Attend Milford

Download and print the booking form (below) as a Word document; as a text file or as a pdf

If booking from abroad, you can send a money order in pounds sterling, drawn on a British bank, or we can arrange for you to pay by Paypal (Note that there will be a 2% surcharge to cover Paypal's deductions - sorry.)

When you have signed up for Milford and paid your deposit you will receive basic information from the secretary for the coming conference by email unless you have specified that you don't have email access.

In June/July you will be added to MilfordCurrent a private email listserve (a yahoogroup) strictly for members attending in the current year. This is for you to get to know each other beforehand, for newcomers to ask questions and for old hands to offer sensible advice. It's also set up to that participants can exchange manuscripts beforehand. It remains available to you until the new intake signs up the following year.

You will also be added to the main Milford mailing list (another yahoogroup) which is for everyone who has ever attended Milford. It's not a high volume list. but useful information occasionally comes your way and it's a way to keep in touch with each other.

The venue is: Trigonos, Plas Baladeulyn, Nantlle, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL54 6BW
01286 882 388

Instructions for getting there are all on the Trigonos website. If you are coming by public transport the last little bit is tortuous by bus, but taxis are available from Bangor or Caernarvon, It's often possible to car-share with people and this is usually arranged via the MilfordCurrent email list. There's nearly always a car coming up from London, one from the Bristol area and one from Yorkshire across the M62. Others may vary. If you are flying in from abroad your nearest airports are Manchester and Liverpool. Kind people with cars will often offer to meet people at major train stations

The venue is a conference centre, not a hotel. Your room is your own responsibility for the week. We are largely left to our own devices, though staff are around (in the office or the kitchen) in emergencies during the day.

You need to prepare your work for Milford. You are expected to submit one or two pieces to a maximum total of 15,000 words. Less is fine as long as you bring at least one piece for crit.

You are strongly encouraged to send your work via email in advance so that everyone has the opportunity to do some advance critting before the (very intensive) week starts. This can be sent via the MilfordCurrent email group.

If for any reason you can't send work in advance you will need to bring enough printed copies of each piece for every person attending Milford (a maximum of 15). Please note there are no copying facilities at Trigonos.

The mornings are for reading, so it is theoretically possible to get away with not pre-reading or pre-critting, but you would be well advised to read ahead before the week starts if at all possible. This will increase your chances of getting through everything in a timely manner and not shoving your stress levels up through the roof. We want you to enjoy yourself.

What to bring. Just yourself and your work. If you haven't been to North Wales in September before, please be aware that the weather can be changeable. Outdoor shoes and a raincoat are advised. Trigonos has its own grounds and you can walk down to their beautiful private lakeshore... through long grass, sheep droppings and a certain amount of mud. One Milford attendee brought his canoe.

Indoors it's always toasty warm and there's an open fire in the library at night (our social room) if we want to light it.

The accommodation is full board, that's bed with linen and towels. Bring your own toiletries and hair dryer. There are some rooms in the main house (upstairs) and some in the barn conversions right next to the crit room (ground floor). Some rooms have disabled facilities if required. Most rooms are ensuite with baths or showers. Three or four share bathrooms, but we don't often end up needing to use those. In the event that we have a full Milford of 15 people, as in 2011, the ensuites are first come first served.

Food is organic and there is a vegetarian ethos, but we've arranged for meat meals for those of us who want them. It's wise to state a preference if you have one. There's always a wide choice of side dishes. It's breakfast, lunch and dinner beginning with dinner on the first Saturday and ending with breakfast on the last Saturday. Meals are self-service from the buffet board and we all eat together at one big table. Breakfasts are continental, not full English. Lunches are usually home made soups (delicious) and salads of some kind. Evening meals are two courses + a cheese board. There's not a choice of main meal though if you have specifically requested vegetarian and there's a meat meal, the chef will prepare something separately for you. Ditto if you have an allergy to the specific food on offer.

There are no kettles in the rooms, but hot drinks are available in the dining room 24/7 with a range of teas and instant coffees. They make real coffee for us in the mornings at at break - usually with biscuits in the mornings and home baked cake in the afternoons. There's a fruit bowl available.

There's no bar, but you are encouraged to bring your beverage of choice. I'm not sure how so few people create so many empties by the end of the week, but we certainly keep the local bottle-bank well fed. Note, though, booze is not obligatory

People also seem to bring a multitude of sweeties and snackables. There used to be a tradition that if you gave someone an unfavourable crit you bought them a drink in the evening. Since there's no bar in this venue that's migrated to giving them sweeties to soften the blow. Of course, crits are always delivered constructively, so the sweeties are symbollic.

If you need a run out for supplies, someone with a car will invariably make the trip and you can get a lift if you've come by public transport. There are no shops in Nantlle, but Penygroes, about 2 miles away and has a small Co-op and a post office and various other shops such as hardware etc. Caernarvon is the nearest town of any size, about 6 miles away. It has a huge castle, of course, and a range of shops and cafes and the inevitable Welsh tourist shops (some very nice), but don't expect department stores or M&S. There's a decent supermarket on the edge of town. In the other direction Porthmadoc is about 10 miles away and has a supermarket, an excellent little bookshop and its very own micro-brewery for locally made beers.

Trigonos is nestled in a valley in a mountainous region. There is very little-to-no mobile telephone reception, though you can get a signal at Penygroes

There is a payphone in the main house.

The ethos of Trigonos being one of get-away-from-it-all. If you are really desperate you can get wi-fi reception close by the Trigonos office, but their wi-fi is not always left on 24/7, so don't count on it.

After Milford you will be entitled (but not obliged) to join the Milford Crit List (a yahoogroup) if you wish.

You will be added to the Milford alumni list on the web site and if you have a website, we'll add you to the links page.

You can contnue to keep in touch with your fellow Milforders via the MilfordCurrent mailing list until (about) May of the following year, when the outgoing attendees vacate it for the incoming ones.

Please keep us up to date with the progress of your stories that you've put through the Milford mincer. We'll list the sales on the Success Stories page of this site.

And please come back and join us another year.

What happens after you book?

Preparing for Milford

Please Be Aware

What happens after Milford?


	MILFORD 2012 Saturday 22nd to Saturday 29th September 2011 The total price for 2012 is £560 inclusive of full board for seven nights. A deposit of £115 is reqired to secure your booking and £445 is payable to Trigonos upon attending (by cash or cheque - no cards) Apart from a small Milford admin fee of £10, this sum represents your booking with Trigonos for accommodation. The venue requires a deposit, so no booking is considered firm until you have paid your deposit to the conference centre via the Milford booking form. Please note that the Milford committee does not hold your deposit, Trigonos does. It's a non-returnable deposit in the event you decide to cancel. Download and print the booking form (below) as a Word document; as a text file or as a pdf Booking Form: RTF Booking Form: Word Doc Booking Form: PDF Questions anytime? Email the secretary. If booking from abroad, you can send a money order in pounds sterling, drawn on a British bank, or we can arrange for you to pay by Paypal (Note that there will be a 2% surcharge to cover Paypal's deductions - sorry.) What happens after you book? When you have signed up for Milford and paid your deposit you will receive basic information from the secretary for the coming conference by email unless you have specified that you don't have email access. In June/July you will be added to MilfordCurrent a private email listserve (a yahoogroup) strictly for members attending in the current year. This is for you to get to know each other beforehand, for newcomers to ask questions and for old hands to offer sensible advice. It's also set up to that participants can exchange manuscripts beforehand. It remains available to you until the new intake signs up the following year. You will also be added to the main Milford mailing list (another yahoogroup) which is for everyone who has ever attended Milford. It's not a high volume list. but useful information occasionally comes your way and it's a way to keep in touch with each other. The venue is: Trigonos, Plas Baladeulyn, Nantlle, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL54 6BW 01286 882 388 Instructions for getting there are all on the Trigonos website. If you are coming by public transport the last little bit is tortuous by bus, but taxis are available from Bangor or Caernarvon, It's often possible to car-share with people and this is usually arranged via the MilfordCurrent email list. There's nearly always a car coming up from London, one from the Bristol area and one from Yorkshire across the M62. Others may vary. If you are flying in from abroad your nearest airports are Manchester and Liverpool. Kind people with cars will often offer to meet people at major train stations The venue is a conference centre, not a hotel. Your room is your own responsibility for the week. We are largely left to our own devices, though staff are around (in the office or the kitchen) in emergencies during the day. Preparing for Milford You need to prepare your work for Milford. You are expected to submit one or two pieces to a maximum total of 15,000 words. Less is fine as long as you bring at least one piece for crit. You are strongly encouraged to send your work via email in advance so that everyone has the opportunity to do some advance critting before the (very intensive) week starts. This can be sent via the MilfordCurrent email group. If for any reason you can't send work in advance you will need to bring enough printed copies of each piece for every person attending Milford (a maximum of 15). Please note there are no copying facilities at Trigonos. The mornings are for reading, so it is theoretically possible to get away with not pre-reading or pre-critting, but you would be well advised to read ahead before the week starts if at all possible. This will increase your chances of getting through everything in a timely manner and not shoving your stress levels up through the roof. We want you to enjoy yourself. What to bring. Just yourself and your work. If you haven't been to North Wales in September before, please be aware that the weather can be changeable. Outdoor shoes and a raincoat are advised. Trigonos has its own grounds and you can walk down to their beautiful private lakeshore... through long grass, sheep droppings and a certain amount of mud. One Milford attendee brought his canoe. Indoors it's always toasty warm and there's an open fire in the library at night (our social room) if we want to light it. The accommodation is full board, that's bed with linen and towels. Bring your own toiletries and hair dryer. There are some rooms in the main house (upstairs) and some in the barn conversions right next to the crit room (ground floor). Some rooms have disabled facilities if required. Most rooms are ensuite with baths or showers. Three or four share bathrooms, but we don't often end up needing to use those. In the event that we have a full Milford of 15 people, as in 2011, the ensuites are first come first served. Food is organic and there is a vegetarian ethos, but we've arranged for meat meals for those of us who want them. It's wise to state a preference if you have one. There's always a wide choice of side dishes. It's breakfast, lunch and dinner beginning with dinner on the first Saturday and ending with breakfast on the last Saturday. Meals are self-service from the buffet board and we all eat together at one big table. Breakfasts are continental, not full English. Lunches are usually home made soups (delicious) and salads of some kind. Evening meals are two courses + a cheese board. There's not a choice of main meal though if you have specifically requested vegetarian and there's a meat meal, the chef will prepare something separately for you. Ditto if you have an allergy to the specific food on offer. There are no kettles in the rooms, but hot drinks are available in the dining room 24/7 with a range of teas and instant coffees. They make real coffee for us in the mornings at at break - usually with biscuits in the mornings and home baked cake in the afternoons. There's a fruit bowl available. There's no bar, but you are encouraged to bring your beverage of choice. I'm not sure how so few people create so many empties by the end of the week, but we certainly keep the local bottle-bank well fed. Note, though, booze is not obligatory People also seem to bring a multitude of sweeties and snackables. There used to be a tradition that if you gave someone an unfavourable crit you bought them a drink in the evening. Since there's no bar in this venue that's migrated to giving them sweeties to soften the blow. Of course, crits are always delivered constructively, so the sweeties are symbollic. If you need a run out for supplies, someone with a car will invariably make the trip and you can get a lift if you've come by public transport. There are no shops in Nantlle, but Penygroes, about 2 miles away and has a small Co-op and a post office and various other shops such as hardware etc. Caernarvon is the nearest town of any size, about 6 miles away. It has a huge castle, of course, and a range of shops and cafes and the inevitable Welsh tourist shops (some very nice), but don't expect department stores or M&S. There's a decent supermarket on the edge of town. In the other direction Porthmadoc is about 10 miles away and has a supermarket, an excellent little bookshop and its very own micro-brewery for locally made beers. Please Be Aware Trigonos is nestled in a valley in a mountainous region. There is very little-to-no mobile telephone reception, though you can get a signal at Penygroes There is a payphone in the main house. The ethos of Trigonos being one of get-away-from-it-all. If you are really desperate you can get wi-fi reception close by the Trigonos office, but their wi-fi is not always left on 24/7, so don't count on it. What happens after Milford? After Milford you will be entitled (but not obliged) to join the Milford Crit List (a yahoogroup) if you wish. You will be added to the Milford alumni list on the web site and if you have a website, we'll add you to the links page. You can contnue to keep in touch with your fellow Milforders via the MilfordCurrent mailing list until (about) May of the following year, when the outgoing attendees vacate it for the incoming ones. Please keep us up to date with the progress of your stories that you've put through the Milford mincer. We'll list the sales on the Success Stories page of this site. And please come back and join us another year.