Bed, breakfast and creative inspiration
By Kate Simon
Can you gain creative inspiration by hanging out in the former home of a famous writer or artist? The National Trust thinks so, hence its invitation this week to new musicians to perform at Sir Paul McCartney’s childhood home in Liverpool, where he wrote hits including Love Me Do with John Lennon.
Unsigned artists are being encouraged to apply to take part in The Forthlin Sessions to celebrate Sir Paul’s 80th birthday. And a select few will be chosen to perform their Beatles-inspired songs in the McCartneys’ front room at the special event on 17 June.
The show will be broadcast free on the National Trust’s YouTube channel and other social media, so we’ll all be able to have a peep inside. Of course, it is already possible to book a guided tour of 20 Forthlin Road and Mendips, at 251 Menlove Avenue, where John Lennon grew up with his Aunt Mimi.
But where can you spend some quality time communing with a creative spirit without having to wait for an invite?
There are a few former homes of artistic giants available to stay in around the UK. Hoseasons seems an unlikely place to find such an option, yet it has on its books Ted’s House at Mytholmroyd in Yorkshire, the childhood home of the poet Ted Hughes. And AirBnB offers Janeians the chance to stay where Jane Austen and her family lived in Bath at the turn of the 19th Century.
Personally, I feel at my most creative in the spare room I call my office at home in Hackney. But a couple of years ago I had the chance to stay at just such a retreat, Orchard Cottage (pictured), on the Rodd Estate in the Welsh Marches, where the Australian artist Sir Sidney Nolan spent his final years until his death in 1992.
By the time Nolan had reached this secluded place he had built a reputation as one of the most experimental artists of the post-war era. The Sidney Nolan Trust hires out this one-bedroom cottage in the grounds of the estate to raise funds for its projects with local schoolchildren and visiting artists. In fact, the Trust has also opened two-bedroom Rodd Farmhouse since my visit, too.
The Rodd Estate is as peaceful as it is intriguing. Nolan was reminded of the Australian bush by the wild landscape of the Hindwell Valley, especially the blue haze that would sometimes settle on the hills beyond in summer, a view you can now admire from the gate to the neighbouring field.
As a guest, you can take a private tour of the Jacobean manor house, Rodd Court, which Nolan shared with his wife, Mary, and see the latest exhibition in the historic barns. You can view Nolan’s studio, too, crammed with canisters of spray paint and pots of PVA glue, which he applied to giant canvases, often while suspended from the ceiling.
In Orchard Cottage the artist is ever-present – the walls hung with prints, many bearing Nolan’s signature image of the outlaw Ned Kelly in his metal helmet. The shelves are stacked with books from Nolan’s library. You can read more in my article in The Guardian (which has a useful sidebar with further ideas about artists’ retreats).
Many guests are creatively reinvigorated by the surroundings, I was told by the Trust, with artists and writers booking extended stays. Was I inspired to put finger to keyboard in the sunroom overlooking Orchard Cottage’s wild garden. No, not really, but it’s a place I hope to return to one day.
Phil’s beer notes
And for a beer to accompany your trip… In Liverpool The Roscoe Head is a simple unspoilt classic boozer. Near Mytholmroyd you can try Vocation Brewery's adventurous beers at its bar in Hebden Bridge. Bath Ales’ bright and modern Graze overlooks the platforms at Bath Station and has its own microbrewery and great food. The Royal Oak at Gladestry is a nice spot to rest your feet by Offa's Dyke, not far from the Rodd Estate.