Duration: 2 days | Location: Isle of Bute | Price: £130-£200

At the arrival of Autumn, this weekend workshop dedicates time to the dialogue between belonging and rest, alongside deep nature connection and embodiment practice

Overview:

Resting on the soft earth, dwelling on the land, sheltering in the forest or in a coastal cave… it’s not a given that we can regularly find deep rest or solace in nature in these times. However, as a small temporal community, we will hike to a couple of beautiful sites in the South of the Isle of Bute to explore how we can find our own deep rest practice as well as support others to find the same, all in the context of embodied connection to landscape. We will practice connection and reverence to place, gathering natural materials to make comfortable resting mattresses, and engage in simple bodywork frameworks for deepening rest and connection.

Highlights:

• Hiking through varied coastal and island landscapes
• Gathering natural materials for simple mattress making
• Learning bodywork techniques to support rest and resourcing.
• Optional: overnight camping in a coastal cave

You will need:

• See the What to Bring section for a basic overview of what to bring; plus…
• Warm, waterproof clothing (jacket & trousers)
• Warm clothing – layer up!
• A blanket or similar for lying on or under
• A knife if you have one (bushcraft or pen knife)
• A packed lunch and enough water for each day (see food section below)
• OPTIONAL: for those wishing to sleep out on Saturday, you will need a sleeping mat and 3-season sleeping bag. More information on this will be available closer the time, but please get in touch if you have any questions. Tom may organise a brief online meeting, to go over kit needed for a night outside.

Workshop facilitator:

Tom Goodwin

Location & travel:

We will depart from Kilchattan Bay (in the South of Bute) on Saturday morning. We will determine the meeting place for Sunday – depending on the weather.

Public transport: From Glasgow Central Station, you can take the train to Wemyss Bay which connects to the CalMac ferry (for both cars and foot passengers) from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay on Bute. There is a local bus service from Rothesay to Kingarth/ Kilchattan Bay.

By car: taking the M8 from Glasgow, head West through Port Glasgow and just before Greenock, head towards Largs. Take the CalMac ferry from Wemyss Bay. You can buy a weekend parking ticket from the station kiosk or bring the car over on the ferry.

PLEASE CAREFULLY CONSIDER HOW YOU TRAVEL TO A WORKSHOP. Travelling by land or sea has the least environmental impact. Please avoid air travel. If this means that the cost becomes prohibitively expensive, please let us know so we can do our best to offer future workshops closer to your location.

Travel websites:
National Rail
CalMac Ferries
Local bus information

Accommodation & food:

Accommodation is self organised. See here for a non-exhaustive list of some local options…

Please bring a packed lunch and enough water each day. There are a couple of supermarkets in Rothesay to pick up supplies. There is a tea room and post office in Kilchattan Bay but we will not necessarily be close enough at lunch time to depend on it so please come prepared with your own food.

For those wishing to camp out on Saturday evening, you will need a simple dinner for Saturday evening and simple breakfast for Sunday morning.

Schedule:

Facilitation: Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-3pm

Access:

Throughout the workshop, we’ll be using uneven gravel and earth tracks as well as going off track completely. We will hike between sites walking up to about 90 minutes at a time. The terrain is changeable with some steep hills, deep valleys and rocky coastlines.
Each day, there will be a mixture of hiking, collecting bedding materials, learning, giving & receiving simple body work as well as various resting activities. Please CONTACT Tom with any questions regarding access.

There is free parking all along Kilchattan Bay.

There are public toilets located in Kilchattan Bay, but there are no facilities beyond this point.

Pricing & booking:

We use a tiered pricing structure to enable those with a range of circumstances to access this work. Please consider which tier is most appropriate for your income. We trust that you will read the tier descriptions below to ensure you pay a fair price for your circumstances.

Tier 1 – Please choose this tier if you frequently worry about money, are coping with debt, and struggle to pay monthly essential bills.
~ £130

Tier 2 – Please choose this tier if you have a fairly stable income, you need to take care with your spending, but can sometimes plan ahead or save for new purchases, holidays etc.
~ £160

Tier 3 – Please choose this tier if you are financially comfortable, can afford to save or invest money regularly, can afford new purchases, holidays etc.
~ £200

EARLY BIRD 10% discount HERE available until 24th July 2026
FOR BUTE RESIDENTS ONLY: 20% Bute Residents Discount (Use code: BR20)
If you would like to pay in instalments and/or by bank transfer, please email kinshipworkshop@gmail.com

LIMITED PLACES AVAILABLE. Please note, the minimum sign up for this workshop to run is 5 people.
ALL PARTICIPANTS will be asked to complete an Access Form and Responsibility Agreement before the workshop begins.

main colour photo description: a outdoor coat and red waterproof trousers-clad human reclines peacefully against the trunk of a tree gazing out amongst the surrounding long, sun-bleached grass.
facilitator colour photo description: Tom (a pale-skinned man with salt and pepper beard and orange hat) looks to camera with a long straight path running off to the distance, hawthorn trees to one side and cut field to the other
other colour images: a variety of different photographs of humans resting alone or together in nature, often with surrounding and immersive greenery.