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A day here
07:00 — The bell. Nobody has to get up for it
07:30 — Breakfast, in silence — and yes, genuinely silent
09:00 — An hour of whatever you came here to do
12:30 — Lunch, still quiet, at the longest table you've seen
14:00 — Free. Walk, sleep, read, or sit in the garden doing none of those
18:00 — Supper — and this is the meal where people talk
21:00 — Silence again, until after breakfast
07:30 — Breakfast, in silence — and yes, genuinely silent
09:00 — An hour of whatever you came here to do
12:30 — Lunch, still quiet, at the longest table you've seen
14:00 — Free. Walk, sleep, read, or sit in the garden doing none of those
18:00 — Supper — and this is the meal where people talk
21:00 — Silence again, until after breakfast
Two nights, or seven
You can leave at any point.
That's the first thing on this page rather than the last, because being somewhere quiet and remote without a car is what people are actually nervous about. If it isn't working, say so to anybody and we'll drive you to the station without asking why.
What the silence actually means
Nine at night until after breakfast — That's the core of it. The rest of the day is quiet rather than silent
You can always speak to staff — About anything, at any hour. Silence isn't a rule we enforce on you
Nodding is fine — Nobody is being rude. Most people find this the easiest part by the second day
Phones — Signal is poor and there's no wifi in the rooms. There is wifi in the office
If you can't do it — Then don't. Sit in the library and read instead. Nobody is counting
The first night — Is the hardest for almost everybody, and it's worth knowing that beforehand
You can always speak to staff — About anything, at any hour. Silence isn't a rule we enforce on you
Nodding is fine — Nobody is being rude. Most people find this the easiest part by the second day
Phones — Signal is poor and there's no wifi in the rooms. There is wifi in the office
If you can't do it — Then don't. Sit in the library and read instead. Nobody is counting
The first night — Is the hardest for almost everybody, and it's worth knowing that beforehand
A retreat is not therapy
If you're in crisis right now — Silence can make it heavier rather than lighter. Please don't come this month
If a loss is very recent — Some find it exactly right and some find it unbearable. Ring and talk to us first
If you're here to decide something — Fine — but a decision made in week one often looks different by week three
If somebody told you to come — Then it's probably not the moment. This works when it is your own idea
What we are not — Trained counsellors. We can sit with you; we cannot treat anything
What we'd say instead — Your doctor, or a counselling service. We'll help you find one and hold your place
If a loss is very recent — Some find it exactly right and some find it unbearable. Ring and talk to us first
If you're here to decide something — Fine — but a decision made in week one often looks different by week three
If somebody told you to come — Then it's probably not the moment. This works when it is your own idea
What we are not — Trained counsellors. We can sit with you; we cannot treat anything
What we'd say instead — Your doctor, or a counselling service. We'll help you find one and hold your place
We turn a handful of bookings away every year for those reasons and refund them in full. A retreat that takes everybody's money is not looking after anybody.
What the room is actually like
The bed — Single and firm, with one spare blanket in the wardrobe
The bathroom — Shared between three rooms. There are two of them on each floor
Hot water — Plentiful morning and evening, temperamental at three in the afternoon
The door — Locks. The key hangs inside it and there's a spare in the office
Heating — On timers, with a portable heater in the cupboard if that isn't enough
The view — Two rooms have one. The other eleven face a wall or a yard, and we won't pretend otherwise
The bathroom — Shared between three rooms. There are two of them on each floor
Hot water — Plentiful morning and evening, temperamental at three in the afternoon
The door — Locks. The key hangs inside it and there's a spare in the office
Heating — On timers, with a portable heater in the cupboard if that isn't enough
The view — Two rooms have one. The other eleven face a wall or a yard, and we won't pretend otherwise
What a stay costs
Two nights
$180 Friday to Sunday
- Your own room
- Every meal, and tea whenever
- Nothing you have to attend
- A lift from the station
Five nights
$410 Monday to Saturday
- Everything in a weekend
- Long enough for the second day to happen
- The library and the walks
- Somebody to talk to if you want one
A full week
$540 seven nights
- The cheapest per night by a distance
- Laundry midweek
- The same room throughout
- Most people's second visit is this one
Every meal is included and there is nothing to pay for once you are here. If the price is the thing stopping you, say so on the form — there's a quiet fund for exactly that, it doesn't run out, and nobody is ever told who used it.
★★★★★
“I left after one night and they drove me to the station at half past six in the morning without a single question. I came back the following spring for a week.”
M. Okafor
Came back
★★★★★
“The page said eleven of the rooms look at a wall. Mine did. I would have been annoyed if I hadn't been told — and I had been.”
Ruth E.
Five nights
Ask about a stay
Tell us roughly when and how long. If we think a retreat isn't the right thing for you right now, we'll say so honestly rather than take the booking.
Ask about a stay
If cost is the thing stopping you, say so in the message. It is handled quietly and it is never mentioned again.
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