18th - 20th March 2025
10am - 4pm

The Pines Calyx, St Margaret’s Bay, nr. Dover, Kent

A unique series of consecutive day retreats

  • You are free to attend a single day, or to journey through all three

  • Elevenses, lunch and afternoon tea are included

  • Accommodation is not provided, leaving your evening free. Our team can suggest great options nearby

  • A limited number of low cost spaces are available.

Whether you’re craving rest, seeking space to make sense of the world, or longing to reconnect with the people and places around you, these workshops are here to help. Each one features a combination of creative and reflective exercises, time outside, and guided meditation, aimed at opening up your own process of restoration. 

Led by Katherine May, author of Wintering, Enchantment and The Electricity of Every Living Thing, they’re designed with flexibility in mind. Each day can be booked as a standalone day, but if you join us for all three they’re designed to build into a midweek retreat. 

Day 1: Coming Home
Tuesday 18th March 2025, 10am - 4pm

Many of us have spent a lifetime overriding our bodies and our intuition, and find it hard to notice our own sensing when we are ready to change. This day will explore ideas of safety, slowing down and reconnecting to sensory delight. 

Inspired by the Electricity of Every Living Thing


Day 2: Living in the Wake
Wednesday 19th March 2025, 10am - 4pm

In times of personal transition and change - wanted or unwanted - we often feel hurried to integrate our new lives quickly, and to rush to seeing the bright side. This day will open up time to allow complex feelings and new selves to settle. 

Inspired by Wintering


Day 3: Growing Roots
Thursday 20th March 2025, 10am - 4pm

Even when we know that we need to form a deeper connection with the world around us, we often lack a roadmap to start. This day will focus on renewing our relationship with the elements, and mapping our very personal relationship with the landscape. 

Inspired by Enchantment

Introducing the retreats

Katherine May is an internationally renowned writer, podcaster and speaker whose work touches on nature, spirituality, slow living and neurodivergence.

Her hybrid memoir Wintering was a global bestseller. Her most recent title, Enchantment became an instant New York Times bestseller, and The Electricity of Every Living Thing, her memoir of a midlife autism diagnosis, was adapted as an audio drama by Audible.

Katherine lives by the sea in Whitstable, UK, with her husband, son and pets. She loves walking, sea-swimming and cooking enormous feasts. 

About You

This is not a writing retreat. It’s open to anyone who would like to spend some time in a nourishing, reflective process, using various creative methods, and melting into the marine landscape. No skills are required, just a willingness to immerse yourself. 

With that in mind, we’ll ask you to put your phone away for the duration of the retreat day. We will provide a contact number so that you can safely park that screen for a while. 

You’ll need to be comfortable with working with a small group - but introverts and quiet folk will feel at home. We won’t overrun your personal boundaries, and ask that everyone is respectful of personal space. If you need to spend some time alone, that will be totally respected. No group hugs!

Important note: Trans and nonbinary people are welcome here. We are committed to being anti-racist. If either of these values bother you, please don’t come.

If you’d like to give a retreat as a gift, let us know at checkout, and we’ll send you a handwritten card by post that you can present on the big day. (We are subject to the constraints of the postal system - please book early to help us to get this to you on time.)

We are offering a number of subsidised places for those who could otherwise not afford to attend. You can find out more here.

Why attend a retreat?

 
 

About the venue

The Pines Calyx is a truly unique, carbon-negative building nestled amongst the white cliffs at St. Margaret’s Bay.

Set amid landscaped gardens with mature trees, an organic kitchen garden and ever-present views of the sea, it’s an inspirational setting. The building itself is formed of compacted chalk, which is highly insulating and blends the building seamlessly into the landscape. Solar panels, a biomass generator, and a reed bed water filtration system make this a truly sustainable building.

Overall, it’s the perfect setting as we explore our connection with the seasons and the natural world. 

In the surrounding area, there are lots of opportunities to explore. St Margaret’s Bay beach is a steep walk down from the venue, with a beach where many people enjoy swimming. Further along the coast is Dover with its iconic White Cliffs, arts hubs Folkestone and Margate and the sedate seaside town of Deal. Venturing inland, Canterbury is about half an hour away by car, and London is around 80 minutes by train from Dover. 

“Every detail of Katherine’s retreat was thoughtfully considered — she created a beautiful, luxurious escape from the pressures of everyday life, with endless opportunities for rest and creativity. I left feeling inspired and energised, and I carried away with me a sense of spaciousness, possibility and renewed purpose, not to mention enduring friendships.”

LAURA

Accommodation & Food

Food

All retreats include mid-morning and mid-afternoon refreshments, and a buffet lunch. You will ask to complete an intake form after you book, and you will be offered the opportunity to tell us about any specific dietary requirements.

What to bring

For all retreats, please bring warm comfortable clothes, and sturdy shoes that don’t mind being scuffed by the wild landscape. Have a notebook/sketchbook and pens or pencils to hand - but bear in mind that I often suggest that you don’t write anything down in the moment, and instead just engage with the experience.

Accommodation

This is a non-residential retreat, allowing you to get some alone-time at the end of each day, and choose your own accommodation. There are plenty of great options nearby! We’ve put together a few ideas for you here

If you’d prefer a residential retreat, please take a look at our retreat in Cornwall in July.

“What I love most about doing a retreat with Katherine is that she deeply understands the power of the unplanned and unscripted moments. There is space in her retreats for exploration and for serendipity, and in an increasingly busy, sped-up world, the permission to slow down and have that space feels essential. Being with Katherine feels like a restorative celebration, one that centers, grounds, and inspires.”

ANNA

Travel

By train

We always encourage guests to travel to the retreat by public transport wherever possible. The nearest mainline train station is Dover Priory Railway Station, which offers a direct connection to London and is around 20-30 mins by car to the Pines Calyx.

By car

There is plenty of parking available onsite.

Taxi

Niko Taxi (Dover) - 07454 181812

Ed's Taxi (Dover) - 07809 866180

Castle Taxis (Deal) - 01304 362299

Should you require a taxi connection, the above are local companies. We recommend that you book well ahead.

Physical Accessibility

From the parking area there is a paved path that leads to the venue ground floor, there is also a lift to the upper floor if required. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any individual accessibility needs you would like to discuss.

“‘I had never been on a retreat before and I went fully expecting to have to work hard at relaxing because it’s not something I am very good at. What happened was the opposite. Katherine created a space where relaxing was effortless, calm was everywhere and connection was easy. It was the best thing I have ever done for myself.”

KATY

Terms and Conditions

  • Payment is full is required at booking.

  • Accommodation is not included as part of this retreat and it is the responsibility of participants to organise travel and accommodation.

  • Bookings are non-refundable. We recommend that you obtain appropriate travel insurance to cover you for the activities you plan to undertake and additionally includes adequate cover for travel delay, cancellation and/or curtailment, medical expenses and your personal belongings, particularly if you are travelling some distance. Your policy should also include cover for any medical claim and repatriation due to Covid-19 and trip cancellation due to you falling ill with Covid-19 or being unable to travel.

  • It is your responsibility to arrange any necessary visas or immigration documentation if travelling from outside the UK. Please be aware that there are some new travel and visa rules in the UK from January 2025.

  • Up to 20 guests will be attending each day of the retreat

  • Yes! We expect that there will be a mix of people attending with a friend or partner, and those attending by themselves.

  • We ask that you try to attend all the workshops, but we offer you the opportunity to opt in and out of the other events and activities.

Questions?

Katherine is occasionally able to run bespoke residential and day retreats for organisations.
Please contact Hayley Shear at PRH Speakers if this is of interest to you.