In 2004 we took our children Isabella Skye and Saffron Willow then aged 5 and 3 on a tipi holiday in Cornwall. We fell in love with the tipi tradition and decided we had to bring the experience to our home county of Cumbria.

Setting up 4 Winds Lakeland Tipis has been an enjoyable and rewarding task involving many of our friends and family. We have often taken guidance from Native American teachings and looked to the earth for answers. Where the tipis should be sited? We needed to choose our locations wisely and take into consideration many aspects of the land we were going to use as our 4 Winds Tipi locations (Locations Page). The Native American Indians were nomadic and we ourselves move our tipis to where we think they are best suited for the year ahead, this method gives us experience of many different types of land and gives 4 Winds guests a variety of sites should they wish to visit us again.

On our Journey with 4 Winds we are always learning and ask guests to comment on what aspects of the 4 Winds experience they liked and what they think could be changed for the better. We felt the need to do this as our first tipi holiday had been quite basic and we felt we needed just a few more comforts to be able to really enjoy the experience (Our Tipis Page).

We have now had many wonderful and entertaining occasions in our Tipis and met some amazing new friends. Being involved with Tipis has given our children some truly unique experiences and has taught them much more about life and their environment than any text book could. For ourselves the experience has reawakened the simplicity and joys of our childhood.

Lee Duckworth is a cabinet maker and wood craftsman who makes decking platforms, fencing, pergolas and many other outdoor structures and has made the carvings and woodcrafts on the tipi sites.

Suzanne Duckworth has a background in Art and Drama and has a degree in Sociology and Health and a PGC in Dementia Studies specialising in therapeutic dementia support.
Suzanne is interested in American Indian art and crafts and is one of the workshop tutors.
Lee tutors on some of our natural environment projects.

As you enter the pages of this site the true magic of the tipi experience will unfold.