Stuart Leech

I would highly recommend two weeks at the Mawddach Residency. Getting out of the routine of everyday life and immersing yourself in a new place and atmosphere is a rewarding and eye-opening experience.

I had ideas before I went of the kind of things I might be interested in, the industrial past of the area and what the future might hold in terms of climate change but there are so many stories and histories to be told about the area. Even the story of how the very house you are staying in came to be is a fascinating one.

We spent time exploring the local area and landscapes, I used these excursions to take photographs and then spent my time at the house reading and researching. In-between chats with Jake and Scarlett, stroking Toby, watching spring bloom and the hourly fascination of the ever-changing estuary sparks of ideas were found and contemplated.

Particularly inspiring to me during my time were the writings of Rebecca Solnit and vising the abandoned slate mine at Aberllefenni and while I didn’t come away with fully formed work the time and space at the Mawddach Residency has generated ideas that will come to fruition in time and that to me is as valuable as anything else.

Stuart Leech
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