The Ugly Duckling Pottery Painting

What it’s like

Pick a plain piece of pottery, paint it your own way, and collect it a week later once it's been fired.

You choose a piece, from mugs to trinket dishes to whatever else is on the shelves, and sit down with paints to make it yours. There's no rush built into the visit itself, so a fiddly design can take as long as it takes. It's the sort of activity that suits a quiet afternoon rather than a quick stop, and that's part of the appeal.

The studio opens most days from 10am, with Wednesdays and Fridays running late until 9:30pm and Saturdays open until 7:30pm too. Sundays are shorter, 10 till 4:30. Worth knowing that Wednesday and Friday evenings turn adults-only from 6pm, so those late slots aren't for a family session, they're for a grown-up one. Booking is advised rather than essential, which suggests weekends and evenings are the ones to plan ahead for.

Once you've painted your piece, it doesn't come home with you that day. Firing takes seven days, and they'll hold your pottery for up to three months so you're not rushing back the next morning. If you fancy something more sociable, there's a monthly clay social called Sarah's Clay Club, which sounds like the sort of regular fixture worth looking into if painting alone isn't quite your thing.

The studio closes over Christmas, on the 24th, 25th and 26th of December and New Year's Day, plus Easter Sunday, so it's not a fallback for those particular dates.

Need to know

Booking

Advised

• Wednesday and Friday evenings from 6pm are adults only
• Pottery isn't ready same day, firing takes a full week
• Closed 24th to 26th December, New Year's Day and Easter Sunday
• There's a monthly clay social called Sarah's Clay Club if you fancy a regular date

Plan your visit

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