*Growing Harmony 2026 @ Wiston Lodge*

Once again it’s time for the glorious biennial meet up with John Mark Harrison and Brendan Taaffe from the US with me and Jennie Fisk from UK. This year the event runs for 5 glorious days of singing, laughing and community in the hills near the little town of Biggar in the South of Scotland from the 19th to 24th August 2026.

The venue is Wiston Lodge – originally a Victorian Hunting Lodge. It’s a great venue, with a wooden hut added onto the main house, which is ideal for singing. However, there are no single ensuite rooms and very limited single rooms so if that kind of privacy is important to you we suggest you get a nearby BnB or camp. Tents, caravans and camper vans are all welcome and there are showers for campers in the on-site Education Suite.

Due to the high level of interest in this event we have tweaked our booking process from previous years. This means that instead of giving us a first and second choice for the room that you want, you will be able to book the room that you’d like directly below. If you’ve missed out on the room that you’d like you can let us know in the comment section within your booking for a different room, but there is no guarantee one will become available. Alternatively you can join the waiting list and we will be in touch if there is an opening.

We currently are not offering tickets for individual days this year but this may change in the future.

To book:

1) Select the room that you would like below then, fill out the required booking information. Most bookings are for one person, aside from twin rooms, which are a booking for two people who know each other.

2) On the payment page please click to pay by ‘Direct Bank Transfer’ and take a note of the account details

3) Click place order and then make the payment of a £100 deposit per person to the bank details that you took a note of.

If you are buying a ticket internationally, please feel free to opt to pay ‘via paypal’ on the payment page – or email us (admin@aliburns.co.uk) to receive details of another account that can accept your payment.

If you forget to take a note of the payment details feel free to email us for them.

We will invoice you for the balance of your place around three months before the event.

Price per person:

Single Room – £900 per person
Single rooms are largely based in the cabins. They have shared bathrooms.

Twin Room – £775 per person
Two of the twin rooms have single beds and one has a double bed and a single bed. All are ideal for couples or friends to share. If you book into a twin room you must know who you are going to share with and book together within one booking.

Shared Room with Ensuite – £750 per person
The Main House has three of these rooms, one of which is accessible. They will be shared with 3 or 4 people. These rooms are for women only. Please email us if you have any questions about this.

Men’s Dorm – £675 per person
Women’s Dorm – £675 per person
The shared dorms have 4 or 5 bunk beds – we only use the bottom bunks – and a nearby toilet.

Camping – £600 per person
Available for tents, camper vans and caravans. Please note there is no power hook-up available. There are showers available in the Education Suite.

Non-residential – £525 per person
Stay in the village or nearby Abbington, Leadhills or Biggar.

Other Information

Brendan and John are also doing a ‘Singing the Chapels’ weekend workshop on Sat 15^thAug in Norfolk and nearby on 16^th Aug in Suffolk. Booking for this weekend isn’t yet available but you can email sncommunitychoir@gmail.com with ‘please subscribe me’ in the subject line to hear more details later in January 2026.