Pottery and Ceramics Holidays

Why go

Pottery is deeply absorbing: the wheel demands your full attention, and hours slip by. A residential course gives you time to get past the frustrating first attempts and make pieces you are proud of, guided by potters who have spent their lives at the wheel. Travel adds another layer, from the English studio pottery tradition in Cornwall to Tuscan maiolica and the folk kilns of Japan.

How to choose

Decide between throwing on the wheel and hand-building; most beginners' courses cover both. Check how many students share each wheel and how much time is spent making rather than watching demonstrations. Ask whether your pieces will be fired and glazed before you leave, or shipped on later, as firing takes time. Longer courses of a week or two let you see your work through from clay to glaze.

Our picks

These are the schools and places we would choose, from historic English potteries to destinations built around clay. Price bands are a typical cost per person for the holiday or course described, excluding flights.

• The Leach Pottery

  St Ives, Cornwall

  £

  • Pottery school
  • 1 to 5 days
  • All year

  Best for Studio pottery at its source

  Founded by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada in 1920, the Leach still makes pots and runs throwing courses, from tasters to multi-day workshops, in its historic studio.

• West Dean College

  West Sussex

  ££

  • Arts and crafts college
  • 2 to 6 days
  • All year; summer schools July to August

  Best for A residential course in a country house

  Short ceramics courses for all levels, with rooms in the flint-walled West Dean House and its famous gardens to wander between sessions.

• Wobage Farm Craft Workshops

  Herefordshire

  £

  • Craft workshops
  • Weekends and summer courses
  • Spring to autumn

  Best for A rural, hands-on weekend

  Farm workshops set up by the potters Mick and Sheila Casson, where working potters teach summer courses including wood and salt firing.

• La Meridiana

  Certaldo, Tuscany

  ££

  • International ceramics school
  • 1 to 2 weeks
  • April to October

  Best for Serious courses in an Italian farmhouse

  Since 1981, a restored Tuscan farmhouse has hosted courses in throwing, sculpture, glazing and wood and raku firing, led by visiting masters from around the world.

• Deruta and Gubbio

  Umbria, Italy

  ££

  • Destination
  • 4 to 7 nights
  • April to June, September to October

  Best for Painted maiolica and hill towns

  Deruta has made painted maiolica since the Middle Ages; workshops here offer painting and decorating classes, combined easily with Assisi and Perugia.

• Mashiko and Kyoto

  Japan

  ££

  • Destination
  • 7 to 10 nights
  • April to May, October to November

  Best for Japanese folk craft and tea ceramics

  Mashiko, Shoji Hamada's home town north of Tokyo, is full of kilns and studios offering classes, and Kyoto has workshops for Kiyomizu ware. See our Japan trip.

• Sifnos

  Cyclades, Greece

  ££

  • Destination
  • 5 to 7 nights
  • May to June, September to October

  Best for Island life and working potteries

  A small, quiet island with a long pottery tradition, family workshops at Kamares and Vathi, and some of the best food in the Cyclades.

• Oaxaca

  Mexico

  £££

  • Destination
  • 7 to 10 nights
  • October to April

  Best for Black clay and folk art

  The villages around Oaxaca are famous for their potters, especially the burnished black clay of San Bartolo Coyotepec, with markets and superb food in the city.

Price guide: £ Under £1,000 per person · ££ £1,000–2,500 per person · £££ £2,500–5,000 per person · ££££ £5,000+ per person

When to go

UK courses run all year, with the most choice in summer. Italy and Greece are best in spring and early autumn, when it is warm enough to work in open studios. In Japan, aim for the mild weather of spring or autumn.

Going solo or with a partner

Pottery courses suit solo travellers well: you spend the day side by side at the wheel and evenings around one table. If your partner isn't a potter, choose a destination course such as Umbria or Sifnos, where they can explore while you work.

How to book

Our advisors can find the right course or retreat, check the teacher and dates, and wrap it into a complete trip with flights, transfers and a few extra nights somewhere lovely before or after. Speak to an advisor.