About us
Who are Creative Retreats and Holidays?
Winners of
International Explorer “Creative Craft Retreat Experience of the Year – Kent , 2026”,
London & South East England Prestige Awards “Best Creative Experience of the Year 2025/26”,
South England Prestige Awards “Creative Experience & Art Workshops Provider of the Year, 2024/5 and
Southern Enterprise Awards “Best Glass Art Course Provider 2023”
Creative Retreats and Holidays are a microenterprise in the medieval village of Chilham, Kent, running relaxing short breaks, creative day courses, retreats and regular weekly classes in stained glass, glass fusing and glass appliqué (stained glass mosaic).
Mattt set up the company in 2014 following redundancy. She’s had a passion for glass since she was a toddler and loves few things more than sharing her passion for glass with other people.
Where are we?
Our creative studio is in the beautiful village of Chilham, nestled in the Kent Downs area of outstanding natural beauty. Most of our courses are taught here, though we occasionally run courses elsewhere, mainly in retreat centres in the south of England.
You’ll find our studio at:
Tollgate Cottage,
Maidstone Road,
Chilham,
Canterbury,
Kent. CT4 8DD.
We’re on Google Maps…
…and can be reached by car, by bus (1, 1a, 1×652 or 667) from Ashford or Canterbury as well as by train – the London to Ramsgate service. If taking the high speed train from London St Pancras, change at Ashford. We’re just under one mile from Chilham station.
If you use What 3 Words (W3W), the entrance to the drive can be found at troll.custard.design (it made me smile…) and the door to the studio is at regulator.connected.national
Where to stay?
Being in a beautiful part of the Garden of England means that we’re blessed with plenty of B&Bs as well as hotels and self catering options.
Bed and Breakfast
The following are within walking distance of our studio:
The Woolpack
The Street,
Chilham,
Canterbury,
Kent. CT4 8DL.
Website
01227 730351
Room rates vary depending on the time of year; it’s recently changed hands & the bedrooms are all due to be redecorated in January / February 2024.
Bagham Farmhouse
Canterbury Road,
Chilham,
Canterbury,
Kent. CT4 8DX.
Website
01227 730306
(Note that Bagham Farmhouse don’t accept payment cards.)
Self Catering
Orion’s Cottage
Taylors Hill,
Chilham,
Canterbury,
Kent. CT4 8BY
This is within walking distance of the studio and the two pubs in the village which serve evening meals.
Orchard Cottage Holidays
Shottenden Road,
Shottenden,
Canterbury,
Kent. CT4 8JA
01227 730230
A couple of mobile homes a short drive up the road.
Hotels
While we’ve not checked them out ourselves, there are lots of hotels in Canterbury, a few in Ashford (Kent!) and a couple in Faversham, all of which are within easy driving distance of Chilham.
What to wear
Closed in shoes are ESSENTIAL; dropped pieces of glass only ever head downwards. If you arrive in sandals or open toed shoes, it’s a good 15 mile round trip to buy a more “sensible” pair.
You’ll probably be standing up to cut your glass (it’s easier if you put your body weight into it), so do leave your Jimmy Choo stiletto heels at home.
If you’ve got long hair (shoulder length or longer), you’ll need a hair tie or clip to tie it back with, to keep it away from the grinder. Hair tangled in the grinder isn’t very nice for you or for the grinder!
Glass appliqué and stained glass courses aren’t the cleanest in the world, so it’s best to wear clothes that you’re not too precious about & that will go through the washing machine when you get home.
Finally, if you need glasses, don’t forget to BRING THEM!!! We have safety specs and goggles, but not your prescription!
FAQs
Courses running for one or more whole days will start at 10am and finish at around 5pm unless we specifically arrange a different start time for you.
We’d suggest clothes that you’re not too precious about, together with closed-in shoes (NOT SANDALS) that are comfortable to stand in for several hours. If you’re doing stained glass or glass appliqué and have long hair, you’ll also need a hair tie or clip.
Please do bring your prescription glasses if you need them.
It’s also worth bringing some pictures of things that inspire you, whether your pet rabbit, landscapes, patterns etc. You’ll be creating your own design, so things like this can be helpful.
No, not at all (unless you’ve booked onto an advanced course, in which case please give us a ring). We’ve lots of experience at introducing complete beginners to the wonderful world of glass art.
Yes, of course. You’re welcome to bring any equipment that you like (though electrical equipment will need to have a current PAT certificate).
You don’t need to bring any with you. We have disposable nitrile gloves that you can wear if working with patina, lead light cement or etching fluid. Apart from that they won’t be necessary.
Not while you’re putting your glass into it. We don’t open the kiln while it’s above 50 ºC.
Have a look at our “what are glass appliqué, copper foiled stained glass, leaded stained glass and glass fusing?” page.
If you’re booked onto a stained glass class, yes. Because of the lead in solder, lead came and lead light cement, we don’t recommend stained glass classes for pregnant or breastfeeding mums. Do come for a glass appliqué or glass fusing class instead.
Glass fusing and glass appliqué can be enjoyed by any child mature enough to work safely with sharp pieces of glass. Under 18s should be accompanied by a responsible adult please.
We don’t offer stained glass classes to under 18s as, although the risk may be low, it’s not wise for them to work with lead. Safety legislation for exposure to lead at this age makes it impractical and your safety is a priority for us.
Our weekly classes in stained glass, stained glass mosaic (glass appliqué) and glass fusing are very popular and win awards.
This, combined with a maximum class size of only five people, means that spaces are in demand and there’s often a waiting list (which is free to join).
Can I start next term?
Unlike schools and adult education centres, we don’t have set term times and we don’t tell you when you’re expected to take your holidays. You’re an adult, after all!
Your block of six or ten classes starts on a date that suits you (subject to a space being available). If you give a week or more’s notice of a date when you can’t come, then you don’t get charged for that class and your block thus ends a week later.
This means that everyone’s blocks start and finish on different dates. So while the courses are added to the website in 3 month blocks, there is no start or end date for our classes- they keep going, month in, month out except for the week between Christmas and New Year and the odd week or two when we take a well earned holiday!
So how DO I get onto your weekly classes in stained glass or glass fusing then?
If the course that you’d like to join is currently full, drop us a line at enquiries@creativeretreatsandholidays.co.uk or ring us on 01227 730598. (If ringing, do speak slowly when giving us your phone number, so that we can write it down. )
We’ll add your name, email address and phone number to our waiting list, so that we can contact you when you get to the top of the list and a space becomes available. If a space becomes available when you’re not free, we can keep you on the list for the next opportunity.
