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.

If you'd like to join the wait list, please use the button below. And read down below for more information. Exact date TBC!

toby's vlog from our sketching location!

Toby's VLOG from our sketching location! thumbnail
 
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.

 

what will we be doing?

Sketching Clinics

1-2 hour segments of each day where we can focus on important and challenging aspects of sketching using the views around us.

Thumbnails

Quick and focussed sketches, works of art in their own right, but also brilliant ways to focus down on a scene.

Full scenes

Every day we'll be spending at least 1-2 hours sketching a 'full scene'. One of the many chateaus, or characterful villages and landscapes all around us.

En plein air

Weather permitting (and it's usually rather nice there!) we'll spend most of the time outside.

'The Barn'

This is the old tobacco barn in Saint-Cybranet - our venue for breakfast, and to gather and regroup every morning and evening. If the weather is inclement, we can also make use of this to maximise our time.

Group breakfasts

Included each morning is a group breakfast in the Barn, this can be suited to dietary requirements of course.

Transfers included

All transfers whilst with us are included, check below for airport transfers as these may incur an additional fee.

Group lunches

There are four lunches included, with one (on the day out to Sarlat) not included. These will be simple picnics and packed lunches to fill hungry sketchers.

Dinners

Two dinners are included - on our first and final days as a hello and a celebration of all we've achieved. On other days Jan is able to provide (at additional cost) meals to those in her Gites (see accomodation) and take-away options for those elsewhere. There are restaurants and a shop nearby too.

Flights

Flights are not included, but the closest location to fly to is Bergerac airport. From here a free transfer can be arranged if you arriving on day 1 of the sketching week. Other airports you could fly to include Toulouse (TLS) & Bordeaux (BOD). Transfers can be arranged from here, but will incur a fee. Car hire is also readily available at all of these locations.

Group Size

We need a minimum of four sketchers to make this viable. And a maximum of ten.

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.

map/location of saint cybranet in france

pricing table

Please note, payment will be in Euros. Prices below are equivalent to 1208 Euros, 1508 Euros and 1448 Euros respectively.

£1053

Sketching week without accomodation

  • All sketching activities
  • All transfers
  • All meals as listed above
£1315

Sketching + Studio Gite Accomodation

  • Also includes single occupancy of the downstairs Gite
£1263

Sketching + Shared Gite

MOST POPULAR

  • Includes single occupancy of one of the two rooms in the shared Gite.
  • Choice of room will be given to the first person who purchases this option.

f.a.q

Airport transfers

  • Bergerac (EGC): Free group pickup/return for the Saturday UK flight(s).
  • Toulouse (TLS) & Bordeaux (BOD):1 passenger: €150 each way, 2–3 passengers: €75 each way pp, 4–8 passengers: €40 each way pp

What to bring?

Your normal sketching things! Including ink, watercolours, sketching surface (sketchbooks/watercolour paper). A lightweight stool is ideal, but this can be provided if required. You may also wish to bring mixed media such as pencils, watercolour crayons, pastels. We will not be using these intensively, and we won't be using acrylics or oil paints at all as they will not suit our timings.

Can I bring a 'non-sketching' partner.

Yes, absolutely. Please contact Toby for details!

I've got another question!

​No worries! ​Send me an email :)

How do I pay?

When the details are finalised we will invite people on our wait list to pay Jan, the organiser. Payments will be direct via bank transfer to Jan in Euros.

Refunds

After receipt of payment your place is confirmed. You have 14 days as per distance selling regulations to request a refund. After this time your place will not be refundable, unless it can be filled by another sketcher. In this instance a maximum of 75% will be refundable.

If the organisers have to cancel for any reason, a full refund will be arranged.

Minimum numbers required

We need a minimum of four sketchers to make this a viable enterprise. If we do not have this minimum number booked 1 month prior to the start date of the event it will be cancelled and a full refund given.