The school teaches everything from butchery and open-fire cooking to screen printing, foraging and fermentation, inside the historic Victorian Walled Garden on Hawarden Estate in Flintshire. On a full-day workshop at The Walled Garden School, lunch might even come from the Farm Shop down the road. The programme changes every month and runs to adults and children both. Life drawing one evening, floristry on a Saturday morning, a photography day, gardening, yoga and breathwork, business and entrepreneurship. Sessions are led by people with expertise in their field, and classes are designed for beginners as well as people who already know what they are doing. Many make use of the garden and outdoor spaces, so what to wear and bring depends on the workshop. What lifts it above the usual craft-workshop offering is where it sits. This is a historic Victorian Walled Garden brought back into productive use as part of the wider Hawarden Estate, and you are learning in and around it rather than in a hired room nearby. There is a wood-fired sauna in the same garden, bookable separately in communal and private sessions. Not many places put butchery and open-fire cooking alongside mushroom foraging, fermentation, weaving, life drawing, yoga and entrepreneurship. The programme changes constantly, which makes it worth checking every season.

Days, dates and times

A changing programme of classes, talks and masterclasses runs throughout the year, with new and different classes each month for adults and children. Sessions range from shorter classes and evening events to half-day and full-day workshops depending on the subject. Current dates and times are published on The Walled Garden School website.

About this experience

Classes take place in and around the historic Victorian Walled Garden on Hawarden Estate, a short distance from Hawarden Estate Farm Shop. The subject varies month by month: open-fire cooking, butchery, fermentation, foraging, screen printing, life drawing, floristry, photography, gardening, yoga and breathwork, alongside business and entrepreneurship talks. Sessions are led by people with expertise in their field, and the school welcomes beginners as well as those with more experience. Food and refreshments vary by workshop, with many of the longer sessions including lunch supplied by Hawarden Estate Farm Shop. Sessions take place across different parts of the Walled Garden and Estate depending on the workshop, so check the individual class information for what to wear, bring and expect.

How to book / attend

Classes are booked through The Walled Garden School website, where the current programme is listed with individual dates, prices, timings and what's included. Gift vouchers are available; check the current terms when purchasing. For workshops that include food, provide any dietary requirements when booking.

Social Media

https://www.instagram.com/thewalledgardenschool/

What will participants learn or take away?

The emphasis is on learning practical skills from people with expertise in their field. Depending on the workshop, that might mean learning how to butcher meat, cook over an open fire, identify wild food or mushrooms, ferment food, arrange flowers, draw from life, work with textiles or understand a garden differently. Classes are designed to be accessible to beginners as well as people with experience, with individual listings setting out what equipment, materials and take-home items are included.

Website

https://www.thewalledgardenschool.co.uk/

Address Summary

The Walled Garden School, Pedlars Central, Castle Rise, Hawarden Estate, CH5 3NY