Celtic Fiddle Guru Presents
Summer Retreats 2026
Two extraordinary journeys. Two Celtic homelands. One summer.
From the ancient glens of Argyll to the fiddle-soaked shores of Cape Breton — these are immersive experiences where music, movement, landscape, and community come together in the way they always have in the Celtic world. Live, by ear, and from the heart.
Back to Nature
Retreat — Argyll
Edinburgh · Stirling Castle · Loch Awe · Kilmartin Glen · Inveraray · Mull & Iona
A return to the Scottish Highlands — and to yourself. Co-hosted by Colin MacLeod (native of Argyll), Michele Dante of Inner Vision Yoga, and Heath & Nicole Reed of Living Metta. Daily yoga, live Celtic fiddle, sacred landscapes, and the Inveraray Highland Games on July 21st.
- Full day in Edinburgh — Castle, Royal Mile & private evening ceilidh
- Stirling Castle afternoon tea en route to the Highlands
- Daily yoga, Qigong & Yogassage with three extraordinary teachers
- Live Celtic fiddle sessions & storytelling with Colin, native of Argyll
- Kilmartin Glen — guided walks among 5,000-year-old standing stones
- Inveraray Highland Games — personal group welcome, July 21st
- Ferry journey to the Isles of Mull & Iona
- Accommodation, three daily meals & transport included
$600 non-refundable deposit holds your place · balance due before departure
Where we're going
- ✈️ Day 1 — Edinburgh
- 🏰 Day 2 — Stirling Castle
- 🏔 Days 3–8 — Loch Awe, Argyll
- 🗿 Kilmartin Glen standing stones
- 🏆 Inveraray Highland Games — July 21
- ⛵ Mull & Iona ferry day
- 🎶 Village gathering with local musicians
- 🥃 Farewell evening — Loch Awe
"What a delightful and memorable trip to Scotland we had with Colin. The history of the land, the fiddle music, the stories of the landscape, the welcome and hospitality really captured our hearts." — Mary Mayer, Virginia, USA
Places are limited — this retreat is small & intimate
What you'll experience
- 🧘 Daily Tai Chi sessions — indoors & outdoors
- 🎻 Celtic fiddle with Colin, live by ear
- 🎶 Sound baths & frequency exploration
- 🎨 Intuitive painting as creative release
- 🌊 Spine resonance & Five Elements workshops
- 🏖 Beach walks, markets & shared meals
- 🎷 Cape Breton music nights
- 🌿 Restorative movement & resilience practices
"Slowing down through Tai Chi and movement rewires your nervous system. You stop anticipating the next note and start inhabiting the one you're on." — Colin MacLeod, Celtic Fiddle Guru
Artfilled Wellness
Retreat — Cape Breton
Mabou · Inverness · Creignish · Judique · Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton is the spiritual home of Celtic fiddle tradition — a living musical community where the music grew from people dancing, playing together, and feeling it in their bodies. Co-facilitated with Dr. Michelle Greenwell of the Greenwell Center for Holistic Health, this retreat is built around the "Slow Down to Speed Up" principle — and what it genuinely does to the way you play.
- 8 days in Mabou — the heart of Cape Breton fiddle country
- Daily Tai Chi & Tia Cho movement with Dr. Michelle Greenwell
- Live Celtic fiddle sessions — presence, tone & playing from the heart
- Sound baths, intuitive painting & Five Elements workshops
- Venues across Mabou, Inverness, Creignish, Judique & the Cabot Trail
- Accommodation at the Glendyer B&B — historic inn in Mabou
- No prior music, movement or art experience needed
Accommodation: Glendyer B&B — mention Michelle for the special retreat rate
Flights into Halifax (3.5 hrs) or Sydney Airport (2 hrs) · Car hire recommended
⚠️ Maximum 15 participants — spaces are limited
A Note from Colin
"The best music I've ever played wasn't on a stage.
It was in a place — where the landscape held the room
and the people were really listening."
I've spent 27 years taking the fiddle around the world — from Australia to Sumatra, from the Caledonian Societies of Arizona to the National Folk Festival. But the experiences that change people — musicians, non-musicians alike — are the ones that put you inside a landscape that has its own music.
Scotland is the landscape I grew up in. Cape Breton is where the Gaelic tradition found its second home. These retreats aren't holidays with a music element bolted on. They're the real thing: music as it was always meant to be shared, in places that understand it in their bones.
— Colin MacLeod · Celtic Fiddle Guru · Native of Argyll, Scotland
Summer 2026
Two Celtic homelands. One summer.
Back to Nature
Argyll, Scotland
Artfilled Wellness
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Questions about either retreat? Email Colin at [email protected] — he'll point you to whichever one feels like yours.