Walk-n-Talk July 2025

The Premise

• a weekday retreat for 6 self-employed people in the creative sector
• two nights in a rented house, everyone had their own room
• all of the wonderful food and drink included
• three walks, between 5 to 12 miles each
• no set agenda or topics per se, only the right ingredients

The People

Duncan and I decided this was something we’d like to do together. We’ve known each other for nearly 15 years and shared a studio for the past 6 years. We’ve often gone walking and at times wild camped over a few days. Duncan always thinks what we’ll eat and we always eat well. Every time we walk, we come back enthused and tired (in a good way).

~ Ben Edmonds, We Sort (me), coordination.
~ Duncan Robertson, DNR Digital and a supper-club cook, food.

Everyone who came along this time was someone we knew. They’ve all been clients or collaborators and I knew we’d all get along well as a group and individually. Most knew each other by association.

~ Paul McCormack, McCormack Joinery, cabinet maker. We’ve been friends since working together at Unto This Last in 2006. I’ve worked with Paul on developing some aspects of his business and created a previous iteration of his website.

~ Tim Greany, Constructive and Co, cabinet maker. I’ve worked with Tim since 2018 across most aspects of his business that he co-owns with Sam & Dom.

~ Todd Hooper, InJoinery, joinery installation. We’ve been working together to grow and refine his business since shortly after spring 2020. Back then he was around 5 people, and now 50 people are regularly working for him on any given day.

~ Dave Smyth, Dave Smyth Studio, digital designer. We met online nearly a decade ago (we think) as we build websites in the same way. Since then we’ve worked together on projects like Peascod.

Wednesday, 02 July

We each made our own way to a spot near Bakewell, Derbyshire for a 13:00 meeting time. All three groups arrived within 15 minutes of each other and the weather was glorious (sunny, not too hot)

After brief hellos we set out on our first walk. A loop that would take us up through woods, across fields, past cows, up to a view across quarries and hills, along the Monsal Trail (a converted railway line), through two tunnels, a short section of accidental-off-piste, and back to the start. Route map

Then to the house near Buxton to check-in while a few enjoyed a drink at a pub. Duncan set out flapjacks he had made alongside a few other snacks and some drinks including homemade kombucha and Campari spritz.

Duncan prepared a multi-course dinner: self assembly pani puri - puffed chickpea flour flatbreads that we filled with chickpeas, tamarind water, yoghurt and other good stuff, then two kinds of biryani (mutton and paneer), and a rich dal, followed by shrikhand. There was beer, wine and meandering conversation.

Thursday, 03 July

Everyone got up as they liked and breakfast was largely self-serve. A few loaves of sourdough baked the morning before by Duncan, toasted oats and pinhead oats porridge, fruit, tea and coffee using Duncan’s Technivorm Moccamaster machine.

We’d planned to leave at 10:00 and be out until around 16:00 with a packed lunch in our bags. Alas Dave’s back wasn’t feeling up to the day out so he stayed back, enjoyed some quiet and I believe some Wimbledon. He also edited a few of his wonderful photos from the day before.

Our route started 15 minutes drive away near Sparrowpit and would take us up Rushup Edge, Lord’s Seat, Mam Tor, and along Great Ridge a bit further past some pesky stone stacks. We sat and ate our packed lunch looking out over Castleton. It was focaccia sandwiches (mortadella with ricotta and pistachios or roast peppers and courgette), sausage rolls, courgette frittata, strawberries and few sweets - all made from scratch by Duncan (except the sweets). Then down into the valley to The George Inn for a pint, up Cave Dale, across the fields, past another quarry and along a short section of road to the cars. Route map

Back to the house for some free time and dinner prep which included antipasti of various cheese, charcuterie and little salads, orecchiette with broccoli ripassati (pasta with broccoli cooked twice), veal Milanese (and aubergine cutlet for our vegetarian guest) and tiramisu. Again, the cook outdid himself. Some washing up had been done along the way, but Paul took it upon himself to crack through it.

Friday, 04 July

Once again, we rose as we liked with a similar self-serve breakfast with coffee and tea. A few of us completed the tiramisu. We packed up, left by 09:45 and drove 30 minutes to our last walk.

We’d booked lunch at The Old Dog near Ilham for 12:30 as this was on our route home, so we parked and walked towards and up Thorpe Cloud. Tim noted that he’d come to this region many times before having grown up in Leicester and Todd took the opportunity for a brisk swim. We sat for a bit on some grass, finished off the flapjacks and strawberries, and made our way back to the pub for lunch. Route map

We parted ways and headed for home at 13:30.

We all agreed it was absolutely a success. Pitching it right and expressing where the value lays is nuanced. It’s networking, it’s relaxed, it’s during the working week. Financially, it’s not a cheap thing to do - especially taking a few days away from billable work - but value is subjective.

We’re keen to run it again and if you’re interested, let us know as it’s likely:

• Same format
• November 2025 or January 2026
• Somewhere in Sussex
• £650-800 per person