three-course meal is created with care, taking into account dietary requirements, just as it would be if you were staying in a private home. Dinners are prepared across a range of styles, from modern English to French classics.
- I would prefer a room on the ground floor, is that possible?
Yes, there are four rooms on the ground floor, one of which has accessible bathroom facilities (ie a wet room).
- What facilities are available in my bedroom?
Each bedroom is individually-styled and equipped with a double bed, en-suite bathroom/shower, towels, hairdryer, tea and coffee-making facilities and wifi.
- What other facilities are available?
Hurds Hill provide all meals in the Grand Dining Room, tea and coffee facilities (in bedrooms plus in the coffee room 6am-8.30pm), full bar in the evenings (you will be able to settle your bar bill at the end of your stay), and wifi is available throughout the building including bedrooms.
- Do I need to dress for dinner or wear anything special for wet felting?
The retreat is completely informal so please dress for comfort both during the day and for evening dinner. As wet felting is quite energetic it is useful to dress in layers. Also, avoid long sleeves and bracelets/rings as you will find that your hands/wrists/lower arms especially will be spending time in soapy water.
- My travel plans mean I will be arriving early on Day 1, will I be able to come straight to Hurds Hill?
As the house will be being prepared, guests are asked not to arrive before 3pm. However, if arriving early we recommend you spend time in the nearby historic town of Langport.
- I need to leave early on Day 5 because of my travel arrangements, is that ok?
Obviously I totally understand if you need to leave early but also I wouldn’t want you to miss out on any part of the week’s experience, including our final workshop session and lunch on the last day. So if you are able to organise your travel so that you can stay for lunch and leave from 2pm in the afternoon then that would be ideal.
- I have already made a felt bag or scarf on one of your one-day workshops, will I learn anything different on the retreat?
I hope so, yes! As well as another chance to practice the techniques you learned from one of my one-day workshops, we will be using a broader choice of wool fibre and embellishment materials to create the projects; and taking more time to learn about, choose and prepare our materials (such as creating your own fibre blends through drum carding). There will also be tweaks to the bag and scarf designs from my one-day workshops to make them slightly different. And you can never really have too many bags and scarves!
- Will I be able to purchase additional wet felting supplies to take home with me?
Yes, you will have an opportunity to see and purchase any wet felting materials/equipment which are usually available from my online shop.
- How do I reserve a place on the retreat?
Please contact me via email at natashasmarttextiles@gmail.com in the first instance to register your interest and I will confirm that there is an available place and send you details of how to make the deposit payment. I would be grateful if you would make the payment to confirm your place and interest within 24 hours of me emailing you, otherwise I will release the place to another guest.
- Can I reserve a place without making a deposit payment whilst I think about it?
You may of course register your interest with me, but please be aware that places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis based on receipt of a deposit payment.
- Can I pay the balance of the retreat payment in installments?
Yes, it is possible to split the £1000 balance payment into two installments of £500: the first to be paid by 1 November 2026; the second and final payment of £500 by 1 January 2027. Just let me know on booking that you would like to do this.
- I can’t make the March 2027 retreat dates but will there be other retreats planned in future?
Yes, depending of course on how this retreat goes, I hope there will be other residential wet felting retreats later in 2027. If you would like to register interest for a future date, please email me.
- How many guests will be attending?
There will be between 8-10 guests in total.
- Will I be able to meet the other guests in advance?
The month before the retreat I will create a WhatsApp group for guests as an opportunity to informally meet each other and ask questions.
- I have other questions, where can I ask those?
Please email me at natashasmarttextiles@gmail.com or WhatsApp message or call me on 07534 527737.
Thank you so much for your interest in my residential wet felting retreat, and I look forward to welcoming you there and enjoying some creative time together.