Filters
§ 2.3 · Who It Is ForIs a retreat right for me?
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The one whose calendar has swallowed the year, and who cannot remember the last time an hour belonged to them.
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The one who is fine on the surface, and knows the surface is doing a lot of work. Not in crisis. Just running on very little.
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The one at the end of a season of life, a role, a relationship, a version of themselves, and looking for a little space before the next one begins. -
Everyone else. The retreats are for the arriving person, not the practised retreat-goer.
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With work, home life, and other commitments, you never have time to just be.
The great outdoors plays a huge role in all our retreats§ 2 · RETREATSPeople come here to reconnect with themselves.
Society of Poets retreats are spaces that invite people to step away from the pace and noise of everyday life and reconnect with themselves, the natural world, and other people. Small groups. Writing, walking, talking, reflection, and time in company that asks nothing of you. Held in the United Kingdom, with each retreat limited to just 10 people.
§ 2.4 · A Sense of Place and RhythmLong walks, small rooms, unhurried days.
Settings are chosen for their quiet. A house with a garden. A space with a view. A room with a fire in it. The specific venue for each retreat is listed on its own event page, so you know where the day will be spent before you book.
The rhythm inside a day is unhurried. Long stretches for writing or walking. Meals taken slowly, in company that does not need to fill the silence. A little time held aside for a conversation, if one wants to happen. A close to the day that feels like a close, not a handover to the next thing.
§ 2.2 · What Engaging Us Looks LikeThe retreats look like retreats. What happens inside them is different.
We are called the Society of Poets, not because the retreats are about poetry, but because they are aligned with the ways of living of the romantic poets, who, for better or worse, did not face the same level of distraction we do today. They gave people space to connect and listen, to walk boundless miles, thinking, writing, and being present.
That is what the retreats are all about. They take the form of different types of gatherings, typically with writing, talking, reflection, introspection, and sharing experience. We create spaces to slow down, notice more, and rediscover the pleasure of being unhurried.
What happens inside is not a programme to work through, nor a wellness protocol to follow. It is attention paid to your own life, in the company of others doing the same. Long stretches of quiet. Walks without a destination. Time to write, if writing is your way, and time simply to sit if it is not. Meals that are not rushed. Conversations that are not steered. A day with room in it.
If that is what you have been looking for, the next scheduled day is above.
Retreat FAQs
The things people usually ask first.
What is it?
A space to step away from the pace and noise of everyday life and reconnect with yourself, the natural world, and other people. Small groups. Writing, walking, talking, reflection, sharing. Nothing performed, nothing hurried.
Do I need to be a writer?
No. Writing is one of the ways we slow down and pay attention, but the retreats are not writing courses and no one asks to see what you produce. If you have never written a word outside a work email, you are welcome.
How small are the groups?
Small on purpose. Every retreat is capped at ten, so everyone can be heard and no one has to perform.
Who runs them?
Ash, founder of Society of Poets. A long-standing love of the Lakeland poets, and years spent running wellbeing sessions inside organisations before building this practice. More: the story behind Society of Poets. Ash will occasionally be joined by experts from other fields.
First time on a retreat?
Most people who come have not been on one before. The retreats are shaped for the arriving person, not for a practised retreat-goer. You will be met, held, and never asked to do anything you are not ready to do.