Curious House

Sussex, England

Short and brilliant art and craft retreats in a characterful location

Curious House enables guests to explore their creative skills and simultaneously relax and unwind. Founded by art lover Philippa King, course subjects range from painting and printing to wreath making and calligraphy. Retreats are held at The Bell, a characterful and centuries-old pub in Ticehurst, Sussex, and at Birchwood Studio, just two miles away. Nourish your creative spirit with art ‘therapy’ at its best.

Retreats to book

1 to 3-day set-date retreats throughout the year. Private retreats available. Up to 12 guests.

(13)

Willow Weaving Obelisk or Sphere Retreat

13 to 13 May 2025
£135 pp from 10am to 3.30pm including materials and lunch. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Teacher: Dominic Parrette

1 day learning how to make an obelisk-shaped willow plant support, or beautiful sphere. Dominic also shares how best to source willow and other top tips. No experience necessary.

Enquire

Private Retreat

Available All Year
From £1100 for 1 day including materials, refreshments and a light lunch. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

1 or 2-day creative retreats in an inspiring location for up to 8 people, arranged to your specifications. Potential activities include learning to paint, collage, willow weaving, creative writing, drawing, plant dying or wreath making.

Enquire

Nature Week Retreat

13 to 22 May 2025
From £284 pp, including 3 courses, refreshments and all materials. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

3 1-day retreats combine for a nature theme - enjoy Willow Weaving Obelisks or Hares, Intermediate Botanical Watercolours and Early Summer Foraging, and stay at The Bell at Ticehurst in Sussex.

Enquire

Intermediate Botanical Watercolour Painting

19 to 19 May 2025
£140 pp from 10am to 3.30pm including materials, light lunch and refreshments. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Teacher: Joanna Charlotte

1 day relearning brush techniques such as wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, dry and damp brush to create botanical artwork with colour and depth. Take home a framed artwork. Drawing and painting experience is advised.

Enquire

Sculpting a Hare in Willow Retreat

20 to 20 May 2025
From £135 pp from 10am to 3.30pm including all materials, refreshments and a light lunch. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Teacher: Dominic Parrette

1 day learning how to sculpt with willow in the garden at The Bell, making a wonderful leaping hare. Dominic also shares how to source willow and other top tips. No experience necessary.

Enquire

Bloomsbury Style Lampshades, Furniture and Trays Retreat

16 to 16 June 2025
£150 pp from 10am to 3.30pm including materials and refreshments. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Teacher: Jane McCall

1 day learning loose painting techniques and free flow design, painting directly onto your lampshade, tray or furniture. You’ll take home a beautiful piece with a wonderful chalky finish. No experience necessary.

Enquire

Craft Week Retreat

16 to 19 June 2025
From £340 pp, including 3 courses, refreshments and all materials. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

3-night retreat to include 3 courses – Decorate a Bloomsbury-style Lampshade or Piece of Furniture, Paper Collage Art Workshop and Create your own Keepsake Books. Stay at the Bell at Ticehurst in Sussex.

Enquire

Willow Weaving a Catalan Platter Retreat

17 to 17 June 2025
£75 pp for 3 hours including all materials and refreshments. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Emma Purcell

A half-day learning to willow weave a beautiful Catalan platter using traditional techniques. Take your platter home – perfect for starters, a breadbasket or a kitchen wall. No experience necessary.

Enquire

Painting With Oils – Inspiration for the Outdoors

17 to 17 November 2025
£140 pp from 10am to 3.30pm including materials, refreshments and lunch. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Teacher: Alison Trask

1-day workshop to explore working with oil paint to create your own landscape masterpiece. Discover how light, colour and form combine to make a good composition. No previous experience required.

Enquire

Still Life Oil Painting

18 to 18 November 2025
£130 pp from 10am to 3.30pm including materials, light lunch and refreshments. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Teacher: Dani Humberstone

1 day learning Old Master layering techniques for painting fruit with colour, texture and a natural appearance. You’ll take home a beautiful piece to complete at home. Basic experience is necessary.

Enquire

Painting Places Retreat

19 to 19 November 2025
From £135 pp, including lunch, refreshments and all materials. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Teacher: Imogen Partridge

One-day retreat away from busy lives to learn about watercolour techniques and colour mixing before you capture your favourite building, place or palace, or a location that’s significant to you.

Enquire

Make a Christmas Bauble Retreat

2 to 2 December 2025
From £130 pp including precious materials and refreshments. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Teacher: Emma Williams

A half-day retreat from 9.30am until 1pm to create a Christmas decoration to treasure. Learn how to lay 23 ct gold leaf on glass baubles and handle delicate loose-leaf gold.

Enquire

Make Your Own Christmas Wreath

7 to 7 December 2025
£90 pp from 9.30am to 12.30pm including materials, light lunch and refreshments. Rooms at The Bell from £72.50 pp (shared) or £130 pp (solo occupancy), including breakfast.

Teacher: Andrea Beach

1-day workshop to create the most gorgeous natural wreath to see you through into the New Year. It smells divine and will impress your family and friends! No experience required.

Enquire

our Reviewer Pamela Goodman says:

‘I feel more at ease, more confident to strike out with colour and pattern, less judgemental of myself and others, less bothered by the outside world, more at peace, in fact, than I’ve felt for a while’

Read the full review

Queen of Retreats says:

‘This is your chance to forget your hang-ups, explore your creativity and have fun with like-minded souls. Although the emphasis is on the journey, not the outcome, there is a massive sense of achievement when you create something new. Choose to come for the day or stay over at The Bell, which is an award-winning quirky pub and a lovely place to enjoy’

Experiences

Come for inspirational year-round creative courses from one to three days in painting and upcycling, craft and creative writing, mixed media and photography, or curate your own retreat to suit your specific needs.

Create your landscape masterpiece. Forage for textures and print onto paper. Weave a Christmas wreath or recreate the beauty of trees in thread.

Philippa hand-selects inspiring, talented tutors with a gentle approach to their craft. Many are professionals in their own field and all have sensitive and patient teaching skills.

Retreats are often nature-inspired, using raw materials like willow, capturing outdoor scenes through painting, or involving walks in nature to forage for ingredients.

All classes take place in a safe, supportive space where the emphasis is on experimenting and flexing your creative muscles without judgement.

Spaces

Your creative days will be spent in the wonderfully inspiring rooms at The Bell, where there’s interesting art on the walls and fabulous quirky spaces or at Birchwood Studio in a light and airy space overlooking beautiful, established woodland.

You stay at The Bell, where the gorgeous garden is designed by world-renowned designer Jo Thompson, who lives in the village. The 11 bedrooms are highly eccentric and superbly comfortable. Names like ‘Anything is Possible', ‘Benefit of Doubt' and ‘Hush of Trees’ create a sense of poetic whimsy.

Each room has a range of Love & More toiletries and delicious cookies. All bedrooms are en-suite, with a king or superking Somnus mattress, and some have deep copper bathtubs. You might hear some traffic noise in the morning from the front bedrooms.

There are also four garden lodges set around a fabulous fire pit, for those who like to be closer to nature. Each has its own private outdoor space.

Sustenance

Refreshments are included in the price of all morning courses and a light lunch, such as hearty soups and home-made breads, is included in all day courses, catered for by The Bell and Birchwood restaurant.

Breakfast is included if you are staying at the pub. Choose whether to have dinner in the pub restaurant or try another local restaurant.

The Bell prides itself on its smart pub classics and locally sourced ingredients. Specialties include Trenchmore Farm Beef Burgers and local line-caught fish.

Desserts include old favourites like sticky toffee pudding, treacle tart, and Sussex cheese.

There’s a good range of non-alcoholic drinks on offer, as well as quirky cocktails, home-infused spirits and a hand-selected wine list.