Residential Holistic Structured Writing Retreat

Join our 3-day holistic writing retreat at the Abbey from Friday 9th January to Sunday 11th January 2026.

Are you a busy academic who needs to get away from your desk and out of the home, to somewhere more inspiring so you can focus on your writing? Or are you someone who has yearned to express themselves creatively through writing but has never quite found the confidence or right environment to do it? Or perhaps you’re someone who just wishes to explore their thoughts, to self-reflect and understand who they are and where they want to be?

Come as you are and let’s embark on a journey of creativity, growth and self-discovery!

This retreat will be facilitated by Alison Eardley and Tina Cartwright. Alison is an academic, and is also a trained writing retreat facilitator, and she has been running structured writing retreats for 9 years. Her husband is fiction writer and she has also been a participant on a good number of non-structured writing retreats, mostly with other authors. Tina is a qualified yoga instructor, and is also an academic. Her yoga practice is based on Hatha Yoga. Yoga sessions at the retreats are open to everyone from absolute beginners to regular practitioners. Retreat sessions focus on stretching and relaxation, and provide a way to soothe away the physical tensions that can arise from a day of writing.

What can you expect?

Open to all types of writers, the structured writing retreat is designed to provide you with an opportunity to write in a supportive, inspiring, peaceful and productive environment. Different from some writing retreat models, in the structured writing retreat all writers work together in the same room, with a facilitator managing the sessions.

In the structured writing model, the times that we write are set, and the facilitator tells the group when to start and when to stop. In our busy lives, where there are always competing things to do, and demands upon us, there is something quite magical about relinquishing that choice. Instead, we work as a group, which creates a sense of community and shared endeavour, a community of practice. The focus of the people around us can support our focused concentration and experience of that ‘flow’ state, where we sink into our chosen activity and time passes without noticing. Crucially, the retreats also encourages healthy writing practices, where we take regular breaks, and enriches the focus on wellbeing by incorporating optional walks and yoga into the schedule.

3-DAY RETREAT (all included)

Single Occupancy (private bathroom with shower and sink) £480 (early bird price £450 until 15 November)

Single Occupancy (shared bathroom) £450 (early bird price £420 until 15 November)

For more information, please contact us: welcome@theabbey.uk.com