The Coach House People
Wendy Greek
Coach House Cook
Wendy is responsible for the delicious vegan and vegetarian food served at The Coach House!
Frank Gillet
Volunteer Coordinator
Frank started meditating 11 years ago, finding a foundation for his twin passions, nature connection and contemplative inquiry, in the Buddhist Thai Forest tradition. He has been training as a VortexHealing Practitioner for 5 years, offering energy healing treatments as a support for awakening.
Along the way he has delved deeply into the rich teachings of the world's wisdom traditions, weaving them together with indigenous teachings, energy healing, intuitive movement and modern ecotherapeutic approaches to create a wealth of resources and practices to support his desire to live wholeheartedly and authentically.
He has grounded his studies through environmental activism at tree protest sites, caring for clients' needs as a full-time live-in carer, and long-term volunteering in ecovillages, temples and monasteries from a range of different spiritual faiths.
About the Coach House, he says "I am continually amazed by what we offer here: each group lands in this rich landscape, held by each other and the programme, and together we co-create an experience that invariably leads to a deepening sense of connection, nourishment and openness both to life's challenges and its joys. I feel very blessed to be part of offering these retreats."
Nicky Reed
Volunteer Coordinator
Nicky is a qualified counsellor who has practised mindfulness and meditation for the last 20 years.
Said Nicky: "I really wanted to live my practice...being able to practise here in this environment and being out in nature are all of the things that I really love."
Bryony Middleton
Head Gardener
Bryony co-manages the gardens with Amy Cairns and is particularly responsible for the incredible productivity (and look!) of the Walled Garden and our Grade II-listed Percy Cane gardens.
Her vegetable & herb-growing abilities ensure our retreatants are fed admirably - and organically!
Jude Page
Volunteer Coordinator - Coach House
Meditation and mindfulness practices have been threaded through Jude’s life for 20 years.
She originally came to Sharpham as a retreatant to The Barn in 2022 and immediately connected with a profound sense of homecoming. She returned for a solo silent week in The Cabin, then a week in The Coach House in 2023 and is delighted to be here full time as a volunteer retreat coordinator.
Her livelihood has taken many forms: primary school teacher, lecturer, support worker for adults with learning difficulties, enabler for students with health conditions, youth arts leader, community arts facilitator, double-decker playbus driver, theatre performer, singer, gardener and holistic massage practitioner and tutor at Bristol College of Massage and Bodywork.
Nurturing confidence in people’s abilities and personal growth have been a repeating pattern in the weave and it feels as if the many life strands have led perfectly to this point now.
Previous experience as a volunteer have included periods as a conservation volunteer and WWOOFer and also working as a Full Time Volunteer for The National Trust as a gardener. She usually lives in West Cornwall and most recently was organising an events programme there to support creative practitioners' professional development.
The Plum Village tradition and teachings and practice of interbeing of Zen master Thich Nhat Hahn shine light and provide a deep container for Jude’s own meditation practice.
She loves to practice tai chi and Qigong in nature. And her reaction to being at Sharpham? "I like the spaciousness, the abundance of nature everywhere," she says.
"To see the impact on people that don't know each other, coming from all walks of life and being strangers, who then leave having had a profound experience with a group - that's mind-blowing".
