Dordogne, France - 2026
In September 2026 I will have the joy of running a residential week in France in the amazing Dordogne valley. This region is in the South of France, and our base in Saint-Cybranet is surrounded by five different Chateaus, as well as fascinating old towns like Sarlat.
The date is now confirmed as the 5th to the 11th September and the housts will be launching it on their website asap!
Toby's VLOG from our sketching location!
Approximate schedule:
Every morning we will start the day with a continental breakfast in the barn as a group. Including fresh bread, croissants and other baked goodies, fruit, coffee and more. This is included as part of the course, along with other meals mentioned below:
Day 1 - Evening arrival and group dinner in the Barn
Day 2 - Sketching warm up in Saint-Cybranet and an 'en plein air clinic', lunch in the Barn, followed by an afternoon at a local river-side beach for more sketching.
Day 3 - Sketching in Baynac starting with a 'composition clinic', then sketching various scenes in and around the village (see photo on the right) with a pop-up picnic lunch.
Day 4 - Visit to Aillac, starting with a 'shapes and character' clinic, then capturing a range of views over the roof tops of this quiet and idyllic view from the old railway bridge. Packed lunch included.
Day 5 - Day out in Sarlat, starting with a 'perpsective clinic', then a couple of hours over lunch as free time to explore (lunch not included today), before ending in the 'goose square' for a lovely and peaceful sketch.
Day 6 - Sketching in La Roque Gageac, there are stunning views here, we will arrive early and spend our time capturing our most complex scene of the week. A pop-up picnic will be included for lunch, followed by a celebratory dinner!
Day 7 - Final breakfast and goodbyes!
Transfers: We will arrange transport from the Saint-Cybranet barn to and from all our sketching venues. See below section for details on airport transfers too.
Day 1 - Evening arrival and group dinner in the Barn
Day 2 - Sketching warm up in Saint-Cybranet and an 'en plein air clinic', lunch in the Barn, followed by an afternoon at a local river-side beach for more sketching.
Day 3 - Sketching in Baynac starting with a 'composition clinic', then sketching various scenes in and around the village (see photo on the right) with a pop-up picnic lunch.
Day 4 - Visit to Aillac, starting with a 'shapes and character' clinic, then capturing a range of views over the roof tops of this quiet and idyllic view from the old railway bridge. Packed lunch included.
Day 5 - Day out in Sarlat, starting with a 'perpsective clinic', then a couple of hours over lunch as free time to explore (lunch not included today), before ending in the 'goose square' for a lovely and peaceful sketch.
Day 6 - Sketching in La Roque Gageac, there are stunning views here, we will arrive early and spend our time capturing our most complex scene of the week. A pop-up picnic will be included for lunch, followed by a celebratory dinner!
Day 7 - Final breakfast and goodbyes!
Transfers: We will arrange transport from the Saint-Cybranet barn to and from all our sketching venues. See below section for details on airport transfers too.
Accomodation
There is space for a minimum of three sketchers at Jan's on-site gite (pictured on the right!). This is a beautiful space, with a two bed apartment upstairs which has two bedrooms (one double and one twin), a separate bathroom, toilet and kitchen/living room and a one bed apartment downstairs with a double bed and it's own kitchen and bathroom facilities.
This accomodation has an average review of 4.84 on AirBnB from over 50 reviews!
Each of these rooms is available for single occupancy, or at a discount for shared occupancy of a room. For example, two sketchers in the twin room.
There is also an option to arrange your own accomodation, 'The Slow Village' is a couple of minutes away and has a wide range of options. And there are several other gites nearby too. You could also bring your tent or campervan.
This accomodation has an average review of 4.84 on AirBnB from over 50 reviews!
Each of these rooms is available for single occupancy, or at a discount for shared occupancy of a room. For example, two sketchers in the twin room.
There is also an option to arrange your own accomodation, 'The Slow Village' is a couple of minutes away and has a wide range of options. And there are several other gites nearby too. You could also bring your tent or campervan.
Map/Location of Saint Cybranet in France
