Sketching as you walk weekend
A weekend With Zara Chancellor.
French Alps 12 - 16th June 2025
Come walk with us with your sketchbook in hand as we head up into the mountains with artist, Zara Chancellor, this spring.
From 12-16 June 2025, we are hosting a women’s walking and sketching weekend for four nights and three days in the charming village of Les Contamines-Montjoie in the French Alps, an hour from Geneva and forty minutes from the famous outdoor capital of Europe, Chamonix. This is an area that is known for its snow sports in winter and its amazing walking, stunning scenery and beautiful wild flowers in summer.
Each morning, we will enjoy a delicious and healthy breakfast of homemade granola, local yogurt and berries, before a quick session with Zara. We will then pack our picnics and set off for a walk led by our International Mountain Leader, Marit. Mid-morning, we will find a beautiful spot to pause, take out our sketch books and paint. Zara will take the time to talk and instruct each person as needed before we move on. At lunchtime, we will stop again to enjoy our picnic before returning once again to our sketch books. If time allows, we will have a third stop in the afternoon for further sketching. To allow for time for sketching, Marit will take us on a walk of approximately 10km with an ascent/descent of 700m (appx) over 6hrs. We aim to return to the chalet by about 3pm in time for a cup of tea and freshly made cake.
After tea, there will be an opportunity to sit with Zara for one-on-one instruction and work on our drawings and paintings in the comfort of the garden or chalet.
If time, there will be yoga on the lawn with our yogi, Rosie, and after she will be available for massages before we meet for an aperitif in the garden followed by a delicious three course vegetarian home-made dinner with wine.
This weekend is designed to give you optimum time out from your busy, frantic lives in the beauty of the alps, and in the company of like-minded women. This weekend is designed by women for women.
Women are welcome to come on their own or with friends. The weekends will only run if we have at least six people.
No previous painting experience is necessary on this weekend as Zara will offer if wanted, through a series of daily workshops and one-to-one instruction, how best to capture the beauty in form, colour and composition, as we walk.
Price is £1100 per person for shared occupancy and £1300 for single occupancy.
Price includes: Four nights full-board accommodation including breakfast, picnic lunches, tea, dinner and wine; three group sessions with Zara; three walks accompanied by Zara, plus a fully licensed International Mountain Leader; yoga sessions and Geneva airport transfers at set times.
The price will not include: flights, massages or transfers not at set times.
About the artist Zara Chancellor: Zara lives in Suffolk where she paints portraits and landscapes. After studying in Italy and America, Zara lived in London painting the figure and portraits. For the last 20 years she has lived in Suffolk landscape painting and teaching small classes of adults painting and drawing. Whilst her work is primarily in oil, Zara walks with her watercolours and sketchbook in hand. www.zarachancellor.com .