Writing Retreats: Services

Writing Retreats

precious time and space to write in the Northern Isles of Scotland

I offer two-week writing retreats in the incomparable Orkney Isles of Scotland, in a 17th Century Manse on Westray, where the North Sea and Atlantic meet. These retreats include access to daily guided yoga and meditation and a communal room you can use for your own practice at any time of the day or night. I am a certified Kripalu yoga teacher with decades of experience meditating and doing yoga.

Each day begins with optional gentle yoga and meditation, then a quiet house until 5pm. There is ample space to write, with each room looking out to the Westray Firth, and any time of the day you can take a 5 minute walk to a sandy beach or explore the island. In the summer it barely gets dark at night, and even when it does there is a glow at the horizon. In October it can get dark enough to see the Northern lights, while during the day the world seems illuminated at a side angle, creating a beautiful play of shadows and light. The wind and sound of the ocean and the sea accompanies you down any creative byways you explore in a cozy, warm house with chef's kitchen. After dinner, we meet at 7pm for a writing workshop where everyone who wants to read shares work and gets supportive and constructive feedback. On the weekend you have time to explore the islands or continue the deep dive into your writing. All of the photos on this page other than the top one of Ugo the cat are photos taken in the Orkney Isles.

The 2020 and 2021 retreats scheduled for June and July have been CANCELLED due to COVID and associated travel restrictions. I have decided not to reschedule until the pandemic is over. If you are interested in general, you can contact me to be put on a waiting list for when I offer these retreats again. I may also lead some shorter retreats more locally.

Contact me for more information and pricing on the rooms. The fee is far less than comparable retreats in order to keep it accessible.

"The island continues to shimmer in my mind - it was there, and with you all, that I faced the necessity of surfacing with all of this, of becoming visible.

The retreat gave me a rare place of stillness in which to hear my voice and my profound connection to the landscape, to feel the shape of it. Important to this was being able to live alongside others, all there to dedicate time to their writing, holding to silence in the day in an atmosphere of encouragement."

- Jules Bradbury

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