Doctors on Retreat
Coach House retreat
Sharpham Trust Coach House Retreat
Sharpham Trust Coach House Retreat
Coach House retreat

The Coach House: 4-night Mindfulness & Nature Retreat for doctors

Summary

10 Reviews
4 nights - Annually
Any
Single
Short Periods
Max. Spaces: 18

Overview

Designed & coordinated by a practising GP and an Occupational Therapist, this unique retreat offers nature & mindfulness for self-care - exclusively for doctors. 

The Coach House is offering doctors a safe space to come together for rest & reflection and to nurture joy, compassion and connection.   

You'll be cared for full-board, with plenty of personal time in the very special location of the Sharpham Estate.


Are you a doctor interested in finding out more about our retreats? Sign up here

Meet your retreat leader

Dr Rachel Cottam is a practising GP who happened upon mindfulness & meditation and Sharpham's nature-connection ethos.

Now she wants to share the benefits with fellow medics via this retreat.

She's written her own piece here and a feature for the British Medical Journal about the effects of nature-mindfulness on medics.

Read BMJ feature

 


 

"Nurturing ourselves is not self-indulgent: it is what makes caring for patients possible.
It is the equivalent of putting on your own oxygen mask before putting it on the person sitting next to you"

 - Dr Rachel Cottam, retreat creator and coordinator.

 


 

This retreat is for you if you want to:

  • Explore the benefits of nature-based mindfulness and mindfulness meditation
  • Spend time in our wonderful heritage gardens
  • Rest, rejuvenate and deepen your connection with nature and wildlife
  • Develop a wider ecological awareness and understanding of your place in the world as part of, rather than separate from, nature
  • are aged 18 and above
What is Mindfulness?

What you'll experience on this retreat:

Doctors reflect on their time with us

Participants on our doctors' mindfulness retreat speak of spaciousness, calm, rest and community.

Some of the doctors were reporting stress and burnout before coming to stay with us, yet felt their symptoms subside once on retreat at Sharpham.

Garden

Getting your hands in the earth:

This Coach House retreat features morning sessions helping in our ornamental and Walled Garden in the grounds of Sharpham House, alongside our experienced staff Frances, Bryony and Amy.

We manage the gardens organically and the produce we grow supplies the kitchens in Sharpham House and the Coach House.

There are a mixture of tasks on our nature-mindfulness retreats, depending on the season. We invite you to bring your awareness to the land, plants and the nature surrounding you at Sharpham.

You don't need to know anything about gardening to participate - our team will support and assist you.

Rewilding:

This retreat includes the opportunity to learn more about our rewilding efforts with a morning session led by an Ambios Team member who look after our rewilding project and deliver conservation training on the estate.

Find Out More

What you'll need to know:

If you decide to stay with us, we’ll send you a list of what you need to bring for this retreat in your Welcome Letter that we send out after you've booked.

You can also find out more about staying with us on our Frequently Asked Questions page, including:

  • accessibility information
  • why we encourage you to come on your own and not with partners or friends
  • what the difference is between our retreats
View our FAQs

Schedule

If you're coming to stay with us on retreat, it is important to make a commitment to arrive in time for the first group meeting and to attend all the days.

This ensures you experience the retreat programme from start to finish and helps your group of participants to gel.


Silence

All our retreats include periods of silence as a way of deepening into mindful awareness.

If you are new to spending time in silence in the company of other people, it can feel awkward to begin with. But we encourage you to explore the silent periods with a spirit of openness and curiosity - people usually find it to be a positive experience. 

The retreats typically move into silence each evening from 9pm - 9/9.30am the following day


Typical Schedule

Day 1: Arrive between 3 - 5pm for welcome meeting and settling in

Mornings Afternoons
6.45am - wake up  1.00pm - meditation
7.00am – morning movement/meditation 1.30pm - lunch
8.00am - household tasks 3.00pm – free time or group walk
8.30am – breakfast 6.00pm – supper
9.30am – Home Group (silence ends)  8.00pm - meditation and deep rest
10.30am - gardening 9.00pm – Personal time (Coach House moves into silence until 9.30am the next day)

Final day: depart by 11am

The retreat will move into silence each evening from 9pm – 9/9.30am and on one full day in each retreat.

Reviews

One of the best decisions I have ever made was deciding to come to this beautiful place for a meditation retreat. Frank, Rachel and Elaine were so kind and welcoming and the food was amazing. The whole experience was transformative for me, and has helped me to live more in the present through mindfulness. I am so happy I found Sharpham House/Coach House. I will be making this a yearly pilgrimage going forward. Thank you to the whole staff for being amazing!

Chérie

The Wildlife Discovery retreat with Sharpham Trust is a wonderful, enriching experience. It provides an excellent balance between meditation, exploring and learning about nature and periods of silence (perfect for those of us who practice mindfulness but also love to get to know others). By the end of the five days there was a real bond among we 14 participants (I include our two fabulous volunteer co-ordinators) ; after such a joyful and rewarding experience, how could there not be? And nowhere can it be more beneficial to be mindful than in this amazing landscape overlooking the River Dart.

Francesca, Wildlife Discovery retreat participant

A very well facilitated retreat with two skilled and empathic coordinators in a glorious setting on the Sharpham estate. Comfortable Coach House accommodation with most rooms ensuite. An opportunity to begin meditating or deepen existing practice and learn new ways of being in the world. Excellent, plentiful vegetarian food. Free time in the afternoon provides an opporltunity to chill out or explore the many wonderful nature walks around the estate. A calming and enjoyable experience.

Pat MacDonald
May 2023
See all Reviews

The Coach House nature mindfulness retreat centre at The Sharpham Trust

The Coach House

When you stay at The Coach House, you'll be in comfy, single rooms in a beautifully converted 18th century stable block, set in the stunning scenery of Sharpham's grounds. You'll experience daily meditation and movement sessions, time in our gardens and on the land and you'll eat delicious and homegrown vegetarian and vegan meals.

Coach House retreats focus on nature connection through a varied programme of retreats designed to connect you to Sharpham's flora and fauna, with plenty of time for you to rest and reflect.

Get Directions View Venue

Leaders

Coach House Coordinators
Coach House Coordinators Read more +
Patti
Patti Summerville Read more +
Rachel Cottam
Rachel Cottam Read more +

Costs

The Sharpham Trust is committed to ensuring that retreats at The Coach House are accessible to all - regardless of income. 

All rooms are comfortable single rooms, with either an ensuite or a shared bathroom. All meals, bedding and towels are included. Rooms are randomly allocated, unless you have medical needs relating to your room allocation. If you have such a need, let us know on your booking form which will be sent to you once you have booked.

Participants at The Coach House can select which rate they pay according to need:

Supported Rate £525

The Sharpham Trust is committed to ensuring that retreats are accessible to all - regardless of income. The Trust therefore offers a heavily subsidised Supported Rate for those unable to pay the Standard or Benefactor Rate.

Standard Rate £565

Paying the Standard Rate means you will be contributing towards our running costs, supporting the work of The Coach House and helping retreatants on lower incomes to access our retreats.

Benefactor Rate £645

If you are able to pay the Benefactor Rate, that means that you'll be supporting others who cannot afford to benefit from a retreat on The Sharpham Estate. Your choice to pay this rate will help us with the running costs of The Coach House, enabling us to continue our charitable work connecting people to nature and fostering mindfulness and wellbeing, as well as caring for the land, wildlife and wider estate.

There will be a maximum of 18 guests on this retreat.

All rooms are single occupancy, giving you your own space in which to relax.

If you have a medical condition that requires you to have an en-suite room, please contact the Programme Administrator on the number below as these rooms are limited and are bookable on a first-come first-serve basis.

Book easily and securely online or by phoning 01803 732542

Terms & Conditions

Please click here to see our booking and cancellations policy

Room Types

Click here for more information on our types of bedrooms and facilities.

Bursaries

Limited 50% bursaries offering reduced-price retreats are available for those experiencing financial hardship. Please contact the Programme Administrator at least 4 weeks in advance if you wish to apply.

Our bursary fund relies on donations. If you’d like to help another to go on retreat here through our bursary scheme, you can give online quickly and easily by clicking here

Available dates

2024 08 Oct

The Coach House: a 4 night retreat for doctors

With Dr Rachel Cottam & Patti Summerville & Coach House Coordinators