The responsibility of travel to the colony rests with the writer.
Rockvale Writers’ Colony’s address is 6994 Giles Hill Road, College Grove, TN, which is south of Nashville. We are in a rural corner of Williamson County. If you’re within driving distance, you should not have a problem with travel as we’re near major interstates. If you plan on flying, Nashville International Airport is about 1 hour / 41 miles away. Traffic around the airport and surrounding interstates can be heavy.
It is very handy (and recommended) for writers to have a car when they stay with us. As we don’t supply meals, writers need to get groceries, and that means driving to the store. There are towns around us in every direction, but the nearest one with grocery stores and other shopping conveniences is about 25 minutes / 16 miles away.
UPDATE BEGINNING JULY 5, 2021
A FEW THINGS TO BE AWARE OF IF YOU’RE TRAVELING BY AIRLINE TO NASHVILLE AND NOT RENTING A CAR:
- Check-In on Monday is 3:00pm at the earliest. We are not ready to receive writers until that time. You should make incoming flight arrangements based on that. Take into account the airport is an hour away from RWC.
- We are no longer coordinating drivers for airport pickups. Ubers or Lyfts are readily available from the airport. It is the writer’s responsibility to alert drivers to the arrival notes and gate code as explained in detail on the Arrival Instructions document. Writers receive this document the week before their scheduled residency. List “Rockvale Writers’ Colony” as your destination, rather than the actual street address when arranging for an Uber or Lyft pickup.
- We WILL assist writers with airport dropoff after residency. Since Ubers are often not available from the colony to the airport, we’ll share contact information for community drivers. The fee is set by the driver and must be paid in cash directly to the driver.
- We don’t supply food, so you’ll need to go to the grocery. One strategy that seems to work well upon arrival is to take an Uber/Lyft to the grocery store, purchase food, then take another Uber/Lyft to the colony. The nearest good grocery store to us is 20-25 minutes away. You should also think ahead about Monday dinner and Tuesday breakfast if you’re planning on a later grocery trip.
- The responsibility of travel to the colony ultimately rests with the writer. It is important to make plans early and communication about travel needs. Last minute requests cannot always be accommodated. If you have trouble on your day of travel, please contact Sandy for assistance. Her cell is 615-497-5322.
If you have questions about any of this, email Sandy at sandy.rockvale@gmail.com.
A FEW THINGS TO BE AWARE OF IF YOU’RE TRAVELING BY CAR:
- You’ll receive arrival instructions the week before your residency.
- GPS sometimes says “you’ve arrived” at the colony about a mile before you actually do. If this happens to you, just keep driving on Giles Hill Road. Do not pay attention to house numbers! The arrival instructions will contain photos of the satellite view of our area. If you’re coming from I-840, you’ll see the big gray barn first and the driveway that goes to it. Don’t turn there! Turn into the driveway that leads to the farmhouse. The mailbox has 6994 on the post and RWC on the box. It will be on your left. If you’re coming from Flat Creek Road, it will be on your right and you will reach the RWC driveway before you see the barn driveway. We have a black gate at the base of the driveway which will be closed. Arrival instructions will contain the gate code. The driveway curves up a hill. You’ll see a large RWC sign about halfway up. Drive all the way to the back of the driveway for parking.
- Cell service can be iffy in our rural location, so calling might not be a great option if you get lost. For this reason, we strongly suggest you take a look at Google maps satellite view and get a feel for our location. If you put in “Rockvale Writers’ Colony” as your destination, rather than the actual address, you’ll have better luck in getting the true place to come up in GPS.
- Sandy will need to know your estimated time of arrival. Check-in is no earlier than 3:00 p.m. and preferred no later than 5:00 p.m. Please let Sandy know if special arrangements need to be made for late arrivals due to unavoidable circumstances.