sarah joined us in august 2025 for a week-long residency.

Sarah is a writer, facilitator and mentor living and working in rural Northumberland. Her short fiction is published online and in print and her plays have been performed in Newcastle, Manchester and London. Sarah’s work explores rural and working-class communities and landscapes, and her teaching focuses on noticing small details, developing a writing practice and using creativity as a tool for reflection and documentation.

sarah used the time to re-immerse herself into the setting of her short story collection. Set on Hadrian’s Wall in a time of climate crisis, it explores the people who live and work there and how their lives are changing and how they cope and react.

sarah’s visit also formed part of our ‘tender meadows’ summer workshop programme, leading a zine-making workshop in the studio and out in the field.

sarah hopes to be back in september to share her work and to help others explore their own feelings about the way our landscape and lives are changing.

In December 2024 we welcomed James Lawrence, aka @man_about_country to the Field Shelter.

James stayed with us for a week to research and develop new stories and poems inspired by our local landscape. On Saturday 7th December he presented a storytelling event in the Field Shelter

Already a friend of the project, James is helping us pilot our residency programme; to test out how it will all work and help shape it for future visiting creatives.

A little about James:
James is a storyteller, historian and naturalist.
For over 5 years he has led multi-dimensional walks all over Britain that combine performance with nature connection.
His practice revolves around exploring the natural wonders of the British Outdoors and revealing the magic within it: from the worlds in wild flowers to the haunts of mythical creatures.