Live in-person events in Cornwall

Time to Write residential retreats in Cornwall

A room of one’s own, supportive tutors, good company, beautiful surroundings, and home-cooked food to savour: our 5-night retreats provide all this and more. You won’t have to lift a finger in the kitchen or think about any of the chores and responsibilities of home and work.

We call our retreats ‘Time to Write’ because they provide just that. A typical retreat day starts with a help-yourself breakfast before a short workshop designed to be an inspiring kick-start to the writing day. After a mid-morning coffee break with a homemade sweet snack, you have writing time until lunch. Afternoons offer further time to push on with your own project, plus the option of one to one time with your host tutors Kath and Jane. In the evenings we gather for dinner followed by talks and readings by the fire, including a mid-week visit from our guest author for the week who also provides a half day workshop for extra stimulation.

All our activities are optional, of course. If you simply wish to tuck yourself away and get on with your writing project, you are welcome to do that. You’ll have a desk in your room, and there are other comfortable spots around the house in which to work, read and relax. Becks, our trusty retreat Boxer dog, is always happy to be taken for a walk if you would like company as you explore the surroundings.

Most of all, we want you to have a week without distractions, in which your writing is the priority. At the start of the week we will help you decide  how best to use your time with us, and we will send you home with a plan to keep the magic going.

OUR 2025 PROGRAMME

In 2025 we will host four 5-night residential retreats:

10-15 March at Rosemerryn

18-23 May at Bonython

28 September - 3 October at Bonython

17-22 November at Rosemerryn (this retreat has  a narrative structure theme so is ideal if you have a novel or memoir in draft).

The venues

ROSEMERRYN is a handsome early-twentieth century artists’ residence close to Lamorna Cove, a few miles west of Penzance (where the mainline train from London Paddington ends). As soon as you turn into the lane that leads to the house you enter another world, tucked away in its own wooded grounds. Surrounding rural walks take you back in time to the Merry Maidens stone circle and other scenic spots including the famous cove. Rosemerryn’s light-filled studio is the perfect setting for our morning workshops, while the main living and dining room, once the art studio, is the perfect place for evenings by the fire. We love the farmhouse-style kitchen where breakfasts and lunches are served, and the bedrooms are characterful and colourful. It is always a treat to return to Rosemerryn, our very first retreat venue in 2014, and still our regular ‘home from home’.

Rosemerryn has five guest rooms, all sole occupancy:

• A downstairs double with en suite shower and almost level access with a small step from the outside. Price: £920.

• An upstairs double with en suite shower. Price: £920.

• An upstairs double with adjacent private bathroom with bath and shower overhead. Price: £920.

• Two upstairs twin rooms, sole occupancy, sharing a shower between them. Price: £850.

Prices are inclusive of accommodation, writing  workshops and one to ones, and catering and refreshments, including wine with evening dinner.

BONYTHON sits within the Bonython Estate, famous for its beautiful gardens, to which we have free access during our stays. Our retreats accommodate seven guests in two properties.

The Farmhouse oozes character, with four luxurious bedrooms, a spacious ground floor with living area, garden room, snug and kitchen-dining room. A stay here feels really special, with a level of comfort that is positively pampering. We love the peace and quiet of the estate and its surrounding countryside, just a few miles from Helston and a short drive from the  dramatic scenery of The Lizard, The British Isles’ most southerly point.

At Bonython we also occupy Mews Cottage, a charming three bedroom former-estate cottage a short walk from the Farmhouse. Like the Farmhouse, this cosy cottage is beautifully appointed. It sits within a small courtyard of other former-estate buildings with its own private entrance and parking.

Our morning workshops alternate between both houses, and our lunches and dinners are taken in the Farmhouse, so there is a sense of togetherness, whichever property you stay in.

Bonython’s guest rooms are either en suite with showers, or have a private bathroom with bath and overhead shower. There is a choice of double bed or twin bed, all sole occupancy.

The Farmhouse

Two upstairs double rooms with en suite shower. Prices: £970 per room.

Two upstairs twin rooms with private bathroom with bath and overhead shower. Price: £940 per room.

Mews Cottage

A ground floor double room with en suite shower, level access with a small step up from the door to the outside. Price: £970.

An upstairs double room with en suite shower. Price: £970.

An upstairs room with twin beds (for sole occupancy) and a bathroom with bath and overhead shower, and separate WC next door. Price: £940.

We are taking bookings for 2025 now so to make an enquiry about availability please email contact@thewritingretreat.co.uk and mark it for  Jane’s attention.

Scroll down for more about our writing weekends and Sunday retreats.

Spring Sundays

Our Spring Sunday retreats are the perfect way to pick up new writing skills and hone your craft. These one-day retreats take place in the glorious setting of Flushing Sailing Club overlooking Falmouth Harbour. We start at 11.00am and finish by 4.00pm, with all refreshments and a home-cooked lunch included.

Our next series in spring 2025 will take a ‘Deep Dive into Character’. Over three Sundays in February, March and April we will build new characters from the ground up, discover their voices, and put them to work in a story.

Stay tuned for bookings, which will open in early January 2025.