Includes: 8 days, 7 nights at The College of the Holy Spirit, all meals, double accommodations (limited single rooms available for additional fee), all written materials, all writing & yoga sessions, individual writing tutorials.
Cumbrae beach
Costs: $1,650 if you register before April
15th, thereafter, $1,800. $500 non-refundable deposit required
to reserve your place. Balance due June 1, 2008.
What is included: 8 days, 7 nights, all meals, double accommodations, shared baths (all rooms have wash basins). A limited number of single rooms with shared baths; ensuite double or twin rooms; and ensuite singles are are available for an additional fee on a first come, first served basis. The fee also includes all writing, yoga & meditation sessions, written materials, and individual writing tutorials.
What is not included: Transportation to the retreat centre. Tips for house staff. Special outings.
This will be our seventh year to offer creative writing retreats in the British Isles. Participants will include people with a wide range of writing & yoga experience, from very little to professional. We are always enriched by the diversity. While we will offer a daily schedule of suggested activities, all sessions are optional: your time is your own.
Writing Practice. For 3-4 hours each morning and several evenings, you will have opportunity to write in an encouraging, confidential and inspiring setting, in response to exercises Patricia suggests. You will be invited to share what you have just written, and to respond to the writing of others with what is fresh, what you like, what you remember. (We use the method developed by Amherst Writers & Artists which is described in detail at Our Writing Method.) As time permits, Patricia will offer individual consultations on (short) manuscripts written prior to the retreat or on any writing problems you wish to discuss.
Yoga Practice. Jacqueline will offer gentle yoga sessions in the early morning and more rigorous sessions on some afternoons, indoors or out of doors as weather permits. The practice of yoga, the joining of body and mind, can open pathways for your writing into the feelings, memories, stories and images embedded in the tissues. We will encourage you to use your yoga practice to develop a deeper relationship with your body as well as to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of practice. The sessions are, of course, completely optional.
Photography Consultation. Dave Schellinger will offer consultation in matters of digital travel photography during the retreat. This could take the form of a couple of workshops or "field trips" during the week to share experiences using digital photography with its ease of image capture; and of downloading, review and editing in the computer. The idea is to enhance that free-associational mode of "image-making" particular to digital photography so that one might better capture the sense of place.
Where we will stay
Set in 8 acres of woods and fields and five minutes from the the Isle of Cumbrae's broad sea-front, you will find the College of the Holy Spirit to be a unique and beautiful place for your creative work and personal restoration. It adjoins the lovely Cathedral of the Isles, the smallest cathedral in Britain, which is open for your use at any time. Comfortable lodging is provided in two buildings flanking the Cathedral. 16 bedrooms provide accommodation in a mixture of single, double/twin and family rooms, with tea and coffee-making facilities in each room.
Delicious meals are served in the original Refectory, an attractive room with high arched ceiling and window. In South College, there is a large library and reading room; North College has a separate common room which will be our yoga space. All facilities are non-smoking.
You are invited to use the surrounding gardens and woods and the Cathedral. Mapped walking trails lead from the College grounds into hundreds of acres of hills and woods.
You will enjoy hot porridge breakfasts with fruit, cold cereals, yogurt, eggs, juice, toast; lunches of soups, quiche, salad, cheese, fruit (which can also be packed for adventurers); and full dinners of fish, chicken, or other meat, cooked vegetables, green salads, breads, and lovely desserts. Fresh fruit, biscuits, tea and coffee are always available.Vegetarian, vegan and other special diets can be catered for provided that adequate notice is given.
Things to do. The small and beautiful Isle of Cumbrae is situated in the Firth of Clyde, close to the islands of Arran and Bute. It enjoys spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and islands, and is renowned for its wild flowers and birds. Seals are a common sight in winter. Cycling around the island is a particular pleasure, and cycles are available for hire locally. Less than 4 miles long and 2 miles wide, Cumbrae has one town, Millport, with a resident population of 1500. Millport is an excellent holiday centre, with a good variety of shops and restaurants. Other facilities include a bowling green, tennis club, riding and golf. There is an interesting Marine Biological Station, with museum and aquarium. The Scottish National Watersports Centre (situated near the ferry slip) provides skilled training in most water sports. Boats for hire will take you to visit nearby islands.
History. Cumbrae is from a Gaelic word meaning "safe haven." Millport, with its beautiful curving bay and tiny harbour is a safe haven for shipping, and since its foundation in 1851, many have found the Cathedral and College to be a safe haven from the demands of life. Millport has from Victorian times been a favorite seaside resort, being sheltered from sight of the mainland by its gracefull hills and yet only a short ferry ride away.
About Us
Patricia Lee Lewis has led writing retreats internationally for ten years; this is the seventh year she has offered creative writing retreats in the British Isles. She celebrates our relationship to the earth as sacred, to writing as a way of finding what is deepest within us, and to teaching writing as a participatory, supportive endeavor. She is excited at the promise these retreats hold for all of us.
Patricia leads writing retreats and workshops in her mountain cottage at Patchwork Farm in western Massachusetts, throughout the United States, and at sacred sites around the world. She holds an MFA degree in Creative Writing from Vermont College, a BA from Smith College, Phi Beta Kappa, and is affiliated with Amherst Writers & Artists. She leads AWA trainings for writing workshop leaders on the east and west coasts. Her poetry, fiction and feature articles have appeared in journals & anthologies, The Los Angeles Times, Hampshire Life, and The Boston Sunday Globe. Patricia was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in Poetry for her poem, "Two Hundred Wings."
A Kind of Yellow, Patricia's chapbook of poems, won first place in the 13th International Competition for Self-Published Poetry Books (2005), sponsored by Writer's Digest. You may buy a copy of A Kind of Yellow at http://www.writingretreats.org/Shop/index.html
Patricia has spent much of her life as an advocate: for women, for civil rights, for peace, for a healthy environment, for small farms and rural communities, for the arts. Born and raised in Texas, she moved north years ago with her children. She has been a business owner, tree farmer, administrator, and was elected County Commissioner for four years. Since 1977, she has lived and worked at Patchwork Farm Retreat in western Massachusetts, sharing the world with trees and stones, chickadees, writers and bears. It was in 1985, with the encouragement and support of an exceptional group, Amherst Writers & Artists, that she found the courage to write for others to read.
Jacqueline
Sheehan, Ph.D. is a writer and a therapist. She is primarily
a novelist, but has also written short stories, essays,
travel pieces, and radio shorts. Her second novel, Lost
& Found, was published by Avon/Harper Collins
in 2007. Lost & Found has been optioned for
a film by Katherine Heigl (of TV’s Grey’s
Anatomy) and spent three weeks on the New York Times bestseller
list. Her first novel, Truth, was based on the
life of Sojourner Truth, the 19th Century abolitionist.
Jacqueline was the editor for Women Writing in Prison,
a compilation of 7 years of writing workshops with incarcerated
women. She currently teaches writing workshops through
Patchwork Farm, Writers in Progress, and Grub Street in
Boston. She is working on her third novel.
Besides her work as a writer and therapist, the practice of yoga has been a sustaining and inspiring part of Jacqueline's life for nearly 20 years. She has taught Yoga at Patricia's writing retreats in the British Isles since 2001. Jacqueline teaches a restorative style of yoga based on Hatha and Anusara Yoga that is accessible to beginners as well as those who want more challenging poses. Writers can start and end their day by revitalizing, relaxing, and strengthening the body, mind, and spirit. back to top
Quotes from participants in Patricia’s British Isles Retreats
"Your careful and loving planning and leadership created a wonderful time to explore both Iona and the writing process. Well done!" Deborah D., Massachusetts, USA
"It has been an unforgettable experience - wonderful in all aspects. Especially the people." Jill J., Cumbria, England
"The startling beauty of the outside world and the guided crafting of our inner world made life perfect." Bonnie S., New York, NY
"It was one of the few experiences that I got more than what I bargained for in more ways than one." Katia A., Cyprus, Greece
"Angela and Patricia created a truly supportive and creative sacred space within which I could continue my search for self-expression. I was inspired and aided by the care and committment that they both generously provided in helping me to find a more authentic 'voice' and in such a wonderful setting. Their guided meditations 'connected' me with both the energy of this island and my own inner promptings." David M., Moray, Scotland
"I have come to see the craft of a writing life as a form of meditation - and greatly important in my life. Thanks for the opportunity of connecting to my writing in the context of a respectful group." Nancy S., Michigan, USA
Important Information
Town of Largs from ferry enroute to Isle of Cumbrae
How to get there: Cumbrae is easily accessible by public transport. There are regular public transportation services from Glasgow to the ferry slip at Largs. From Glasgow Airport, take the rail-air link bus to Paisley Gilmour Street Station (5 minutes). From Paisley take the train to Largs (about 50 minutes). Turn left out of Largs station and walk towards the seafront, about 5 minutes. You will see the ferry slip straight ahead. The 10-minute ferry crossing from Largs connects with a bus to Millport. Ferries run about every half-hour. Round-trip fares are about $6.00 for a passenger and about $28.00 for a car. Last ferry times are normally 8:15 pm in summer. On return from Largs there are good connections by bus/train to the centre of Glasgow and to the international airports at Glasgow and Prestwick.
West Highlands Glen
Scotland is a magical land-why not extend your visit a few days? Contact the British Tourist Authority, 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 701, NY, NY 10176; tel. (800) 462-2748; Internet is www.btausa.com for more information. Check www.priceline.com or www.cheaptickets.com for the best air fares.
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