Foxes’ Retreat Festival of Writing & Reflection 2025

Our next Festival will be in 2025, but please note that these events get booked up sometimes a year ahead, so it is never too soon to check in with us about options!

About the event

There will be a maximum of sixteen writers on site, including the Foxes. There may be one or two workshops leaders in just for the day on top of this, but this is deliberately a small festival where our writers can connect without feeling overwhelmed by noise and busy days.

Our intention is to create a week of gentleness and meaningful connection (*not like the wild partying you will find at bigger festivals. Please look for those larger scale events, if that is your thing).

With these thoughts of ease and gentleness in mind, do get in touch to find out if we are the right spot for you?

Day to day essential information:

Food will be vegetarian, using free range eggs from our own rescue chickens only. We use oat milk and plant butter, as well as ancient grains. We cook everything from scratch, so we can guarantee what is in every dish.

There is an expectation that you help out with clearing tables, loading dishwashers and generally keeping things tidy enough for us all to write and enjoy the space. Everyone giving a helping hand keeps our costs to you all as low as we can, in these challenging times of rising prices.

We are a smallholding, with beautiful cosy rooms, shared bathroom facilities and camping spaces, not a 5* hotel. If you are looking for a spa experience, please change your search criteria. We are not the retreat you are looking for. Having said that, our welcome will exceed any hotel you have stayed in, for warmth, comfort and our genuine delight in spending time with you and getting to know your writing over our meals together.

To achieve this sense of community and connection, everyone is equal, and respects different viewpoints and ideas around our table.

What to expect:

You are free to arrive anytime from 10am on 9th June, to get settled in.

We will have lunch together, followed by a local walk and chat to reconnect ourselves with our writing thoughts. This is an informal session to get to know each other, and a gentle start to our week together.

After dinner, we will have an evening of sharing writing around the fireglobe. Bring your favourite stories, poems, quotes and thoughts to share. They can be your own work or that of your favourite writers.

There will be an intention ceremony, with optional cacao, led by Myszka Fox and drumming, led by Adam Fox. We have spare drums here, or you can bring your own. Or simply listen and enjoy.

Writing Workshops will be arranged through the week, with plenty of time for your own writing, in a shared writing space in the Workshop Room, or in your own study bedroom or tent space.

They will include, but not be limited to:

Long Form Non-Fiction, led by John Woodhouse.

Surviving by Storytelling, led by Mark Pearson of Nottingham University

The Therapeutic Use of Writing with Myszka,

Sound Bath in the large bell-tent, plus individual reiki sessions, led by Sami from Samphire Natural Wellbeing

Vicki Ingram will be hosting a two part book making workshop during the week. It will be a time for us all to unleash our creativity differently as we make our own personal books using flowers and nature as inspiration.

Departures will be on Saturday 14th June, after a local group walk at The Stepping Stones, Ilam, Dovedale, and then having lunch together.

OPTIONAL yoga sessions - everyone welcome to join in, in the large bell-tent, in your own room, or in the paddock.

OPTIONAL river swimming, the River Dove is swimmable with a pebble gradual beach leading down into deep-enough for swimming water, just a ten minute walk from Foxes’ Retreat - this was very popular on the warmer days at our previous festivals.

Sleeping options:

Private double room in The Hayloft, fully catered, including all workshops over the full week - £1095 for six days/5 nights

Camping in Delilah (our home converted crazy hippie camper - she has a proper mattress on a double bed, a wood burning stove, solar panels to run the fridge with freezer box and sound system, USB chargers etc. She is sited on the top paddock camping field, fully catered and including all writing workshops £745 for six days/5 nights RESERVED

Camping in Chloe (our vintage caravan is creaky and wonky, but she has a comfortable double bed, fridge and hob), sited on the top paddock camping field, fully catered and all writing workshops £745 for six days/5 nights one available

Camping in a one of two ready erected 5m Bell Tents, with full height double bed, luxury woven rag rug flooring, and electricity for lights/laptop charging. This will sited in the top paddock, fully catered and including all writing workshops through the week - £745 for six days/5 nights two bell tents available

Camping in the ready erected Green Octagon Tent, OR in the Blue House Tent, with electricity for lighting/laptop charge. Bring your own bed/bedding. This will sited in the side garden or the top paddock, fully catered and including all workshops through the week - £645 for six days/5 nights two tents available

DIY Camping in top field next to house with own camper/tent etc, fully catered and including all writing workshops £695 for six days/5 nights (we have electric hook-up available, and there is an electric indoor shower room, as well as a camp kitchen for making hot drinks, with a fridge etc available to those who camp) four spots available

Booking details:

Please get in touch directly for booking information and billing, by email at myszka@foxesretreat.com or 07734 328762. A 25% deposit secures your place, and is returnable up to 90 days before the event. Full balances are due no later than 90 days ahead of the Festival of Writing, which then becomes non-returnable, as at that point we commit to all our suppliers and workshop bookings.

We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone to rock our writing again in 2025!

Warmest wishes,

Myszka & Adam

“I thought you did a great job on so many levels, good food, excellent well being, happy cohesion of very different people, attention to physical well being, great fun, the brilliant opportunity to focus on and improve writing and the wonderful feeling of being in a group where everyone was valued and appreciated.

This means a lot from me because I am very hard to please, partly because as I run so many groups myself I have very high expectations and partly because as I am involved in Christian leadership I was slightly worried that I would find myself having to compromise my value systems. I think everyone thought the same in their own ways.

I also noticed that there were some deep connections in the group which were not immediately apparent such as many had suffered profound and unexpected grief in their own ways and I am glad that you have found the strength to fight against the forces trying to break these connections..”

— Anonymous writer, Festival of Writing 2021