Date/Time
Date(s) - Mon 2nd Feb - Sat 7th Feb, 2026
All Day
Location
Moniack Mhor, Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire , IV4 7HT
Finding and sharing your voice in song
Have you always wanted to write a song? Do you want time for writing more songs? Do you want to stretch out of your usual creative practice?
Songwriting can be the connective way we reach out to others and also make sense of our own feelings .
The week will be constructed with workshops and writing sessions in the morning to prepare for co-writing sessions group work. In the evenings, songwriters will perform and talk about the processes of the working day.
All levels welcome.
Tutors
Kathryn Williams is a Liverpool-born, Mercury Music Prize-nominated singer-songwriter with 16 albums under her belt. Before her last release, Night Drives (which entered the official folk album charts straight at number 2), the label OLI celebrated her career thus far with a 20-CD, two-book box set anthology strewn with her art. Her novel The Ormering Tide debuted to critical acclaim and she hosts her own popular podcast, ‘Before the Light Goes Out’. She is a regular songwriting tutor at Arvon, Moniack Mhor, and The Writing Squad.
Louis Linklater Abbott is the lyricist and songwriter for Glasgow-based chamber-pop band Admiral Fallow. To date the band have released four albums to critical acclaim and have been lucky enough to tour in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia since they formed in 2007. He also works as a session musician, engineer and producer and has worked with some of Scotland’s finest contemporary musicians and singers including: King Creosote, Rachel Sermanni, Karine Polwart, Eddi Reader, Kris Drever, Jo Mango, Siobhan Miller, Findlay Napier, Mike Vass, Strike the Colours and Heidi Talbot.
Guest Songwriter
Polly Paulusma is a critically acclaimed British singer/songwriter whose music weaves together traditional and contemporary folk with jazz and acoustic textures. Her debut album, Scissors in My Pocket, released in 2004 on One Little Independent Records, received widespread praise. She has since released six studio albums, toured internationally, and collaborated with renowned artists.
Fees
The full fee for this course is £740. This includes your accommodation in a single room with shared bathroom, all meals, hot drinks and snacks from Monday afternoon until Saturday morning, and your tuition. For more information about the format and practicalities of our courses, tutored courses, and retreats, please visit our About the Residential Courses & Retreats page..
A limited number of en-suite rooms are available, which can be booked in advance for a £50 surcharge. We will also reserve an en-suite room for anyone who may need it due to a medical condition. This will be offered out as an upgrade nearer the course start date if it is not needed.
A limited number of Twin Room places are available at a discounted price of £690 per person. When booking a Twin Room place, please tell us in the comments box which gender you are and which gender(s) you are comfortable sharing a room with. This information will remain confidential.
A small single room with a skylight is available at a discounted price of £715. Please note this room does not have an ordinary window, only a small skylight.
A deposit is required to secure your place, which is non-refundable after a 14-day cooling-off period. The balance payment of £590 is due six weeks before the course begins. Please read our Terms & Conditions for full details about our cancellation policy. If you would like to pay the full amount in advance, please email us on info@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Bursaries are always available, and you also have the option to pay in instalments. If you have any problems paying online, or wish to discuss paying in instalments or applying for financial help, or would simply like assistance, please contact us by emailing info@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Access
Please let us know in your booking form if you have any access requirements, for example a ground floor bedroom and / or access to a step-free accessible shower room. We also reserve one en-suite bedroom per course for anyone who may need this due to a medical condition. For more information about access to our courses, please visit our Access page.
Terms and Conditions
Please read our Terms & Conditions before booking.