About
Ahead of the Autumn Equinox (Wednesday, 22nd September), a series of activities will be taking place at Heckfield Place hotel in Hampshire to celebrate, with themes spanning natural art, food, farm, wellness and even astronomy.
The events are part of The Assembly, which places creativity, sustainability, and nature at the heart of the programming. Activities and events include: • Autumn botanical workshop watercolour class and two-course set menu lunch with artist Mary Ellen Taylor, Friday 17th September: Settle in for a scrumptious two-course lunch, followed by a masterclass on watercolour with renowned botanical artist Mary Ellen Taylor.
Celebrate the transition from summer to autumn using colours of rudbeckia, dahlias, blushing leaves, fruits and seedpods. £195 for two; £97.50pp.
• Foraging: The hunt for mushrooms and wild food with Fergus the Forager, Saturday 18th September: Under the expert guidance of professional forager Fergus Drennan, learn how to safely identify and gather fungi, hedgerow leaves, fruits, nuts and roots, and how to craft delicious dishes with wild produce (from birch molasses and pine pollen 'marzipan' to lacto-fermented leaves). £60pp adult; £40 children.
• Laura Brand's creative workshop and two-course set menu lunch, Saturday 18th September: Join illustrator, author of the Joy Journal and mum of two, Laura Brand, for a creative workshop on pounded botanical patterns. Create beautiful patterns using seasonal flowers, leaves and petals and leave with a piece of unique artwork. £195 for two; £97.50pp.
• Look up with Sirius Astronomy's Paul Hill: The search for life in the universe, Saturday 18th September: Resident star-gazing expert Paul Hill will set up in the cosy screening room to talk all about how and where we are looking for all the ingredients of life, and whether we will ever be able to answer Fermi's infamous canteen query: 'Where is everybody?'. Adults, £15pp; Children, £10pp.
• Natural art workshop: an art class like no other and two-course lunch with Carolyn Quartermaine, Sunday 19th September: Enjoy a delicious two-course set menu lunch, followed by a walk into the estate to gather leaves and flowers for an extraordinary masterclass in painting and drawing collage from nature with Carolyn Quartermaine. £195 for two; £97.50pp.
• Wild swimming talk and dip with Dip Advisor's Ella Foote, followed by dinner at Marle Restaurant, Sunday 19 September: Dip into the health benefits and stories behind wild swimming, as well as a physical plunge in Heckfield's beautiful Lower Lake with swimming journalist Ella Foote, followed by a deliciously cosy three-course dinner from Sky Gyngell's Earth menu at resident restaurant Marle. £60pp, over 18s only.
• Justine Picardie on Miss Dior: Courage and Couture, Monday 20 September: Returning to Heckfield after the sell-out success of her talk on international bestseller, "Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life" Justine Picardie will discuss her new book "Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture". £25pp; £45, with signed copy of the new hardback book, 'Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture'.
• Emma Soames: Mary Churchill's wartime diaries, Wednesday 22 September: The legendary journalist and former Telegraph Magazine editor Emma Soames will settle in for a talk on her new book on her mother, Mary Churchill – Winston's daughter – and her wartime diaries. £25pp; £35 with signed copy of 'Mary Churchill's War: The wartime diaries of Churchill's youngest daughter. Edited by Emma Soames'.
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