Buddha outside The Barn at The Sharpham Trust

Retreatant Natalie

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Buddhist meditation teacher-led retreat: Cultivating Wisdom with Ethan Pollock - 6 nights at The Barn

Name: Buddhist meditation teacher-led retreat: Cultivating Wisdom with Ethan Pollock - 6 nights at The Barn
Start: 2027-05-16
Location: The Barn Retreat Centre at Sharpham

Develop a clearer, kinder and more liberating way of relating to yourself & the world

Summary

The Barn Retreat Centre at Sharpham

Duration: 6 nights - run annually

For those with any meditation experience - or none

Single occupancy

Silence nightly until morning & on 1 whole day

Max. Spaces: 10

Overview

This Buddhist meditation retreat a 6-night, teacher-led stay at The Barn retreat venue in beautiful South Devon, exploring how we can be still enough to see and quiet enough to listen, allowing wisdom to unfold.

Wisdom means to see clearly. It's a gentle and embodied understanding of how things truly are.

On this retreat, we will explore the cultivation of wisdom through the Buddha’s teachings on Right Understanding and Right Intention, the first two factors of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Where can we find solid ground in a changing world? How can we live with greater freedom, compassion, and integrity? Who are we beyond the stories, habits, and assumptions that shape our lives? What becomes possible when we learn to see things as they truly are?

Through practice, we may begin to discover that wisdom is not something we need to acquire. It is something that can unfold when we become still enough to see, quiet enough to listen, and courageous enough to meet our experience as it is.

Through meditation, reflection, teachings, and periods of silence we will investigate how our views and assumptions shape our experience, and how a deeper understanding of impermanence, suffering, and non-self can begin to transform the way we meet life.

This retreat is an invitation to slow down, look deeply, and listen for what is true. It's for anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of the Buddhist path and to cultivate a clearer, kinder, and more liberating way of relating to themselves and the world.

It’s better to live one day wise and meditative than to live a hundred years foolish and untrained - Buddha

Meditation at The Barn retreat centre at Sharpham

This retreat is for you if:

You want to experience a retreat in the Buddhist tradition
You are prepared to live and work in community, working in the gardens
You would like to experience some periods of silence
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, including cooking and eating together and helping in our gardens
experience guided meditations and periods of silence and quiet contemplation
community sharing
mindful movement
finding connection with nature
have a single-occupancy room and your own space in which to rejuvenate, with free time to deeply rest and reconnect with yourself
have access to 24-hour hot teas, coffee & infusions in the kitchen
be able to explore the beautiful Sharpham Estate, set within the designated South Devon National Landscape close to nature, amid breath-taking scenery on the banks of the River Dart

What is a mindfulness meditation retreat?

Spend time cultivating wisdom in the library at The Barn, on the Sharpham Estate

Retreatant Natalie

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

The weekly schedule provides opportunities for both individual reflection and group meditation.

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.

It is important that you are willing to participate in working on the land as part of your mindfulness practice (we can easily find suitable tasks for people with health difficulties) and that you can commit to all the scheduled activities during the week. This includes three 40 minute formal meditation periods each day.

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.

Note that we hold silence overnight from 8.40pm to 9.15am in the morning, and all day Wednesday.

Sunday

Afternoon
2.00pm to 4.00pm – Your arrival
5.00pm – Welcome Meeting
6.30pm – Light evening meal. Then settling in
8.00pm – Meditation, followed by silence until 9.15am the next day

Monday to Friday:

Mornings	Afternoons
6.20am – Wake up	12.20pm – Guided or silent meditation
6.45am – Movement & meditation	1.00pm – Lunch
7.30am – Household tasks	2.00pm – Personal time
8.00am – Breakfast	4.30pm – Dharma talk
9.15am – Silence ends, morning meeting & check-in (except Wednesday)	6.30pm – Light supper
10.30am – Mindful gardening	8.00pm – Guided or silent meditation followed by silence until 9.15am the following day

Saturday:

As above until 8.00am. Silence ends at breakfast. Then it's time to clear your room and depart between 9.00am and 10.00am.

Reviews

Beautiful place, beautiful people. Definitely recommend if you're looking for connection, community, nature, peace and tranquillity!

Sam

Beautiful location, inspirational facilitation by leaders on the retreat theme and heart warming community building within group.

Benefits included deeper recognition & appreciation of all the wisdom acquired during life journey and sense of increased resilience and positivity about being an 'elder'. Especially enjoyed daily Qi Gong exercises, supportive presence of co-ordinator & Felice Rhiannon's sessions.

Came away with increased energy, new tools to draw on to enable me to live my senior years in accordance with my values, pursue activities which bring me joy and contentment & face life's challenges.

retreat participant

This was a very calming and thoughtful 4 days in such a beautiful place.

The co-ordinators were so quietly supportive through the practices and schedule, giving a great blend of guidance, advice and space for our own reflection

The schedule provided a great mix of engagement, silence, and communal activity.

I feel I have learnt much to carry forward with me.

A participant on a 4-night Barn retreat

Truly a special place. The location and surroundings are both outstandingly beautiful. The daily routine of the retreat is a gentle combination of movement, gardening, good meals, easy chores, opportunities for a variety of group meditation practices, and time for personal practice. All this would have been more than delightful enough. However, in addition, the coordinators create the conditions for all in a retreat group to "hold space" for and with each other. This was surprising to me, and very impressive. Keep going. What you're doing is great!

Heather Stark

March 2023

The Barn is a very special place, made special most of all by the tireless voluntary work of the Barn coordinators. This is a review of the typical 6 night retreat, with the usual structure: up at 6.40am for mindful movement (or standing and staring in my case) and then meditation; further 40 minute meditations, sometimes metta or walking at 12.20pm and 8pm. There is quite a lot of structure to the day, maybe a bit too much for my taste, but still the afternoons and evenings are mostly free; if one really wanted to rest instead of attending a session, I felt this would be respected, or even encouraged. The visiting dhamma teachers were excellent, as usual, and gave some excellent answers (with a Buddhist perspective, but far from dogmatically doctrine) to wide ranging questions from the retreatants. It seems slightly absurd to give the Barn a star rating: would anyone seriously claim they were a 'five-star Buddhist'? But if I have to, then five stars is the only possible rating and thoroughly deserved.

Mark Wildon

June 2023

The Barn is the most wonderful place, they hold you with Care and Love when it’s most needed, Lindsay & Armel guided me through Meditation practice with kind patience for a anxious novice.
When l needed the community and help to heal my heart and mind in a safe queer space or for anyone who feels the pull towards some retreat healing, the Barn Team and the natural beauty of the Barn location is truly unbeatable. The Cats held me with their warmth and the nature held us all together for the whole time together. Deepest Thanks & Love to everyone l had the privilege to spend this time with. Simon x

Simon Holman

June 2023

Beautiful and peaceful place where you can just slow down. Every sound, smell and touch received in total bliss. The Barn coordinates a comfortable, nurturing and informative stay for all. It’s a really special and I will definitely return!

Linda Emmanuel

July 2023

Venue

Retreatants outside The Barn retreat centre

The Barn Retreat Centre at Sharpham

Our popular meditation retreat venue in the Buddhist tradition is where up to 11 people join together living in community for weekly retreats, including a variety of themed retreats - scroll on to see them all.

You'll be staying within a friendly atmosphere of fellowship, sitting together in daily meditations and mindfully tending our organic vegetable gardens.

You'll have your own single room, you'll get to eat produce from what's grown on the land here and you'll also get time to explore the wonder of the beautiful and contemplation-inspiring Sharpham Estate.

Second time there and it continues to deliver! The coordinators are brilliant at creating a sense of community and peace. The setting is incredibly beautiful and allows for an deep immersion with nature

Get Directions View Venue

By Car

From the A38/Devon Expressway take the Totnes/Buckfastleigh exit.

On arriving in Totnes, at the first traffic lights, turn right onto the A381 towards Kingsbridge. Half a mile outside Totnes turn left to Ashprington (about two miles).

After 1.8 miles of winding road, turn left at the crossroads (sign shows left to Natural Burial Ground and straight on for Ashprington. If you get to the village you've gone too far).

After 50 yards turn right down a private road signposted 'The Barn Retreat' and 'Lower Sharpham Barton'.

Follow this over 12 speed bumps all the way down to the bottom (0.7 miles).

Drive through the farmyard bearing left and head up the concrete road to The Barn. Please park by the woodsheds (you may have to double-park).

Be aware that if you're using a sat-nav, our postcode TQ9 7DX directs you to Sharpham Barton Farm.

On Google Maps the Barn is about 300m due north (you can see our poly-tunnels and gardens about 150m north-west of The Barn building). Our driveway is obscured by trees, but identified if you 'show labels'.

Charging your electric car at Sharpham

We have electric car charging points at The Sharpham Trust. Learn more about using them here

By Train

Frequent direct trains run from London, Birmingham, and the North. The journey time by train is less than three hours from London Paddington via GWR (www.GWR.com) and under four hours from London Waterloo.

Find train times and buy tickets from www.thetrainline.com

Trains to Totnes are on the Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance lines. Totnes railway station is a 5-10 minute walk from the town.

We are not able to provide rides from the Totnes train station at this time. If you travel by rail, you will need to take a taxi or walk or cycle to The Barn.

By Taxi

Click here to see how to book a single or shared taxi to The Sharpham Estate

On foot or cycle from Totnes

From Totnes railway station, walking takes 45-60 minutes and cycling takes about 25 minutes.

Out of Station Drive, turn left at the main road, crossing over at the pedestrian lights. At Morrisons petrol station take the road straight on-ish into town (you'll soon walk past Morrisons supermarket on left). Keep going straight on over the mini-roundabout. At the Doctors' Surgery the road swings right. You go straight on, passing the Doctors' Surgery to your right.

When the road bears left around the back of the Steam Packet Inn on your left, you turn right (signposted National Cycle Network 28), up the hill for 30 metres to a sign for footpath/cycle route to Ashprington. Follow this, taking the right hand route at the first fork, continue up a long hill, and through woodland.

Go through a gate at the top, then continue downhill along this path. You will reach another gate with the Sharpham compass logo on its post, and go through that gate.

Continue on about 200 metres through a third gate and soon after you’ll pass a striking bench on your left commissioned by the Sharpham Trust as a wonderful sit-spot facing down the River Dart Valley towards Sharpham House.

Follow the path down and through a fourth gate. Soon after this gate, take a turn-off to the right, through a gate going up along a tree-lined path.

Did you go perhaps not see the turn-off? You’ve gone too far if you meet another gate and a split in the path with a sign pointing toward Ashprington. If you meet either of these, turn back to find the gate leading to the tree-lined path.

Walk up this path, through yet another gate, to a paved road and Lower Sharpham Barton Farm. You are nearly there! Where this paved road begins, turn right, through the farmyard and follow the road up a hill. There will be a couple of sharp turns, but at the end of the road you’ll be at The Barn Retreat.

By Coach

The journey time by National Express coach is just over six hours from London, (Victoria Coach Station, Departures Hall) and the route travels via Heathrow Airport, (Central Bus Station). The coach is the 501 - Route Exeter, Torbay to Heathrow Airport and London.

Leaders

Barn Coordinators Read more +

Ethan Pollock Read more +

Costs

Rooms & rates

All rooms are comfortable single occupancy, with a shared bathroom.

They are allocated randomly, unless you have a medical need - please let us know on your booking form.

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

Meals, bedding, and towels are included.

Select from the following rates:

Subsidised rate	Standard rate	Supporter rate
A heavily subsidised rate for those on low incomes who would otherwise be unable to attend. This is made possible by the generosity of others who are able to pay the higher Supporter Rate, helping us keep retreats open and accessible to everyone	The Standard Rate for those not on a low income, covers the costs of your retreat and contributes a small amount to the upkeep of The Barn. Your payment helps maintain the retreat spaces, keep rooms and communal areas in good order, and ensures the experience is welcoming and enjoyable for all who visit.	For those able to pay a little more, you'll make a wider, lasting impact, helping to preserve the estate and its wildlife, sustain the charitable work of the Trust and ensure future participants can benefit from the peace and renewal we offer. By choosing this rate, you’re helping The Trust to thrive - now and in the years to come.
£495	£545	£615

Dana

Dana is the Pali word for generosity or donation. The volunteer coordinators are receiving only a small payment for expenses whilst living at The Barn and are generously giving their energy and understanding to us all. Your donation, if you are able, is welcome.

Bursary places for those on low incomes

We are committed to making Sharpham Trust retreats accessible to everyone, no matter their income, and we have a variety of bursary schemes.

See our Bursary Places page here to explore ways in which you can come on a heavily-discounted retreat.

Bursary Fund donations

If you’d like to support even more people beyond your own retreat, you can donate to our Bursary Fund. Every gift helps make retreats accessible to those who might otherwise miss out.

If you’d like to help another person go on retreat with us through our bursary scheme, you can give online quickly and easily by clicking here

Terms & Conditions

See our booking and cancellations policy here

Available dates

2027 16 May

Cultivating Wisdom: a 6-night Buddhist retreat at The Barn

With Ethan Pollock & Barn Coordinators

BOOK ONLINE

At the heart of the Sharpham Trust ethos is our desire to build a more mindful, compassionate and environmentally sustainable world.

We connect people with nature and foster mindfulness and well-being through our programme of retreats, mindfulness courses, outdoor learning and the arts.

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Charity number: 285767 | Company number: 01659601

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