Creative Courses in the Cowshed
Cowshed Creative
Inspiring Art and Craft courses in the Lake District
With something for everyone
Workshops at Cowshed Creative are based in our two storey traditional Lakeland barn conversion. The art studio is a stunning open plan space and there is plenty of room to wander outside and take inspiration from the amazing landscape and environment of the peaceful Kentmere Valley. With inspiring teaching, a great choice of creative art, craft and heritage courses to choose from, join us and treat yourself to a wonderful experience with great company
Take a look at our 2021
Creative Workshop
We are taking bookings NOW!

We are so proud to receive this award for excellent 5 star provision from student recommendation. These have been verified by Craft Courses after running art and craft workshops in the Lake District for only 12 months. A huge thank you to our fantastic tutors and to our students for such great feedback
★★★★★ The place was amazing – a beautifully converted barn in stunning surroundings. The food is delicious and plentiful. Michelle K, Student feedback on Craft Courses Website
★★★★★ Another great art course at Cowshed! The venue is terrific, with a great welcome, tasty food and excellent facilities.' Steve Student Feedback on Craft Courses website
Lunch is a tasty two course meal with home baked bread, cake & refreshments. We finish the day with a cup of tea and a slice of cake
Georgie was a wonderful hostess. She made us feel safe, warm and welcome. The
food she provided was home made and delicious and the portion sizes were generous.
Gail W.
Craft Courses
Our art and craft courses in the Lake District have parking available on site. We are based near Windermere and Kendal. Staveley railway station, on the branch bike that connects to Oxenholme mainline station, is 2 miles from the farm; a 10 minute bike ride or ½ hour walk. The 555 bus service goes through Staveley to Kendal or in the other direction to Windermere, Ambleside and Keswick. National Rail Enquiries
We provide a free parking space but as a greener option, if you live nearby and it's possible, why not come to an art and craft course by bike, or lift share with a friend. If you would like to know more about the measures we have put in place to make our business more sustainable, please check out our

We guarantee that if we have to cancel workshops (Covid related or otherwise) we will offer you alternative dates or a refund
We are taking a range of to keep you safe
*Industry Standard mark recognising our business has followed government and industry COVID-19 guidelines
Reviews For Cowshed Creative Workshops
All reviews were posted independently on the Craft Courses website
What an amazing experience! ★★★★★
I can’t recommend this enough, George and Hanna were perfect hostesses and the location was very welcoming with lovely homemade lunches provided.
Basket Making Course Sept 20 Stephen Frankish, Craft Courses
Loved every minute of this course! ★★★★★
Ihe place was amazing - a beautifully converted barn in stunning surroundings, providing plenty of space, light, warmth/ventilation for workshops. Catherine was superb - guiding us through the tools and techniques simply without overwhelming us. Her experience, style and approach created a relaxed, creative atmosphere where you felt able to experiment. Whilst there was a range of styles and experience amongst our workshop attendees, everyone was really supportive and the variety added to the experience and discussions. I learned so much during the day and left genuinely inspired to develop my painting further. Hugely recommended!
Oil Painting Course April 20 Michelle Kent, Craft Courses
Still buzzing about it a week later! ★★★★★
I honestly can not speak highly enough about this course! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! Meg was fantastic and helped me every step of the way. She was so welcoming, calm and enthusiastic and left me wanting to go home and make dungarees for everyone in my family! George was a fantastic host. She made everyone feel welcome, kept us warm, topped us up with water, coffee and tea, and made the most amazing lunch - I asked for the recipe it was so delicious!
I really would recommend this course to anybody!
Drapes to Dungarees Course Sept 20 Jess D, Craft Courses
The mosaic class was excellent ★★★★★
It was a small, friendly class so we all had plenty of individual attention from our teacher Kay, and we had a good selection of materials to choose from. The barn is beautifully converted with a great atmosphere and an enormous wood burning stove to keep us warm. The lunch was delicious and plentiful with yummy cake in the afternoon. The day was great value for money, I'm very pleased with my mosaic and I'll definitely be going back to learn more.
Mosaic in a Day Course Sept 20 Jacqui Kent, Craft Courses
Hopefully this will be the start of a new hobby! ★★★★★
Throughly enjoyed the day. Venue is of the highest quality, Lunch was all homemade and delicious.
I was a complete beginner doing watercolours. Karen was very patient and I learnt a lot of techniques.
Thanks again George and Karen for a lovely day!
Lakeland Landscape Course Sept 20 Elizabeth T, Craft Courses
Highly recommend the course and venue ★★★★★
Jo Dix is a an excellent teacher and very knowledgeable jeweller and stepped us through the whole process of Silver Clay, and the creative possibilities with the medium - well organised. Very happy with the day. The venue was lovely, a very warm welcome and lovely lunch from George. In light of the challenging health and safety around Covid 19, every care and precaution was taken by both the venue owner and teacher.
Silver Clay Jewellery Course Sept 20. Nisha Postlethwaite, Craft Courses
Another great art course at Cowshed! ★★★★★
The venue is terrific, with a great welcome, tasty food and excellent facilities. The Portrait class has given me some really great tools to improve my portraiture, with good help and encouragement from Catherine, the tutor. It's interesting to chat with other students to see different styles of working and ways to create portraits. Of course, social distancing is seriously maintained, providing a very safe feel throughout the day. Highly recommended.
Portraiture Course Sept 20 Steve Barron, Craft Courses
I had a wonderful day and would definitely come back ★★★★★
I really enjoyed making the spinner ring and found the tutor Amanda to be very patient and helpful, showing how easy the whole process of making a spinning ring can be, and the endless design possibilities that there are. The Cowshed was a really nice venue for the course and so tranquil. George was so accommodating with coffee and the food was superb!
Silver spinner Ring Course Sept 20 Jane Shaw, Craft Courses
The location is fantastic ★★★★★
Thank you Cowshed for a great Dry Stone Walling course. The location is fantastic in the Kentmere Valley. The course itself was fantastically hands on. I learned so much. We worked on a real section of wall and all the tools and necessary safety gear was provided or made clear what we needed to bring and do. I've been inspired that I have already repaired one wall and now lining up a new long section to build. The food and drinks were delicious and right on time when we needed it. Thank you again. I thoroughly recommend this course for any one thinking of doing a course in dry stone walling!
Dry Stone Walling Course Aug 20 Steve Tonkin, Craft Courses
The home made food was delicious ★★★★★
I thoroughly enjoyed the dry stone walling workshop. We had an experienced, encouraging and patient tutor, the setting was stunning, the home made food was delicious and I finished the day very proud of the wall our group had built together and confident I'd be able to continue walling on my own. I'll definitely be considering other Cowshed Creative workshops in the future.
Dry Stone Walling Course Aug 20 Julia Wilson, Craft Courses
Stunning location, inspiring and relaxing ★★★★★
Jo is an excellent teacher, she made it very easy for us all to produce great pieces. George is a great host and she looked after us with the most amazing healthy lunch plus fabulous cake! Highly recommend Cowshed Creative as a location and Jo Dix as a teacher. Will definitely go again.
Silver Clay Jewellery Course May 20 Annabel Williams, Craft Courses
Wonderful Shibori course ★★★★★
I definitely recommend Cowshed Creative if you would like to be inspired! Our lovely group experimented with indigo and cotton fabrics, the course arrangements and resources were great, the studio space is idyllic and all arranged with social distancing in place. Fabulous teaching from Kate and excellent lunch and cakes from George - Thank you, I will be back! Indigo and Shibori Course April 20 Alison Quigley, Craft Courses
Organisation was perfect as was the beautiful location ★★★★★
The Raku course was such an enjoyable event. Two excellent days. A lovely warm welcome from George on arrival. Chris was a fabulous, patient teacher and I made far more work than I expected even though I was a complete novice. The firing process was exciting and I loved the element of surprise as to how the glaze would turn out. Lunch and cakes by George both awesome. The barn was toasty warm and comfortable to work in. I wouldn't change a thing and would highly recommend taking this and any other course with Cowshed Creative.
Raku Pottery Course Oct 19 Marion Brown, Craft Courses
Gorgeous barn with huge log burner ★★★★★
Absolutely loved the venue - gorgeous Barn with huge log burner. George made us feel very welcome and provided some excellent lunch and a wide variety of dessert and homemade cakes.
Abstract Landscape Course Aug 19 Alison Leith, Craft Courses
My idea of a perfect day ★★★★★
Loved the course. Hannah guided us through with infinite patience and generously shared her knowledge and enthusiasm for this beautiful craft - I'm hooked! I'd highly recommend Cowshed Creative to anyone- it's a fantastic venue in a beautiful location. George was a fantastic host, and made us all feel very welcome. Great food, good company & crafting - my idea of a perfect day - I'm spoilt for choice as to which course to book next! Justine Burton
Basket Making Course June 19 Justine Burton, Craft Courses
Met some lovely people ★★★★★
The cowshed was lovely. Loved making my first wreath and found it interesting to learn what you can do. Teas and coffees all good and the cakes were amazing. Will be doing more classes in the future here. Finding the place and parking were easy.
Natural Wreaths Course Dec 19 Lisa Wilton, Craft Courses
All feedback was posted independently on the Craft Courses website.
Thanks so much for all your lovely comment