The same company arranges private visits to the Sistine Chapel (a privilege enjoyed yesterday by the Cuban President’s brother, Raul Castro), as part of some of its tours to Italy.The new Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is included on a Spanish itinerary from ACE Study Tours (01223 835055) in May; a week costs pounds 875. A botanical painting week in May costs pounds 150, while a Beginning Photography weekend course is pounds 75. Accommodation is extra, costing around pounds 30 per day for full board.
Dillington House (01460 52427), near Chard in Somerset, is a council- run residential college offering weekend courses from October to June on all sorts of arts and crafts, including calligraphy and Japanese silk painting.The ultimate contemporary guide for an artistic holiday in Spain must be the writer Michael Jacobs. He will be escorting a tour of Toledo and Madrid in April and October next year, on behalf of Martin Randall Travel (0181-742 3355). The five-night holiday costs pounds 845, with a single supplement of pounds 70 The group size is limited to a maximum of 22. The college is spectacularly located on the edge of the Burren just south of Ballyvaughan, on the west coast of Ireland, and offers courses on painting, drawing and photography. Other subjects for 1998 include Costa Rica, South India, US National Parks and walking in Provence.

The surreal scenery and wild coastline of County Clare is the setting for a series of art holidays run by the Burren College of Art (00 353 65 77200). The nearest airport is Malaga, transfer time approximately one hour.For further details tel/fax 01386 841715 (UK), or tel/fax 0034 52 11 5355 (Spain).. A combination of clear air, abundance of wilderness and the sun low on the horizon make midsummer in Newfoundland ideal for nature photography. Photo Travellers (01483 425448) includes the island in its programme of escorted photography courses. The two-week course takes place in July and costs pounds 1,995. When it came to an open critique of the group’s work on the final day, the results were impressive to say the least.

Feedback is an integral part of the learning experience and sharing ideas with the other participants was equally beneficial.Of course the degree of attendance and thus personal progress during the week is up to you. Just don’t expect to improve your shots with a siesta by the pool.Los Pinos runs workshops from February to November, hosted by some of the best known names in British photography.Prices start at pounds 450 for one week. But with cameras stowed and bodies weary, the only thing on our minds by late evening was supper. A small decanter of the local Competa wine was always kept topped up in my log- cabin room, which served as a welcome aperitif before we reconvened for a feast of traditional dishes superbly prepared each night by Sophia. This proved quite literally to be the driving force for us all.The centre provides a relaxed environment for a photographic holiday. The heavy traffic on the coastal road made a stark contrast to the now familiar deserted mountain tracks.

Although refuelling was a high priority for everyone, the sight of a shepherd bringing his flock of goats down to the stream for a drink sent everyone scrambling again for their cameras, plastic plates and cups being tossed aside, before returning for a slice of watermelon.The days were long. Sometimes we would stop to drop off films for processing at a shopping development down by the sea on our return to Los Pinos. Then suddenly a chorizo pasta salad with juicy tomatoes, roasted peppers, fresh olives and chunks of bread, miraculously appeared spread out on a tablecloth in the shade of a ubiquitous olive tree. “You want to put a warm-up filter on this one,” Michael enthused, weaving through the obstacle course of tripods as the group congregated around yet another olive tree. Why is it that olive trees are so fascinating? Perhaps it is the expression of age in their trunks, or their distorted forms.

Even split in two with gaping hollows, they continue to grow and bear fruit.Each day we would clamber into a four-wheel drive and set off for a chosen spot invariably accompanied by the two dogs at Los Pinos. On arrival we would all spread out, and settle down to our own personal objectives, with Michael being on hand for practical advice on technique, equipment and film.Sometimes we would be so immersed in obtaining that perfect shot that lunch was forgotten until about three o’clock. Our subject matter was sometimes planned, sometimes just chanced upon. It was an experience of discovery, for nowhere looks the same twice, under changing skies and mercurial light.Preconceptions can lead to disappointment but Andalucia matched up to the idyllic images conjured in my mind.Pueblos blancos, barren mountains, pots of geraniums, a goat herder tending his flock, a single olive tree surrounded by a carpet of purple flowers. The only common factor was a keen personal ambition to improve our photographic capabilities.The guest host for our workshop, the landscape photographer Michael Busselle, gave an introductory talk, accompanied by his own slides to illustrate the theme for the week: “Colour landscape with a travel bias”. The essence of the holiday was to spend the next six days exploring the enormous diversity of locations in the surrounding region, known enigmatically as Axarquia.