Dear Friend,

Our surprising saxophonists play one of the most sublime pieces of Italian music.

You can expect the unexpected almost every day during a Watermill creative course. Whether it is freshly made hors d'oeuvres from one of our cooks (like Parmesan lollipops or puff pastry anchovy twists) to tempt your palette at aperitivi time, young Harry playing the Spanish guitar beneath the rose pergola, or a surprise ‘happening’ like the sudden appearance of eight saxophonists coming together from garden, terrace and balcony to amaze and entertain us. (Click here to see more.) That’s them above playing Piero Mascagni’s sublime Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana.

The reaction of our guests to our saxophone surprise

We hope you like their performance, which also celebrates the publication of our new all-singing, all-dancing, updated Watermill website, which has just been published. It is crammed with all the details of our exhilarating 2024 creative courses, in painting, writing, knitting and Italian language. So, in this newsletter we thought we’d give you some highlights from the new website, as well as focusing on some of these inspiring new tutors who will be joining us next year.

Time to enjoy
that Watermill discount

And there is a bonus: If you book one of our 2024 creative courses NOW, you can take advantage of our Early Bird offer: £(GBP) 75 off the cost of your course.

So, if you want to enjoy inspiring teaching, warm hospitality, a beautiful setting, spectacular locations, delicious food and wine and the convivial company of like-minded people AND an Early Bird discount don’t delay, just get that booking in. Already more than 170 people have signed up for next year’s creative courses, so it really is ‘Book Now to Avoid Disappointment!}

The four pictures at the top and bottom of this introductory page are: (top left) A dynamic design from new Watermill knitting tutor Sylvia Watts-Cherry; A glorious sunset from new painting tutor Michael Solovyev; (bottom left) a colourful flower garden from new painting tutor Yong Chen; (bottom right) Part of the cover illustration for new knitting tutor Susan Crawford’s famous book A stitch in time.

How far as next to the Watermill?
Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck
in Roman Holiday

Bring a partner: there's plenty for them to do

Your partner doesn't have to participate in the course, but they will be able to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of the mill and, whenever they want, to come out with you to our beautiful locations.

We also offer a range of Alternative activities for partners on all our courses, as well as a generous £GBP 250 discount if they share a room with you.

You’ll always be Cool (and Green) at the Watermill, whatever the weather

Warm hospitality, cool rooms via solar-powered electricity: it’s all part of the plan to make the Watermill Green. In the last four years our hidden array of photovoltaic panels has produced more than 60 megawatt hours (MWh = 60,000 KwH, kilowatt hours) of electricity from the sun and saved the emission of 43 tonnes of carbon dioxide from conventional power stations. It may not be much in the grand scheme of things but, as they say, every little helps, and it means, as you will see below, our guests are Cool and Green when they stay with us.

The pictures show a ‘snapshot’ of our production of electricity from the sun, taken on the morning of 21 August 2023, a close-up of our electricity production and the carbon dioxide saving, and a drone shot of our ‘hidden’ array of photovoltaic panels.

You will have to search hard to see our photovoltaic panels, which are on the south-facing roofs of the 19th century mill and on the studio, looking out towards the river. You can really only see them from the air. These panels, which we installed in 2019, make us more than self-sufficient in electricity production. (In fact, we sell the surplus we produce to the Italian national grid.)

This solar electricity not only supplies our everyday needs, but also powers our extensive air-conditioning system, so apart from regular maintenance, it effectively costs nothing to run. There are air-conditioning units in all our bedrooms and public rooms, including the communal dining room, sitting room and the studio, all run with solar-powered electricity, which is why we say you will be Cool and Green!

You can learn about our other Cool and Green (and Cool and Silvery-blue) projects by clicking here.

Still a place or two left on our 2023 creative courses

The latest availability for this year is shown below. (If a week you particularly fancy is currently fully booked: there are often cancellations and if you get in touch via the Watermill's Contact Form, we will put you on the waiting list.)

Here's our current availability for 2023:

• Painting with Charles Sluga, watercolours, 23 September to 30 September 2023 (Ghiberti bedroom)

But now it's really time to reserve your place on a 2024 Watermill creative course.....it may still be a long way off but, to be really sure of your space, it is sensible to book now. And just think how much warm anticipation you can enjoy, looking forward to the convivial symbiosis between fellow students, inspiring tutors and the Watermill's caring team.