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Mindfulness retreat: Anxiety & Low Mood - 4 nights in The Coach House
Helping you deal with worry, rumination & overwhelm via our Mindful-in-Nature method
Summary
Duration: 4 nights - run annually
For those with any meditation experience - or none
Single occupancy
Silence nightly until morning & on 1 whole day
Max. Spaces: 16
Overview
The Mindfulness Retreat for Anxiety and low mood is a 4-night stay at The Coach House retreat venue on the Sharpham Estate in beautiful South Devon, offering a restorative and supportive environment for those experiencing mild to moderate anxiety and/or low mood.
This is a supportive space where you'll combine mindfulness practice with time spent in nature, helping you to learn how to step out of cycles of worry & rumination, self-criticism and overwhelm and begin to relate to your thoughts and feelings with greater kindness and balance.
Both retreat leaders are trained mindfulness teachers (and practising therapists and counsellors) with longstanding experience of our approach to Mindfulness-Based Nature Connection.
This retreat incorporates the nature-based mindfulness teachings & practices from our Mindful-in-Nature programme that we ran for nearly a decade.
You'll stay in a single-occupancy room - most of which are en-suite - in our beautifully converted 18th century Coach House quadrangle.
Please note: this retreat is not suitable for those experiencing severe anxiety, depression, an acute mental health crisis or who require clinical or therapeutic intervention.
You might also like our other nature-connection retreats here
Retreat co-leader Emma shares more about what you can expect to learn and experience when you join this retreat.
She explains more about the nature-based practices you'll be using, and sharing insights from our Mindfulness-Based Nature Connection method that we've developed over nearly a decade.
This retreat is for you if you:
- feel frequently anxious, overwhelmed, burnt out, stressed or stuck in cycles of worry & rumination
- would like practical tools to help with your anxiety or low mood and support your mental wellbeing
- feel drawn to spending time in nature (and away from daily pressures) as part of your recovery
- are curious about mindfulness and how it can support emotional balance
- are seeking a supportive, non-clinical way, without medication, to help with your anxiety or low mood and boost your mental health
- are aged 18 and over
What you'll experience on this retreat:
- gentle nature-based practices and practical tools to manage stress, anxiety and low mood and support emotional balance and resilience in everyday life
- guided meditations, relaxation sessions, mindful movement and periods of silence and quiet contemplation
- opportunities for quiet reflection and rest, with time outdoors to slow down and reconnect with the natural world
- small-group sharing and chances for supportive discussion with others who have shared experience
- full-board accommodation in a Grade II-listed Georgian Coach House set within Capability Brownian parkland, with Grade II*-listed gardens designed by Percy Cane in a designated National Landscape amid breath-taking scenery on the banks of the River Dart
- a single-occupancy room 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
- delicious, healthy, home-cooked & seasonal vegetarian food - much of it grown in our 18th century Walled Garden - that regularly receives rave reviews, plus 24-hour access to teas, herbal infusions, and comforting refreshments
How can Mindfulness-Based Nature Connection help with anxiety and low mood?
This retreat draws on the experience developed through the Sharpham Mindful in Nature programme, which ran for eight years on the Sharpham Estate.
Through this work, Sharpham facilitators explored how mindfulness practice and direct experience in nature can support wellbeing, resilience and a deeper sense of connection with the living world.
Out of this learning has grown an approach we call Mindfulness-Based Nature Connection (MBNC). MBNC brings together mindfulness practice, sensory awareness and time in nature to support a direct, embodied experience of connection.
The practices shared on this retreat are part of that evolving approach. They have been developed and refined through many years of teaching and guiding participants on the Sharpham Estate and are designed to be simple, accessible and easy to bring into everyday life.
Through a blend of indoor and outdoor sessions, mindful movement, nature-connection practices and shared reflection, participants learn practical ways to support their wellbeing in everyday life.
The retreat is designed for adults experiencing mild to moderate anxiety or low mood who would benefit from a supportive, non-clinical environment. It is not intended as a replacement for therapy or medical care.
Retreat co-leader Emma Thom introduces herself and shares the story of how she came to mindfulness and how she's particularly interested in nature-mindful practices that support anxiety, low-mood and depression.
What is mindfulness and meditation?
Mindfulness can help us become more aware of our patterns of thinking and reacting, while time in nature often brings a sense of perspective, calm and connection.
When we sit in meditation we usually begin with developing mindfulness of our breathing to help us to steady our minds. Each time our mind wanders and we become distracted (which naturally happens), we bring our attention back to our breath. This practice of focus and awareness can be extended to encompass all of our experience including our physical sensations, thoughts, feelings and emotions, offering insight and self-knowledge.
Together these approaches support participants to develop a steadier relationship with difficult thoughts and emotions, and to discover practices that can be continued at home.
What is Mindfulness?
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
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.
The Coach House retreat centre at Sharpham
When you stay at The Coach House on the Sharpham Estate, 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
By Car
By Train
By Taxi
On foot or cycle from Totnes
By CoachLeaders
Emma Thom
Read more +
Ollie Frame
Read more +
Costs
The Sharpham Trust is committed to making retreats at The Coach House accessible to everyone, no matter their income.
All rooms are comfortable singles, with either an ensuite or shared bathroom. Meals, bedding, and towels are included. Rooms are allocated randomly unless you have a medical need - please let us know on your booking form.
We offer three rates for this retreat:
| Standard rate | 50% bursary rate | 100% bursary rate | |||
|
The Standard Rate reflects the true cost of providing the retreat and helps us maintain the Coach House as a welcoming, comfortable and supportive place for people to stay. Your payment contributes towards the retreat team, accommodation, food and the ongoing care and upkeep of the Coach House. It also helps us continue offering retreats like this in the future. If you are able to pay the Standard Rate, choosing this rate helps us keep the retreat financially sustainable and enables us to offer subsidised places to people who would otherwise be unable to attend. |
We offer a limited number of places at 50% of the Standard Rate for people experiencing financial hardship, where the cost of the retreat would otherwise be a significant barrier to attending. Please only select the 50% Bursary Rate if this genuinely applies to your financial circumstances. By doing so, you help us make sure that our limited bursary funding reaches those who need it most and can support as many people as possible. These places are available on a first-come, first-served basis and can be booked directly online. |
We also have two fully funded places available on each retreat for people experiencing financial hardship who would otherwise be unable to attend. Places are limited and applications will be considered in confidence. If you are offered a 100% bursary place, we ask for a £50 deposit when booking. This deposit is fully refundable after you have completed the retreat. See below for how to apply. |
|||
| £595 | £297.50 | £0 |
We offer these fully-funded places thanks to generous support from the Hoyle Foundation.
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 or fully-funded 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
Available dates
2027
27
Mar
Mindfulness for Anxiety & Low Mood: 4-night retreat at The Coach House
With Emma Thom & Ollie Frame
2027
17
Aug
Mindfulness for Anxiety & Low Mood: 4-night retreat at The Coach House
With Emma Thom & Ollie Frame & Emma Dibben
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.
© 2026 Sharpham Trust | The Sharpham Trust Sharpham House, Ashprington, Totnes, Devon, UK TQ9 7UTUseful Links
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