Reed Making for Northumbrian Smallpipes

Name: Reed Making for Northumbrian Smallpipes
Start: 2025-03-05T16:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-03-07T15:00:00+00:00
Location: Halsway Manor

Wednesday 5 Mar 4pm — Friday 7 Mar 3pm, 2025

To make a booking enquiry please complete the form below. We will contact you to confirm availability and complete your booking.

Course Enquiry

"*" indicates required fields

Type of enquiry*

I would like to make a booking

I'm enquiring about availability

First name*

Surname*

Postal address*

Email address*

Phone number*

How many people are you booking for? (including non-participants)*

Will those named above be sharing your room?*

Preferred accommodation

Names of other members in your party

Dietary requirements*

Please tell us if you are vegetarian, vegan, require a dairy-, wheat- or gluten-free diet, or have any allergies or intolerances that our chefs will need to cater for. If none, please write 'None'.

Instrument(s) played

You only need to tell us this if you're booking a mixed-instrument music course, a page to performance course, or an arranging course. We'll keep it on your booking record.

If the course is already full, would you like to be added to the waiting list?

Please automatically add me to the waiting list if the course is full

Any other questions or comments

Let us know if anyone in your party is coming as a non-participant here.

Would you like to receive information about our courses via email?*

Yes

Would you like to receive our biannual brochure in the post?*

Yes

CAPTCHA

Halsway Manor will not share your details with any third parties, but you may receive course information directly from course tutors, who agree to our privacy policy in their capacity as our representatives.

Pricing

Full board per person (tuition, activities, all meals & accommodation):

£330 – single occupancy ensuite room/cabin
£285 – sharing an ensuite room/cabin
£285 – single occupancy non-ensuite room
£225 – sharing non-ensuite room

Camping per person (tuition, activities, all meals):

£215

Non Resident (tuition, activities, all meals except breakfast):

£200

Get a closer look at the accommodation options here.

Another chance to learn on our very popular short course – how to make reeds for the Northumbrian (or Scottish) smallpipes – then, if you wish, stay on for our Northumbrian smallpipes weekend! The course is led by renowned piper and pipe-maker Andy May. You’ll be in the workshop by day, but there will be time in the evenings to relax and enjoy informal playing sessions in the bar, so bring your instruments and try your new reeds!

Who is it for?

This course is for all-comers. Tools will be supplied but you may wish to bring your own. There will be a small charge of £10-£15 (payable on departure) to cover the cost of cane.

The Team

Andy May was introduced to the smallpipes by his father Stan, later learning from Roland Lofthouse and Adrian Schofield, and from studying the recordings of Billy Pigg and Tom Clough. Through the 90s Andy entered many piping competitions and studied music at the University of York with the pipes as his chosen instrument. Andy has been a full-time musician since 2002, nowadays touring with North-East band Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies, UK/Finnish/Danish ensemble Baltic Crossing, his own Andy May Trio, and various other projects.

When not gigging Andy has become a pipemaker, again learning much from his father, and also Colin Ross. He has a particular interest in the study of old instruments and his current ongoing research project is into the pipemaking of Tom Clough and Fred Picknell.

Andy became the Vice President of the Northumbrian Pipers’ Society in 2012.

Unless otherwise specified, our midweek courses check-in from 4pm on a Monday and check out by 10am on Friday, and our weekend courses check in from 4pm on a Friday and depart on Sunday by 4pm. Dinner on the first night is usually at 6.30pm, and in general, no formal teaching or introductory sessions take place until after this.

Enjoy the area, bring a friend, share a room, & save money

You can book on a course at Halsway and bring a friend who can explore the area while using Halsway as a base for meals and accommodation. Halsway Manor is in the Quantock Hills (England’s first designated National Landscape (formally AONB). We’re just minutes away from the West Somerset Railway (Britain's longest steam railway), a short drive or bus ride from Somerset’s Jurassic coast (ideal for fossil hunting), and surrounded by dramatic scenery and changing landscapes, from the wild hills of Exmoor to the flat expanse of the Somerset Levels.