Upcoming Events

Join us for a workshop on the benefits of gardening with wildlife here at Asthall Manor Kitchen Garden. Complete beginners through to keen amateurs all welcome. A thriving and diverse population of insects and animals, big and small is key to the growing of healthy, nutritious (aka tasty) food. Healthy wildlife means healthy plants means healthy people. In this all-day workshop you will learn the fundamental benefits of gardening with wildlife while growing food for people. You’ll develop an understanding…

Three days of inspirational music and events to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Oxford Chamber Music Foundation. Asthall Manor and Asthall church will host concerts, workshops and lots of spontaneous uplifting music connected to nature and the natural world. Presented by the Oxford Chamber Music Festival and artistic director Priya Mitchell The weekend also includes a painting workshop by Kieran Stiles, as well as   Friday 23rd May, 7-8pm concert Genesis St Nicholas’ Church, Asthall, Burford Programme: Bach Cello Suite…

As part of Oxford Chamber Music Festival's 25th anniversary celebrations, Kieran is teaching this special workshop on Asthall's magnificent trees. Explore ways of creating the effect of shimmering light on treetops in oils. Working in oil on board from direct observation All materials provided. Booking direct through Kieran Stiles. £70 Email Kieran to book.  

A dynamic live painting and musical improvisation in the gardens with artist Kieran Stiles Experience a conversation between two entangled art forms exploring the dynamism of creativity. Part of Oxford Chamber Music Festival’s ‘Eden in Asthall’ weekend. Free - No booking required. Saturday 24 May 3pm-4pm Sunday 25 May 1pm-2pm

The Mitford sisters were writers, travellers and political archivists with dramatically differing views. Following their previous sell-out success, In The Footsteps Of The Mitfords returns, as Scary Little Girls and Chipping Norton Theatre bring the experiences, opinions and relationships of the celebrated sisters to life through their letters, fiction, and memoirs. All in the stunning setting of their childhood home, Asthall Manor, near Burford. Booking essential, dress for all weathers and bring footwear you can explore in! The walk includes…

Join us for a workshop on home composting here at Asthall Manor Kitchen Garden. Complete beginners through to keen amateurs all welcome. In this all-day workshop you will learn the basics of different composting systems alongside a bit of helpful theory. You will also carry out some fun, practical work to apply your learning and to help keep us warm. Good, home-based or community-based composting is one of the key but often missing links to achieving the growing of healthy,…

Hippocrates, the founder of Western Medicine, was famous for saying, ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’. In a world of fast food, processed food and obesity as an epidemic, food as medicine is now more important than ever. But is eating ‘vegetables’ enough? How can we make sure that we are getting the most nutrition possible out of our plants? Join Jean Smith, social anthropologist and keen vegetable grower, for Let Food be thy Medicine. On…

Pedalling from venue to venue with all of their set, props and costumes on the back of their bikes, the HandleBards are a four-strong troupe of actors who are spending the summer bringing environmentally sustainable Shakespeare to venues across the UK. Join the troupe at Asthall Manor for a bicycle-powered production of Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ like you’ve never seen before. In usual HandleBards style, expect riotous amounts of energy, a fair old whack of chaos, and a great…