2027, 15-19th March Keep Well Retreat: "Rewrite your Mind" Creativity Retreat

Schedule

Day 1: Arrival, Grounding, and Reconnecting With Your Story

The first day focuses on arrival, meeting your new home, host and friends and letting go of any stresses or strains of your usual life in order to keep well

15:00 – Arrival & Check-In: Welcome to The Writer’s Keep! Have a cup of warm, restorative herbal tea in communal living area near the exposed stone fireplaces or on one of the many window seats

15:30 – Open Circle: In the library we take part in a gentle introduction session focusing on the transition from "surviving" to “storytelling." Take out your journals and write to yourself, setting your intentions to yourself. Consider self care & what you will be letting go of this week

16:30 – The Estuary Grounding Walk: A short, flat, low-impact walk directly onto the nearby Conwy Quay and along the edge of the scenic Conwy Estuary. Select one physical object (a shell, a smooth slate, a piece of driftwood) that represents your current state of being

18:00 – Journaling: Return to the house for a 45-minute journalling session using the prompt: “Where I was, Where I am, Where I want to Be.” As you examine your object afresh, see if you can use its symbolism to visualise who you want to be.

Optional Extension: Sketch your object into your book as well as a form of meditation.

19:00 – Nourishing Welcome Dinner: A nourishing anti inflammatory vegan meal - expect daily variations of vegan soups, curries and casseroles, roasted Welsh roots, and leeks, all served by the warmth of the fire and good company. You may even get to try seaweed quiche!

20:30 Talking Circle: Introducing Your Story: Use the object finding exercise from earlier as a way of introducing your self in a deeper way and setting your intention for the week.

Day 2: A Path of Recovery

Day two focuses on external nature as a mirror for internal healing, engaging with the spectacular local bird sanctuary to explore themes of safety, migration, and resilience.

08:00 – Expect daily variations of porridge with cinnamon and apple, fresh sourdough, local organic honey, berries rich in antioxidants, yoghurts, juices, teas and coffees

09:30 –11:30 The Migration & Sanctuary Walk (RSPB Conwy): Walk a short distance to the RSPB Conwy Bird Sanctuary. This is a a slow-paced, mindful walk along the level trails. Frame the birds’ seasonal migrations as an allegory for human endurance and radical physical transitions.

Field Sketching & Word-Weaving: Emily will lead a brief, non-judgmental art exercise—sketching abstract lines of the horizon or the flight patterns of the birds—followed by immediate stream-of-consciousness journaling.

12:00-13:00 – Lunch in town at one of the many restaurants or cafes

13:00 - 15:00 Two hours of rest, wandering through the towns shops and galleries or reading in the book nooks

15:30 – 16:30 Writing Circle: Attendees discuss their thoughts from the day and using journals, restructure their personal stories, dreams or health challenges into fresh vision

FREE TIME

18:30 – Dinner: A vibrant, healthy dinner

20:00 Discussion Circle: Focus: Doubts and Fears & What to do about them

Day 3: Personal Prescriptions

Moving inward. Today utilizes targeted 1:1 sessions and visualization to map out a clear path forward.

8: 00 AM Breakfast

9.30 - 11.30 – Walk with journals to Deganwy Quay where Emily will guide you through a series of visualisation and written exercises to help you identify areas of your life you would like to change

12:00-13:00 Lunch in town at one of the many restaurants or cafes

13:00 - 14:00 Reading, journal doodling or nap time

14:30 – 16:30 – One-on-One Editorial & Wellness Consultations: While others enjoy free time, writing, or resting, each guest gets an intimate 1:1 session with Emily. Together, we co-create a "Personal Recovery Prescription"—a tailored plan for sustaining creative and emotional health at home.

18:30 Dinner

20:30 – The Prescription Circle: A supportive evening discussion where attendees journal their new prescriptions and voluntarily share insights with the group.

Day 4: Creative Metamorphosis & Artistic Agency

Shifting the focus outward to creative empowerment, unlocking the inner artist, and celebrating survival and recovery

• 08:00 – Creative Energy Breakfast

• 09:30 – The Castleside Walk: A low-impact walk tracing the historic castle walls, focusing on structural strength, boundaries, and protection.

• 10:30 – Coffee & Tea Break: A cozy hot drink stop at a local independent spot or back at the house.

• 11:30 – Masterclass: How to Think Like an Artist: Emily hosts an exclusive seminar on editorial vision, creative courage, and the healing power of art to mitigate trauma, followed by a Q&A.

• 13:00 – Lunch followed by open time to doodle, write, or sleep.

• 16:00 – Mirror-Image Art Therapy: A powerful visual exercise: guests draw how they perceived themselves upon arrival, followed by a drawing of how they embody themselves right now.

• 18:30 – Dinner: A celebratory final dinner

• 20:00 – Story Circle: The women are invited to read a piece of their writing or tell a life story focused entirely on a moment they overcame adversity or gained agency over a life situation

Day 5: The Dissolving Ritual and Closing Circle

Turning outward toward the future and a sustainable return to daily life.

• 08:00 – Departure Breakfast

• 09:30 – 10:30 The Horizon Walk (Conwy Morfa Beach): A short trip to the wide, expansive sands where the mountains meet the sea. Emily leads a silent, meditative walk across the sandbar focused on reclaiming physical space and personal power

• The Dissolving Ritual & Closing Circle: Gather in a circle on the beach. Guests write lingering fears or limiting beliefs on water-soluble paper and let the incoming Conwy tide wash them away completely

• 11:00 – Final Farewells & Departure.