Workshop week: Willow Weaving
October 3-9, 2026
About the workshop
Start your willow weaving journey on Erraid! Previous community member Leen Skinner will be teaching you how to make your own willow baskets.
This course is aimed at beginners and will focus on round baskets. The first two days all participants will make the same shopping basket, going through all the weaves needed to make a basket. Starting with a round base, staking up, building up the sides using waling and randing, finishing with a border and inserting a handle. The next three days will be more individual and you can choose what to make next: another shopper, a fruit basket, a small log basket. Leen will adjust to your needs and skills and help you create your baskets. You can go at your own pace and also bring your own ideas.
At the end of the week you will go home with your self-made baskets and lots of new skills!
There will also be time to talk about how to grow your own willow, how to prepare the willow for weaving and which tools to use.
We will join the Erraid community for a week and attend the communities morning meetings, communal meals, and optional meditations.
Facilitator
Leen Skinner
Leen followed her first basketmaking course in Belgium with Gerda Legrand in 2016. While living in the Erraid Community from 2017 to 2021, she harvested the willow growing in the gardens and experimented with them. You can still find some of her very first wonky baskets in the community buildings! Already then, she enjoyed teaching and passing on skills, leading a willow-weaving session in the big boat shed to the Erraid residents. After moving from Erraid she picked up willow weaving again in the winter of 2022, working with dry willow from Barfad Willow near Oban, learning new techniques from books. Over the years she continued to develop her craft, learning from a range of tutors, including Karen Collins, Hanna Van Aelst, Virgil Bauzys and Katy Bremer.
Leen lives with husband Arran on their woodland croft at Langamull in North Mull, where they are developing a market garden. She sells her baskets at Calgary Gallery and runs workshops for individuals and groups at the local village hall and community orchard.
Schedule of the week
Saturday
Arrival day. You will be shown around the community buildings and enjoy our first communal dinner.
Sunday
Sunday morning will be the start of the workshop, followed by a communal lunch. There will be a guided walk in the afternoon to get to know the island. Dinner will be DIY.
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
Full days workshop with communal lunches and dinners.
Wednesday
Half day workshop with DIY lunch and dinner.
Friday
On Friday morning there is time to pack and tend to the cottage. We will have a “Tea on the lawn” at lunch time to look back on the week with the community members and local residents, and have a little display of what we have made!
In the evenings and on Wednesday afternoon there will be free time to socialize, go swimming and explore the island.
More information
Arrival and departure
The workshop will take place October 3 till 9 2026, with arrival on Saturday afternoon and departure on Friday afternoon.
As we are based on a remote tidal island, logistics are carefully coordinated:
- Pick-up at 14:40 on Saturday in Fionnphort to meet the bus arriving from Craignure
- Drop-off at 15:00 on Friday in Fionnphort to connect with the 15:20 bus back to Craignure
We kindly ask guests arriving by car to align with these times so the group can travel the last 30-minute walk to the island together.
Guests must be able to complete this walk and are asked to bring a bag they can carry themselves; only in suitable weather conditions can bags be transported by boat.
For detailed instructions on how to get to the island, please read this page.
Location
Erraid is located at the end of the Ross of Mull, near Iona. For a detailed instruction on how to get here, please read this page.
Accommodation and meals
Accommodation is in one of the lighthouse keeper’s cottages, with island residents.
When booking a shared bedroom, we will reserve a bed for you in a twin-bedroom. We make sure that you’ll share with someone of the same gender or a friend/partner if coming together.
When booking a private bedroom, we will reserve a twin-bedroom for just you. Please note that these rooms are interconnected. You may share access to the rooms with another guest.
The cottages have a kitchen, bathroom, living space, and private back garden. Further down the street is our communal dining and living area for shared meals. For quiet reflection, there’s the sanctuary on the hill, as well as the island’s wild landscape to explore and unwind in.
Most meals are communal, with some DIY. You will be shown where to find food in our garden and larder to cook your own meal in your cottage at those times. Guests join in the washing up after the meals.
Cost
The cost for the workshop is £862 for a shared room or £1,062 for a private room.
Included in the price:
- Guided tour of the island of Erraid
- 3,5 days of willow-weaving with Leen
- All materials and tools are provided
- Breakfast in the cottage + vegetarian meals (except Wednesday) made with organic, island-grown food
- Accommodation in the lighthouse keepers cottages for 6 nights
- Possibility to join daily morning meditations in the sanctuary
- Remote island logistics: pick-up and drop-off from Fionnphort
Do I need experience?
There is no previous experience needed. Willow weaving can be tough on the hands, unfortunately it doesn’t always work for people with arthritis… You off course know your own hands, but please take this into consideration when booking.
What to bring?
The weather on Erraid is unpredictable. We recommend bringing these items:
- Hat and sunglasses
- Rucksack/backpack that you are able to carry
- Warm, layered clothing
- Sturdy, waterproof boots and/or wellies
- Hiking boots
- Waterproof coat and trousers
- Toiletries and medications (there is no pharmacy nearby)
- Water bottle
- Headtorch
- Sunscreen
Important: it is essential that you are able to carry your own bags on and off the island, so please bear this in mind when packing!
Terms and conditions
There are 8 available spots for this workshop.
Refunds (minus the deposit) can be offered for cancellations made at least 8 weeks prior to the start date.
We recommend arranging travel insurance, as the workshop takes place in a remote location where travel may be affected by weather conditions or technical issues with ferries. We do our best to help with logistical challenges, but these factors are ultimately beyond our control.
Lighthouse keepers cottage
Lunch in the garden
Home grown food
Bedroom
Fireplace
