Women Woodland Retreats at Sharpham Trust
Woodland Retreat Sharpham Trust
Women Woodland Retreats at Sharpham Trust
Sharpham Trust Woodland retreats

Women's Woodland Retreat: 3-night

Summary

8 Reviews
3 nights - Seasonal
Any
Single
Short Periods
Max. Spaces: 16

Overview

This Woodland Retreat offers a spacious & sensuous immersion in mindfulness & nature within the supportive company of women on the beautiful Sharpham Estate in South Devon.

Sharpham Woodland Retreat participants speak of feelings of gratitude, wonder, calm, self-insight and positive emotions afterwards.

Participants explore the gardens and the wider estate guided by our experienced leaders.

Our Woodland Retreats run seasonally from June to September.

This retreat is for all women (as self-identified) aged 18 and above.

This retreat is for you if:

  • New to mindfulness or are looking to sustain and reconnect with your practice in a new way
  • Feeling overwhelmed, stressed or anxious by the demands and pace of modern life
  • Love the outdoors and nature or would like to experience nature in a different way
  • Looking for tools and resources to sustain you in your everyday life
  • Feeling a longing to spend time in nature and the chance to reconnect with your true and authentic self
  • Are aged 18 and above
What is Mindfulness?

What you'll experience on this retreat:

  • be living in community with like-minded people, sharing experiences and tasks
  • experience guided meditations, relaxation sessions and periods of silence and quiet contemplation, amid breath-taking scenery on the banks of the River Dart
  • Medicine walks, nature awareness and nature sensing activities
  • have a single-occupancy furnished bell-tent, and your own space in which to rejuvenate, with free time to deeply rest and reconnect with yourself, far from the busy-ness of daily life.
  • participate in accessible and engaging nature connection and nature sensing activities - cultivating moment to moment awareness in the outdoors 
  • be able to explore our tranquil Capability Brown-designed parkland and our Grade II*-listed gardens designed by Percy Cane
  • enjoy delicious, healthy, home-cooked vegetarian food that regularly receives rave reviews
  • be nurtured within a safe and supported space with time around the fire

A participant talks about the women's woodland retreat.

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 - 10am the following day


Typical Schedule

Day 1: 

Afternoon Evening
3.00pm - 5.00pm – Arrival and unload 6.30pm - Supper and washing up
5.15pm - Welcome meeting, settling in 8pm - Evening gathering
  9.00pm - Camp moves into silence till the following morning, supporting individual mindfulness and reflection

Typical Day:

Morning Afternoon/Evening
7.00am – wake up 1.00pm - lunch & tasks followed by personal time
7.30am – movement & meditation 4.00pm – afternoon session
8.30am – Breakfast & tasks 6.30pm - supper & tasks
10am - Group Sharing Circle 8pm - Evening gathering
11am – morning session 9.00pm – camp moves into silence

Final day: There is a closing circle at 10am and depart at 12 noon. 

Reviews

This woodland retreat was so nourishing and nurturing. I learnt how to connect to nature in a much deeper way. I slowed right down so that I was really in the moment, and was not aware of time at all. It was wonderful to spend the whole retreat outside in the fresh air in such a beautiful place, the views are awe inspiring. The retreat was well led, the food was delicious and nutritious, and our group bonded well and our hearts opened. We all blossomed :-)

Barbara Staneland
June 2023

First off the setting is beautiful... and magical! The bell tents are set into the wood, it's pitch black at night and you can see the stars, perfect around the campfire 🔥 . Little paths take you all round the wood underneath the woodland canopy... perfect for exploring and finding private corners.
The food is fabulous, I was more than happy to refrain from meat and my body seemed to really appreciate it.
Most importantly you are guided and looked after by a team that are very knowledgeable and very in tune with nature and human nature. You are led into secret areas inside yourself without even knowing you were going to go there. This was very surprising for me, I was coaxed along up to my limits but with no pressure. I think this was needed for me, I'm not a sharing person and everything usually stays inside. I had some amazing experiences with nature and myself.
I can not recommend this course highly enough whether as an individual looking for a deeper meaning to life, a reconnection with nature or just a way to reset from the stress of daily life and meet like minded individuals with some type of itch to scratch.
And on this final note take plenty of mosquito repellant. These were the only unwelcome guests. Namaste 🙏

Michael Smith
August 2022

Visited for the first time for a canoe retreat. What a set up. Really, a special place, with amazing leaders. Great food too. Worth visiting just for the rewilding project

Nick Smith
July 2023
See all Reviews

Sharpham Trust Woodland Retreats

Woodland

Immerse yourselves in the great outdoors through one of our Woodland retreats. You'll stay in single-occupancy, furnished bell-tents, spend time mindfully in nature and dine on delicious vegetarian and vegan food.

You'll benefit from daily meditation and supportive mindfulness leaders, with ample time to explore the incredible Sharpham Estate. We offer 3-night, 5-night, canoeing and women's woodland retreats.

 

Get Directions View Venue

Leaders

Jess Stein
Jess Stein Read more +
Lucy Chan
Lucy Chan Read more +
Nadia Abdel-Karim
Nadia Abdel-Karim Read more +
Nina Jankelson - assistant manager of The Barn retreat centre at Sharpham
Nina Jankelson - Assistant Barn Manager Read more +

Costs

£395 - Supported Rate

The Sharpham Trust is committed to ensuring that its retreats are accessible to all - regardless if income. The Supported Rate is for those unable to pay the Standard or Benefactor Rate.

£445 – Standard Rate

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

£495 – Benefactor Rate

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 Sharpham Trust, 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.

You can book easily and securely online below, by phoning 01803 732542 or by [email protected]

Tents & facilities

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 02 Jul

Woodland Retreat: Nature Connection for Women (3 nights)

With Nina Jankelson & Jess Stein
2024 23 Jul

Woodland Retreat: Nature Connection for Women (3 nights)

With Lucy Chan & Nadia Abdel-Karim