Filter Holidays
Find your
next holiday
Filter
Holidays
Sign Up to Emails
Subscribe to our email newsletter and find out the latest news, updates and offers first!
In the Footsteps of William Morris Crochet Retreat with West Yorkshire Spinners
6 days from £1,435pp
Your Tour Includes
- 2 full-day crochet workshops with your expert, kit and refreshments included
- 5 nights bed and breakfast accommodation
- 1 dinner
- Excursions, entrance fees and transportation as described in the itinerary
- Services of an experienced Tour Manager
Experts
Holiday Overview
Join your Stitchtopia expert and step into the world of one of Britain’s most influential artists, designers and social visionaries on this inspirational tour! Enjoy included excursions to key locations that shaped William Morris’s artistic legacy, including the intimate William Morris Society Museum, housed in his former riverside residence; the Emery Walker House, showcasing the craftsmanship of Morris’s inner circle; and the opulent Leighton House, a visual feast of Victorian aestheticism, and contrasting Sambourne House, a typical Victorian family home, preserved almost exactly as it was lived in. We’ll also enjoy a guided tour of some of the William Morris exhibits at the Victoria & Albert Museum and learn how Islamic art influenced the Art & Crafts Movement. Combine this with two full-day crochet workshops and this retreat offers the perfect blend of creative practice and historical exploration.
Jane Crowfoot will be your expert in July 2026 and Anna Nikipirowicz will be your expert in August 2026.
Image Gallery
Questions about
this holiday?
Our UK team is here and happy to help!
Itinerary
Please choose your preferred 6 day itinerary
Workshop Information
Jane Crowfoot (July 2026): "Using the work of the Arts and Crafts Movement as inspiration, I am designing a small project for you to work on while we are away on this fabulous trip. I have referred to William Morris, his daughter May and ceramicist William De Morgan in quite a few projects over the last few years and will incorporate aspects of my existing designs into the project.
I am really excited to be able to use the fabulous new ‘Morris’ yarn range from West Yorkshire Spinners for the project. The colour palette and the natural fibre aspect of the yarn makes it the perfect choice – one that I am sure William himself would have approved of!"
Skill Level: Crocheters need good basic skills and need to know how to read a written pattern. I tend not to use complicated stitches in my designs, but a good knowledge of abbreviations and terms is essential. We will cover many techniques within the project, including colour work, textural work and beading.
Anna Nikipirowicz (August 2026): We will work on a small crochet project inspired by the artwork of William Morris. The project will include crochet colourwork, a little bit of embroidery and much more!
Make your own way to the Leonardo Hotel London Watford and check in to your room from 3pm. Get to know your expert, Tour Manager and fellow crafters over dinner this evening.
Included Meals
- Dinner
Join your expert for your first full-day crochet workshop in the hotel.
Refreshments will be served in the morning and afternoon.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
Highlights
- Workshop
The small William Morris Society Museum is in the coach house and basement of Kelmscott House, where William Morris spent the last 18 years of his life until his death in 1896.
In the coach house, we’ll see the latest exhibition of his work and the work of those inspired by him. It was here that Morris started to weave his first carpets and, when he became active in politics, the coach house became the meeting place for the Hammersmith branch of the Socialist League.
Emery Walker was a printer and engraver, an important figure in the English Arts and Crafts movement and a close friend of William Morris. Walker furnished the home in Art and Crafts style. After his death, his daughter sought to preserve the interior of the house, while adding further items from the Morris family. The house offers a unique example of an Arts and Crafts interior, preserved almost as it was during Emery Walker’s life. Our guided tour will bring to life the history of this Arts and Crafts home.
At the Victoria & Albert Museum our knowledgeable guide will show us some of the William Morris exhibits. We’ll also explore how Islamic art influenced his floral designs and the impact of the Arts & Crafts Movement on 19th Century developments in design.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
Highlights
- Victoria & Albert Museum with Guided Tour
- William Morris Society Museum
- Emery Walker House with Guided Tour
Enjoy another full-day crochet workshop with your expert in the hotel and continue working on your project.
Refreshments will be served in the morning and afternoon.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
Highlights
- Workshop
Sambourne House is the family home of legendary illustrator Linley Sambourne. When the Sambourne's moved into the house in 1875, Linley enthusiastically redecorated it in the fashionable Aesthetic style, favouring harmonious design, natural motifs, and restrained elegance influenced by Japanese and medieval art, adding stained glass, Morris & Co. wallpapers, and carefully chosen furnishings. Over 35 years, he continually updated the interiors, inspired by the grand homes of his artistic peers yet achieving a rich effect on a modest budget. After the deaths of Sambourne and his wife, the interiors were preserved by their family, leaving the house today much as it was, a vivid and unusually complete example of Victorian domestic life. With our guide we’ll tour the house, learning more about the family that lived here, the décor and furnishings on display.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
Highlights
- Leighton House with Guided Tour
- Sambourne House with Guided Tour
Today, you will depart the hotel and make your own way home.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
Please Note: In the hotel, you will need to be able to make your own way between our workshop room, your bedroom and the restaurant, which could involve walks of up to 5 minutes. On excursion days you will need to walk a short distance from the hotel to the coach, and you should be able to board the coach unaided. On arrival at the excursion destination, you should be able to alight the coach unaided and there may be a walk between the coach drop off point and the excursion venue. By their nature, walking tours, museum visits etc involve being on your feet for a significant amount of time. Due to the historic nature of the venues being visited, some stairs and rough ground should be expected. Whilst our excursions are taken at a leisurely pace, for the enjoyment of everyone in the group you should be able to keep up with your fellow travellers.
Accommodation
You will stay for five nights at the 4-star Leonardo Hotel London Watford.
Please Note: Discounted parking is available at Sutton Car Park, just a 1-2 minute walk from the hotel. Located on Gartlet Road (Postcode: WD17 2PS), the car park is open 24/7 and manned by CitiPark. After parking, enter your vehicle registration on the CitiPark tablet at Reception to receive a discounted rate of £4 per 24 hours. Payments can be made via the CitiPark app or at the Pay Station on the ground floor (card payments only).
Leonardo Hotel London Watford
The Leonardo Hotel London Watford offers the perfect blend of convenience and comfort, with 216 contemporary, spacious rooms, equipped with large flat-screen TVs, and fast, free Wi-Fi. The on-site Bar & Grill offers all day dining.
Hotel Facilities
- 3 Star
- English Speaking Staff
- Safe Box in Reception
- Bureau de Change
- Guest Lounge
- Bar
- Restaurant
- Vegetarian Meals
- Wheelchair Access
- Room Service Available
- 24 Hour Front Desk
- Bus Stop Nearby
- Gluten Free Menu
- Central Location
- Train / Tram Nearby
- Laundry Service
- Gym
- Lactose or Dairy Free Menu
- Vegan Menu
Room Facilities
- TV
- Tea and Coffee Making Facilities
- Hairdryer
- Extra Pillows and Blankets
- Air Conditioning
- Non-Smoking Rooms Available
- Telephone
- Free Wifi
- Iron or Trouser Press
Single Supplement from £445.00
Hotel
Leonardo Hotel London Watford located just a 2-minute walk from Watford Junction mainline station, offering excellent connections to Central London and the North of the UK. Central London (London Euston) is just a 20-minute train ride from Watford Junction. For those travelling by air, Watford’s location offers easy access to all major London airports, with Luton Airport just 19 miles away and Heathrow Airport 26 miles away. If you are travelling by car Leonardo Hotel London Watford is approximately a 20 minute drive from junction 5 of the M1. Discounted parking is available at Sutton Car Park, just a 1-2 minute walk from the hotel.
