Rydal Hall this year was magical!
Rydal Hall 2025 was a very special weekend Writing Retreat, with the first day of the course, Friday 20th June, falling on the Eve of the Summer Solstice. I don’t think any of us will ever forget the powerful Meditation which took place on the Eve of the Solstice, in what we have always called the Om chapel, but also has a slightly less romantic name of The Grot! This tiny wooden building sits almost under a huge waterfall and a glimmering pool below it. It was a magical experience in the gloaming, half-light on the Solstice Eve with birds still singing in the undergrowth, presaging the longest day of the year on 21st June.
With the big plate glass window looking over the waterfall, one seems to be literally in the water. We walked quietly back to our conference room, each in our quiet reverie, dusk, ‘wolf light’ as the photographers call it, past the ancient trees in the beautiful grounds of Rydal Hall. A special kind of ‘Forest Bathing’, if you will, and some terrific writing followed.
Many thanks too to the super-talented Kerry Darbishire, (runner-up in the Lakeland Book of the Year this year!), and previously Writer in Residence at Rydal Mount, just up the road from Rydal Hall, who gave us a great day of stimulating writing on the Saturday, and to Irene Dyer for her excellent Writing Class on the Sunday. A new brochure can be seen linked below for 2026. Hope to see you there!
