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: $2095 with an alum discount of $100
for anyone who has been on a retreat with Patricia in the past.
We require a $500 non-refundable deposit to hold space. Balance
due July 5, 2012.
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 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 twelfth 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. Penfield will offer gentle
yoga sessions in the early morning. 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.
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 15 years; this is the
twelfth 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
holds an MFA degree in Creative Writing from Vermont College
of Fine Arts, and completed her undergraduate degree at Smith
College, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1970. She is a member of the Texas
Writers League, Straw Dog Writers Guild, the Berkshire Writers
Room, the American Poetry Society, and is an affiliate of Amherst
Writers & Artists. A grant in 2011, from the Massachusetts
Arts Council, enabled her to help establish a writing program
at her local library. Trained to teach English to speakers
of other languages (TESOL), Patricia and friends volunteer in
the Maya village of Santa Cruz la Laguna on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala,
where Patricia also leads retreats at Villa Sumaya Retreat Center.
Her
poetry, fiction and feature articles have appeared in a variety
of journals & anthologies, The Los Angeles Times, Hampshire
Life, and The Boston Sunday Globe. Her poems have most recently
appeared in The Berkshire Review, Upstreet, Sanctuary:
Magazine of the Massachusetts Audubon Society,
and Crossing Paths: An Anthology of Poems by Women,
Mad River Press. Her work has been featured in the Berkshire
Review, which nominated her poem, "Two Hundred
Wings" for a Pushcart Prize." She was supported by
a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to perform her
work as a benefit for the Miniature Theatre of Chester. Her
book of poems, A Kind of Yellow, won Writer's Digest's
International competition for self-published books of poetry
andis available at the Patchwork
Press Shop.High Lonesome, her latest collection
of poems, was published in 2011 by Hedgerow Books of Levellers
Press and is available from their Store.
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 Austin, Texas, she moved north years ago with her children.
She is a business owner and trail walker, and has been director
of several organizations, including women's centers, community
economic development corporations, district congressional offices,
and served as an elected county commissioner for four years.
In 1985, when she joined Pat Schneider's Amherst Writers &
Artists writing workshop, she finally found the courage to write
for others to read.
Patricia is responsible for the writing program at all retreats
and serves as retreat coordinator.
Penfield Chester has been
teaching gentle yoga at Shelburne Falls Yoga studio for
the past seven years. She has assisted with yoga and massage
workshops at Kripalu Center for Yoga and enjoys working
one-on-one with those to new to yoga or those with special
needs. Penfield has seen how yoga practice can invite doors
to open in writing as well as being a good physical balance
to the long periods of sitting a writer does. Yoga is an
underlying companion for her sense of health and well-being.
Penfield lives on a farm in Vermont with four
dogs, two cats, seven horses, 17 chickens, way too many apple
trees and flower gardens, and her partner. She leads a writing
group in the Amherst Writers style at the yoga studio and hosts
writing retreats at her farm. She worked as a midwife for twenty
years and during that time wrote a book with her sister, Sisters
on a Journey: Portraits of American Midwives. The lessons of
intimacy learned in her midwifery practice led her to memoir
and fiction explored in a writing group with Gene Zeiger for
6 years. Horses, family, and birth weave their way into her
writing as important pieces of her life. She loves participating
in Patricia’s groups and is honored to help lead response
groups and yoga at her retreats.
Penfield has completed 200 hours of RYT training. She has a
MA in Women’s Studies from Vermont College and a MEd from
Antioch University. She is a massage therapist and Hospice volunteer.
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. 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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