Poetry & Place, 2026

Monday 22nd June - Saturday 27th June

5-Day poetry writing course with Jonathan Edwards

Open to locals and those who want to stay with us. Max 12 participants. 8 residential spaces. £299 non-residential/camping. Includes lunch and evening workshop. Budget/dorm accommodation £350. Private room, shared bathroom: £499. Large private room, ensuite £599. Vegetarian meals. Morning yoga, if desired.

Jonathan Edwards was born and brought up in Crosskeys, South Wales. He has an MA in Writing from the University of Warwick, has written speeches for the Welsh Assembly Government and journalism for The Big Issue Cymru, and currently works as an English teacher. He won the Terry Hetherington Award in 2010, was awarded a Literature Wales new writer’s bursary in 2011, and in 2012 won prizes in the Cardiff International Poetry Competition and the Basil Bunting Award. His work has appeared in a wide range of magazines, including Poetry Review, The North, Poetry Wales and the  New Welsh Review. His poetry collection, My Family and Other Superheroes, was published in 2014 and was the winner of that year’s Costa Poetry Award. Gen is his most recent collection, which was  awarded Winner of the People’s Choice Award, Wales Book of the Year 2019.

Fiona Benson lives in mid Devon with her husband and their two daughters. She has published three previous collections of poetry, all of which were shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize: Bright Travellers, which won the 2015 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry's Prize for First Full Collection, Vertigo & Ghost, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Rathbones Folio Prize and won both the Roehampton Poetry Prize and the Forward Prize for Best Collection, and Ephemeron, which was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and the London Hellenic Prize. is the author of four poetry collections: Bright Travellers, Vertigo & Ghost, Ephemeron and, most recently, Midden Witch. All three of her first published collections were shortlisted for the T S Eliot prize, and her books have won the Forward Prize, the Seamus Heaney Prize, the Roehampton Poetry Prize and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. Her script Infamous Offspring written for the Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus / Ultima Vez has been performed across Europe and in the US. She has also edited two books of Ukrainian war poetry in translation – We Were Here by Artur Dron (2024) and Dasein: In Defence of Presence by Yaryna Chornohuz (2025).

What to Expect

Morning and evening workshops in poetry writing with Jonathan. A 30 mins 1-2-1 tutorial on work in progress.
45 acres of woodland and pasture to roam.
Connection, conversation, energy from other writers.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided. Vegetarian food made using local, in-season produce.
We welcome writers of all description, with previous poetry writing experience or none.
Field trips to Posbury volcano and Dartmoor National Park.
Time to switch off from the world and ‘tune in’….

Quiet.

What Not to Expect

Golf

Sample Schedule

  • Arrive in time for tea and a tour around the farm. Time to rest, settle in. First workshop 6-7pm in the garden. Dinner at 7:30pm in the main house.

  • 8am - help yourself to a buffet breakfast in the main house.

    9.30 am - workshop.

    11:00 - coffee break

    11:30 - workshop.

    1pm - lunch in the main house or in the garden.

    Afternoons free to write, rest, read, walk. Enjoy a wood-fired sauna if enough people want one.

    4-5pm - 1-2-1 with Jon.

    5:30- 6:30 pm - evening workshop

    7:30pm dinner in the main house or in the garden.

  • to be decided on arrival.

  • With guest speaker … Chance to share work.

  • The course ends on Saturday morning at 10am.

Where to Find Us

We are 20 min drive north east from Exeter and a 10 mins drive (or two hour walk) from the ancient market town of Crediton.

Crediton has a branch-line rail station that will connect you to the mainline stations at Exeter St David’s. We can collect you from Crediton and drop you off again after your retreat.

Closest airports are Exeter, Bristol, London Heathrow. We can collect you from Exeter airport (£45) and there are trains and coaches from Bristol and London Heathrow to Exeter.

If coming by car please use Googlemaps or What3Words with information provided on booking. Please do not use Satnav in this postcode.

How to Book?

Payment of £100 deposit by bank transfer, Paypal or cheque will secure your place. Balance is due 30 days before the course. Please see our Terms and Conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime. If you’re feeling ready, go ahead and book.

  • Walk up Posbury hill (an ancient volcano) or, if you’re feeing fit, into the ancient market town of Crediton. Almost all the walking around us is on single track lanes and quiet roads.

  • There are many shops, including Morrisons, Lidl, and Tesco in Crediton. Also a library, an organic shop and cafes. You can walk if you’re feeling fit. It’ll take you about two hours. Or someone may be driving in so you could get a lift.

  • Not on this course, but yes on independent reteats.

  • Walking boots/trainers

    Swimming costume + towel for sauna

    Writing equipment

    Yoga mat if you have/can

    Waterproofs/wet weather gear if it looks like rain. A jumper for sitting outside in the evening…?

    Your self. As you are :)

  • Yes

  • No. We do provide beer + wine with an honesty sheet. £2 for a bottle of beer. £2 for a glass of wine.

  • Item description
  • We intend to make writing retreats and courses in a tranquil, beautiful place opportunities for as many as possible. We will keep the costs as low as we can.

    We offer yoga, meditation, wood-fired sauna as part of retreats and some of our courses. Everything is optional. Except turning up to the workshops :)