Rewild Yourself - a retreat for inner rewilding
Rewild Yourself - a retreat for inner rewilding
Rewild Yourself - a retreat for inner rewilding

Rewild Yourself: a 5-night Woodland Retreat

Summary

6 Reviews
5-nights - Seasonal
Any meditation experience
Single Bell Tent
Short periods of silence
Max. Spaces: 16

Overview

Learn to flourish by connecting to Nature on this woodland retreat, set in Sharpham's amazing and peaceful landscape.

You'll discover what happens when you trust Nature to help you thrive, on this 5-night retreat in furnished bell-tents in our nature-immersed Woodland Campsite.

You'll experience what it means to re-wild yourself and the land, to create healthy eco-systems inside and out and to let natural processes take the lead in your life.

On this retreat, you'll be able to explore and connect to the rewilding land here, learning how the principles and practices of rewilding can also be applied to your inner nature. You'll be invited to consider how the health of the individual is not separate from the health of the planet, and that the land will heal when we do.

So expect to deepen your connection with the natural world, via this Woodland Retreat, allowing yourself to recover, adapt and flourish as nature intended.

Learn more about the content of this retreat from Ben Ballard, our Programme Manager who curates our nature-mindfulness retreats at Sharpham.

This retreat is for you if:

  • You love the outdoors and nature or would like to experience nature in a different way (you don't have to be an experienced camper to attend)
  • You are curious to learn more about re-wilding and how this might help transform your relationship to your inner nature  
  • You are longing to spend time in nature with the chance to reconnect with your true and authentic self
  • You are new to mindfulness or are looking to sustain and reconnect with your practice in a new way
  • You are aged 18 and above
What is Mindfulness?

What you'll experience on this retreat:

  • Connect to the wild world and learn how the land can be a mirror, guide and friend
  • Learn mindfulness-based nature connection practices that can help nourish and sustain you
  • Discover the resilience of the natural world and learn how providing the right conditions can enable you to flourish and thrive
  • Learn about re-wilding at Sharpham and see and feel the vibrancy of how nature is responding
  • Discover the ways in which self-limiting thoughts, stories and behaviours might be hold you back from discovering your wild nature
  • The opportunity to deepen your connection to your inner nature, through contemplative practice, group sharing and personal reflection
  • Live in community with like-minded people, sharing experiences and tasks
  • Have a single-occupancy furnished bell-tent to stay in, 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
  • enjoy delicious, healthy, home-cooked vegetarian food that regularly receives rave reviews
Rewild Yourself - a retreat for inner rewilding

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

Rewilding at Sharpham

For millions of years, our ancestors lived in harmony with their natural surroundings. They were part of, not separate from, nature. As a result, our bodies, hearts and minds are highly tuned to thrive in nature.

Yet, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with much of our land heavily domesticated and used only as a means of production.

At The Sharpham Trust, we are charting a different course, pursuing organic & rewilding approaches to make space for wildlife and re-connect people with the natural world.

Explore our rewilding efforts

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
5.00pm - 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

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

I'm recently back from a 5 day woodland retreat and all I can say is wow. Wonderful.

Everything about the experience was exceptional. The facilitators were skilful and compassionate. Of note, the experience was more intense than most of the participants (inc me) had anticipated and that is entirely in its favour. This isn't "just" meditating in nature, although there is plenty of that. This is deep work that I haven't even began integrating it yet.

I'll be back for more Sharpham goodness in the future.

Peter Richards
September 2022

My experience of the Woodland Retreat at Sharpham was one of pure joy and wonder.

From the amazing food, to the lovely tent, to the wonderful participants and other attendees, I can't fault any of it.

I will carry the memories with me forever. I can't wait to go back! 🤗

A participant on a Woodland Retreat
See all Reviews

Sharpham Trust Woodland Retreats

Woodland Retreats

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.

 

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Leaders

Barry Thurgood
Barry Thurgood Read more +
Brigit-Anna McNeill
Brigit-Anna McNeill Read more +

Costs

£550 - 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.

£595 – 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.

£650 – 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

Thanks to the generosity of the Hollick Family Foundation we are able to offer up to two 75% bursaries for 18-25 years olds experiencing financial hardship on this retreat. To find out more and apply please contact [email protected]

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Available dates

2025 04 Aug

Rewild Yourself: a 5-night Woodland Retreat

With Brigit-Anna McNeill & Barry Thurgood