The Good Life Society

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The Good Life Society

Intimate events, experiences, workshops and holiday accommodation designed to bring you joy. And now we have our All Day Feasts, too.

We run intimate events focusing on the great outdoors, community, food, craft, culture and music in incredible locations on two of Britain’s most beautiful private estates. Each of our events aims to be the most friendly and inspiring anywhere. Currently we run Camp Good Life which is a small festival for under 1000 guests on the storied Hawarden Estate in North Wales. We also have Summer Camp, wh

ich is an annual event, running across four long weekends, for up to 100 guests on the Hawarden Estate. Our first ever one-day events, hosted within the storied Walled Garden of Hawarden Castle. We also run Camp Glen Dye, an occasional event for around 30 guests on the Glen Dye Estate in Kincardineshire, Scotland.

28/01/2025

Summer Camp is a luxurious micro festival of wellness, freedom and fun for every guest.

But perhaps the most luxurious experience of all is pairing a weekend ticket with a B&B stay at The West End in Hawarden Castle ().

Is this the best accommodation available at any festival in Britain? Maybe.

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025

🎟️ Tickets available now!
⌛️ Over 65% already sold!

26/01/2025

Book your tickets to Summer Camp 2025 using our popular payment plans.

To secure your place at Summer Camp, you can:

1️⃣ Pay in one lump sum
2️⃣ Split the cost in half
3️⃣ Split the cost into three equal parts

Find out more on our website.

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025

🎟️ Tickets available now!
⌛️ Over 65% already sold!

📸

24/01/2025

As the first Summer Camp 2025 guests arrive in six month’s time the lake will look like this…

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025

🎟️ Tickets available now!
⌛️ Over 65% already sold!

📸

22/01/2025

“One of the very best places to go glamping in the UK this summer” -

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025

🎟️ Tickets available now!
⌛️ Over 65% already sold!

20/01/2025

.hasegawa.creative will return to Summer Camp this year during our Family Weekend!

In his day job, he’s Head of Creative at The Newt in Somerset (No.1 at the prestigious Awards 2024), so he knows his stuff.

During the day at Summer Camp you can drop in to one of his mesmerising fishing fly tying/casting workshops (if you can do this without your tongue coming out we’re impressed), and by night you’ll dance to his enviable collection of rare French vinyl as he DJs on the terrace.

Elsewhere you’ll sit beside him at inspiring and enriching talks and tastings, see him wandering the historic parkland of Hawarden Estate looking for inspiration, or bump into him at the bar in the greenhouse.

That’s the thing about Summer Camp. All our experts, speakers, chefs and makers join in, alongside you. We’re all here to learn new ways to live The Good Life.

Atsushi is a big part of that magic.

PS We hold over a decade of Atsushi’s portraits on file here at TGLS HQ, after all, we’ve worked alongside Atsushi since the early Good Life Experience festivals, where we first met him as a guest.

Scroll to the end for a great 2016 portrait, by .

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025

🎟️ Tickets available now! Over 60% already sold!
📸 .finniigan

18/01/2025

Mark Mckee (AKA ) will be hosting gentle drop-in sessions and masterclasses throughout all three weekends of Summer Camp 2025!

His joyous enthusiasm, deep knowledge and remarkable, understated skill had us all immersed in his workshops hosted here in Hawarden (both at Summer Camp and ) with many guests popping into the greenhouse where Mark had set up a drop-in station, to perfect their new-found talents.

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025  🎟️ Tickets available now! Over 60% already sold!
📸 .finniigan

16/01/2025

.hannah_robson is heading to our Craft Weekend at Summer Camp 2025 to host another of her superb weaving workshops!

There will always be magic to be found in making something with your own two hands, to try something new, or to engage in heritage craft.

So, if this sounds like your kind of thing, come and explore our Craft Weekend at Summer Camp 2025.

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025  🎟️ Tickets available now! Over 60% already sold!
📸 .finniigan

14/01/2025

During our weekend dedicated to The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure, Jamie Corry AKA , will join us at Summer Camp 2025 to host another of his beguiling butchery workshops.

It’s always a pleasure to see a master at work, but particularly exhilarating to get hands on, learning the skill for yourself.

That happens dozens of times, in all sorts of amazing ways, every weekend at Summer Camp.

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025  🎟️ Tickets available now! Over 60% already sold!
📸 .finniigan

12/01/2025

He’s back! will return to Summer Camp in 2025 for our Family Weekend, as he hosts a LEGO and art workshop for all ages.

A true master of his craft, Laurie’s reputation in the design world (and everywhere else) continues to grow year on year. From book covers to beer cans and jacket labels to the National Theatre and Roald Dahl’s The Witches, the more you look the more of Laurie’s amazing work you see.

And while we’re here, Laurie is a great example of how our mastercraftspeople, experts, chefs and speakers join in at Summer Camp, alongside you.

Laurie can regularly be found at one of .hasegawa.creative’s mesmerising fly tying/casting workshops, and then beside him late into the evening as he spins rare French vinyl. Which is all happening during our Family Weekend!

What we’re trying to say is that Summer Camp is a true community.

It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of for a long weekend, in a truly special place.

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025

🎟️ Tickets available now! Over 60% already sold!

10/01/2025

, founder of , will join us at the Summer Camp 2025 Craft Weekend!

Sarah’s Stitchable Changemakers workshop will see you stitch your favourite changemaker, whilst exploring your own inner activist.

Stitch by stitch, as you reveal the face of your chosen changemaker, reflect on the values threaded through them and their lives to help you reflect on how you can be part of the positive change you wish to see in our world.

No prior knowledge of skill required.

Together, we’ll carry the Craftivist mission in mind:

“If we want our world to be more beautiful, kind and fair, let’s try to make our activism to be more beautiful, kind and fair.”

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025  🎟️ Tickets available now! Over 60% already sold!
📸

08/01/2025

We’ve worked with the great for over a decade, from fun drop-in screen printing sessions at , The Good Life Experience and to exclusive print runs and colour expertise for Pedlars. And, most recently, some beautiful made in Britain scarves for .

So, we’re delighted to announce that Gail will be returning to Hawarden in 2025, during our Craft Weekend at Summer Camp, to host another of her super popular screen printing workshops for all ages and abilities.

Over 60% of tickets have already sold!

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025

🎟️ Tickets available now!
📸

06/01/2025

Expert forager and naturalist David Winnard, AKA , will join us each weekend at Summer Camp 2025!

Together, we’ll head out across the quiet, often untouched areas of this historic Hawarden Estate to discover all manner of flora and fauna (not just the incredible figs that grow within The Walled Garden!).

Which weekend will you choose?

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025  🎟️ Tickets available now!
📸

04/01/2025

We’re thrilled to be welcoming back to Summer Camp in 2025, nearly 10 years after we first met them at The Good Life Experience 💛

Kirsty and Steven will be heading to The Walled Garden on Hawarden Estate, from their beautiful base in the Brecon Beacons National Park, for the Family Weekend of Summer Camp.

They specialise in teaching bushcraft and primitive skills, hand crafting items inspired by ancestral craft, often using primitive tools and techniques.

Through the years they’ve captivated hundreds of our guests. Here’s to adding a few more to that long list this summer!

The Craft Weekend
📆 18th - 21st July 2025

The Family Weekend
📆 25th - 28th July 2025

The Outdoors, Wellness & Adventure Weekend
📆 1st - 4th August 2025

🎟️ Tickets available now!
📸

02/01/2025

Did you know that we also run a year-round school of craft, nature, food and wellness?

It’s called , and throughout the year we host over 50 masterclasses, workshops, and wellness sessions in and around the beautiful garden at the heart of this historic estate.

We add new classes all the time, but here’s a quick look at what’s on, and available to book now:

📆 17th January
🧘‍♀️ Yoga: Reset & Rebalance with

📆 18th January
💡 New Year Clarity Workshop with

📆 24th January
🧖‍♀️ Yoga & Sauna with

📆 8th February
🌳 The Trees of Hawarden Estate with

📆 15th February
🥒 An Introduction to Fermentation with

📆 16th February
🪓 Garden Tool Sharpening with

📆 8th March
🌱 Garden Planning & Seed Sowing with

📆 15th March
🌼 Seasonal Wreath Making with

📆 23rd March
🏊‍♀️ Cold Water Swimming & Sauna with

📆 30th March
💐 Mother’s Day Bouquets with

📆 3rd May
🛋️ Lampshade Making & Printing with

📆 8th June
🏊‍♀️ Cold Water Swimming & Sauna with

📆 15th June
🏊‍♀️ Cold Water Swimming & Sauna with

📆 7th September
🏊‍♀️ Cold Water Swimming & Sauna with

🎟️ Book your place at thewalledgardenschool.co.uk

31/12/2024

Places to stay during a long weekend at Summer Camp 2025:

🏕️ Bring Your Own Tent
🚐 Bring Your Own Camper/Caravan
🎪 Stay in a Bell Tent
🛌 Stay in a Glamping Tent
🐝 Stay in Beekeeper’s Hut
🏡 Stay in Gardener’s House (Exclusive Use or B&B)
🏰 Stay in The West End (Exclusive Use or B&B)

Summer Camp 2025 is a deliberately small event.

That means we’ll be limiting capacity over each weekend to keep the intimate magic of Summer Camp -its connections and conversations- vibrant and alive.

It also means that we’re restrained by some immovable obstacles (the 200-year-old walls of the garden) in the number of tent pitches we can offer within this beautiful space.

Summer Camp can only be so big.
And that’s often the thing our guests love the most.

With pitches, and bedrooms in our cabin, cottage and castle, limited, come and take a look at where you can stay during a long weekend at Summer Camp 2025.

🎟️ Tickets & info online now!
📸 .finniigan

29/12/2024

65% of Summer Camp 2025 tickets are now sold!

In just over 200 days time we’ll be welcoming the first guests to Summer Camp 2025 on Hawarden Estate. It will be the fifth year we host these long weekends of freedom and fun, and mark the start of a second decade of hosting events and festivals focused on The Good Life.

With well over half of the available tickets already sold, this is a good time to take a look around, ask questions, find the right weekend for you, and book your place in 2025!

📸 .finniigan

27/12/2024

The incredible duo from will return to Summer Camp in 2025! 💛

Each weekend at Summer Camp we welcome (and learn from) some of the best chefs around.

During the day you’ll see them stoking the fires, prepping, smoking, slicing, chatting.

But come 6 o’clock, when the day’s activities of lake swimming, craft workshops, tastings and talks draw to a natural close, the whole of Summer Camp descends on the huge barbecue to grab their dinner and discuss the day with friends old and new.

Sam & Shauna laid on a spectacular feast this summer, and we can’t wait to see what they have planned for 2025!

And yes, there were a few tasty scraps for a few good dogs, too 🐶👀

📸 .finniigan

23/12/2024

A beautiful postcard and the huge sign, completed under the tutelage of at Summer Camp 2024, that inspired it.

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Hawarden Estate
Hawarden
CH53FB

Website

https://thegoodlifesociety.co.uk/

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THE GOOD LIFE EXPERIENCE 29 APRIL - 2 MAY 2021 HAWARDEN ESTATE, FLINTSHIRE A festival of discovery and adventure.

Now in its seventh year, The Good Life Experience on the Hawarden Estate, Flintshire is absolutely unique. Founded by four friends –Cerys Matthews MBE, Steve Abbott and Charlie and Caroline Gladstone- if it fits in with their idea of The Good Life, it features at the festival. Expect to pitch your tent in the shadow of two castles, great locally produced food, axe throwing, foraging, campfire cooking, mass sing-a-longs, over 40 expert craftspeople, comedy, beer served by experts, talks by explorers, a canine circus, raucous music, abseiling, a free 1930s fairground, tree climbing, butchery displays, poetry, literature and endless How To… talks. And everything is aimed at adults and children alike; there aren’t many festivals that truly do that. 29 APRIL - 2 MAY 2021 Tickets on sale now. Dogs welcome. 15 minutes from Chester.

Come & explore: www.thegoodlifeexperience.co.uk