Sketch Scotland | An Art-Based English Language Holiday in Beautiful Perthshire
Use Your Love of Art to Unlock Your English
Your English holiday begins with a simple, no-obligation Zoom chat.
With only 3 guests per week, early calls secure the dates and activities you want.
This is your two-week permission slip to become the person you’ve always imagined. The one with paint on their hands, ideas in their notebook, and English that feels natural.
Travel as an artist, feel like a guest, and speak English like yourself.
This two-week creative English holiday helps you explore Scotland through sketching, making, close looking, and real conversation. It’s a gentle, art-led, language-supported adventure for people who crave time to create, to notice, and to reconnect with their English in a meaningful way.
You don’t need to be an artist — you just need to enjoy creative play. We slow down, look closely, make things, and discover Scotland beyond the surface.
You’ll go home with a thousand stories to tell, and they’ll live in your mind in English — not as translations, but as memories.
With a maximum of 3 guests, it’s a calm, personalised experience — perfect for building confidence in both your art and your English.
A done-for-you creative journey that carries you into English-speaking situations you’d never find alone.
04-18 September, 2026
Holiday Highlights
- Explore sketching, painting, and making in fun, no-pressure ways.
- Unlock your English through hands-on creativity, relaxed conversation, and close looking.
- Slow down and savour Scotland through deep-travel moments you can’t find on a tour.
- Meet exceptional local makers in Perthshire (a UNESCO Creative City of Craft) and discover Scotland’s rich craft history.
- Experiment with watercolours, monoprint, collage, and natural materials — no experience needed.
- Curated outings to exhibitions, gigs, landscapes, and cultural events chosen to enrich both language and creativity.
- 14 nights in welcoming homestays with trusted local hosts, plus shared meals and outdoor picnics.
Experience Scotland through art and language
£3,680 GBP + £25/night homestay accommodation.
Perthshire, Scotland
Perthshire is known as ‘Big Tree County’ for its remarkable woodland-filled landscapes, and Crieff is a bustling, friendly town giving you Highland scenery without the remoteness.
The whole of Perthshire is a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, home to exceptional makers whose work connects deeply to landscape and tradition.
To discover the arts and crafts of this region is to discover the landscape.
Let’s Talk!
🎨 Interested in Sketch Scotland?
This is not just an English class with art, it’s a creative, immersive experience designed to help your English flow naturally as you explore, draw, and connect.
✅ Let’s make sure it’s the right fit for you.
📱 Start with a WhatsApp message: it’s low-pressure and friendly. Or, if you’re ready to dive in:
💻 Book a Zoom Call and let’s chat face-to-face.
Who is This Language Holiday For?
This is a holiday for amateur artists: professional people who just don’t get time to make art. Our guests are often professionals in other fields who want to build confidence using English in real conversations. This language holiday blends artistic exploration with meaningful English coaching, helping you speak clearly and naturally, both at work and in life.
Relaxing into English while making art
builds the kind of confidence
you’ll carry into any professional context.
People who love making art but don’t do it professionally
All skill levels are welcome.
This creative English retreat is about the joy of making, not the results.
You’ll have time and space to sketch, paint, sculpt, and craft — all while gently growing your confidence in spoken English.
If you are a professional artist, check our September 2026 Maker Takeover →
Hobby artists and sketchbook fans looking for fresh inspiration
You’ll explore stunning Scottish gardens, lochs, castles, museums, galleries and nature reserves — capturing details, shapes, and light as you go. You’ll learn to speak about your creative choices in English with our creative community.
Amateur photographers
Bring your camera and your curiosity — we’ll guide you with fun, creative prompts to capture Scotland differently. You’ll find new ways of seeing and talking about your images in English.
✨ Plus…
Creative travellers who want to practise English in a fun, informal way
Yes, really. If you can hold a pencil the right way up — you’re welcome!
You don’t need art skills, just a sense of fun and a willingness to explore.
Nature and artist studio lovers
Expect to be welcomed into working artist studios, explore scenic landscapes on foot, and take part in hands-on art workshops.
We believe in the restorative power of art, nature, and relaxed, real-world English practice.
Anyone curious about slow travel or deep cultural immersion
Sketch Scotland is the opposite of a crowded tour bus.
This is a creative way to practise English while connecting with place, people, and ideas — one sketch at a time.
People feeling anxious or blocked around English
Art gently dissolves language anxiety. As you sketch, stitch, paint or photograph, you’ll naturally rewire your English confidence — without pressure or embarrassment.
Discover how a Craft Workshop has the power to unlock your English →
What Makes This Language Holiday Different?
We don’t just coach English — we connect you with Scotland through art, nature, and creativity.
Step into a calm, confidence-building environment where creativity unlocks language. This is not a classroom, and it’s not a coach tour.
It’s a small group on a creative adventure built around the joy of looking and sketching, exploration, and wellbeing.
Spend time on Instagram watching other people painting?
It’s your turn now.
You’ll sketch and photograph Scottish lochs, gardens, castles, museums, and nature reserves, and gain the language to reflect on your experiences with calm, clarity, and confidence.
At Blue Noun, we believe that nature, creativity, and wellness are powerful tools for learning.
This is a holiday that helps you slow down, look closely, and speak freely — in English and in your own voice.
Language Positioning
This holiday is the missing step between classroom English and confident, natural expression. It is not for beginners. It’s for people who want to:
- Feel authentic when speaking.
- Speak more freely without rehearsing.
- Connect words to lived experience, not memory rules.
- Build confidence by doing, not studying.
Art gently dissolves language anxiety.
As you sketch, stitch, paint, or photograph, your English rewires itself — without pressure.
How Does it Work?
Creative Practice
Each day includes an artistic challenge — from sketching wildflowers to photographing reflections on a loch. We explore new ways of seeing and capturing the world around us.
Nature & Wellness
Art-making is combined with time in nature, mindful moments, and nourishing food — because you learn better when you feel well. This holiday is designed to feel like a treat: enriching, relaxing, and deeply enjoyable. It’s part of our Healthy English approach — where confidence grows through joy, and what you learn stays with you because it feels good to use.
English Conversation Coaching
You’ll be gently supported to talk about your ideas, impressions, and choices in English — growing vocabulary, fluency, and confidence.
Real-World English
Set your classroom English free. On this holiday, you’ll speak with locals, artists, guides, and fellow travellers — not teachers with clipboards. Every conversation is meaningful, practical, and rooted in real moments. You’ll pick up the kind of English you actually need — for talking about ideas, navigating places, and being yourself in new spaces.
Slow Travel Adventures
We take you deep into Scotland’s creative life — visiting studios, hidden gardens, landscapes, and local spots missed by tourists.
This holiday helps you relax into your English — and that supports all your professional communication. Whether you’re presenting, participating in a meeting, or having casual chats at conferences, your words flow more naturally when they’re connected to who you are.
About Spot Coaching
A Relaxed, Pressure-Free Way to Improve Your English
In our English language holidays in Scotland, guidance doesn’t happen in a classroom.
It happens through spot coaching: quick, in-the-moment support as you experience the language.
You don’t need to be fluent or confident.
We meet you where you are, and help you gently grow your vocabulary, speaking skills, and confidence, in a way that feels fun, supportive, and natural.
Practical Details
Homestay Accommodation
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Stay with friendly local hosts (private room + breakfast)
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Walkable, comfortable homes near our language studio
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Experience everyday English and a warm Scottish welcome
Learn more about our Language Homestays and the special welcome you’ll get
Food & Drink
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We contribute £6/day towards shared meals
- We organise 4 x communal dinners per week
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Access to a well-equipped guest kitchen and fridge space
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Weekly organic veg box provided — help yourself!
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Bring your own wine or beer (BYOB) — no alcohol licence
Getting Here
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We’re based in Crieff, a small town in the heart of Scotland
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Just 1 hour 15 minutes from both Edinburgh and Glasgow airports
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Free pick-up and drop-off from Dunblane or Gleneagles train stations. (Airport pick up £80).
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We’ll send full travel instructions and help you plan your route
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Please arrive by Saturday, 5 pm for our welcome event and first shared dinner
All Creative Materials & Entry Fees Included
We provide sample art materials (like sketchbooks and watercolours) so you can travel light. All entrance fees to castles, gardens, museums, studios, and local events are included — everything you need to get inspired and start creating.
What to expect
Here’s everything that’s part of your Sketch Scotland holiday — designed to support your creativity, confidence, and English through real-world experiences:
Art, Craft & Creative Exploration
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Daily creative challenges: from sketching to photography to collage
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Use mixed media like monoprint, mosaic, and watercolour — no experience needed!
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Support and guidance from artist-educators throughout
Sketching Excursions to Beautiful Locations
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Explore gardens, lochs, castles, museums, and nature reserves
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Travel in a small group — no tour buses, no crowds
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Get off the beaten path and into Scotland’s real beauty
Personal Sketchbook Project
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Create a visual diary of your Scottish experience
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Combine text and image to process and remember your journey
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Take home a keepsake — or a starting point for future art
Daily 1:1 English Coaching
Tailored support to grow your vocabulary, fluency, and confidence in real-life situations. With a maximum of just 3 guests, there’s plenty of time for personalised 1:1 conversation and feedback.
Free Time to Relax or Join Optional Social Events
We believe rest is an essential part of a language holiday — and everyone benefits from a balance of quiet moments and gentle connection. We’re flexible around your rhythm.
Pop-up exhibition
Celebrate your creative journey with a relaxed exhibition at Blue Noun. We’ll host a small reception and invite the friends you’ve made during your stay — a joyful way to share your progress and close the holiday together.
Some Holiday Moments
Photography & sketching at Argaty Red Kite Centre
A rapid-sketch challenge and chance to capture these iconic birds of prey in flight.
Nature-based relaxation
Enjoy an afternoon off at our local woodland sauna for quiet reflection, restoration, and connection.
Drummond Castle Gardens
Sketch among formal patterned parterres, historic trees, and dramatic vistas.
Song Lyric Writing Workshop with a Local Musician
playful language-and-creativity session blending rhythm, metaphor, and voice.
About Art Coaching
A Relaxed, Pressure-Free Way to Enjoy Making Art
Ruth & Fiona are both qualified English teachers (ELT-trained) with Fine Art degrees — Ruth holds a postgraduate qualification in Fine Art.
But don’t be intimidated — this just means we are practising artists who know how to get your creativity flowing.
This creative holiday isn’t about results.
It’s about the joy of drawing and making, and how creativity unlocks confidence in language.
All art levels are welcome.
Plus Enjoy Workshops with Guest Coaches
Enjoy hands-on creative sessions led by local artists and makers. These workshops bring fresh inspiration and new perspectives into your English and your art.
Most language learning options are designed for you to fit into
At Blue Noun, we design them around you
*About Real-World Language Practice
Blue Noun Language Hub is leading the way with alternatives to classroom-based language learning.
The Best Way to Remember a Language? Connect It to Something You Love!
By using English in a fun, personal, and creative way, it becomes memorable and meaningful.
Whether you’re describing a painting, meeting an artist, or writing about your journey in your journal, you’ll absorb new language naturally and at ease.
Read the British Council Article.
Discover how Blue Noun Meets 8/10 Trends & Innovations in Language Teaching
Testimonials
British Council
The British Council listed our speciality Real-World English in its Top 2024 Language Teaching Innovations.
Quality Artists
Perth is the UK’s only UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art.
Friendly community
Perthshire was voted the Friendliest Region on Earth by Booking*com.
What more perfect combination could you need for an English conversation holiday?
5 Star Reviews
Read our 5 Star Reviews on Google
