Grief Retreats
Spacious, accompanied, and nourishing.
Held at the House at the Edge of the Woods and in the ancient woodland I steward.
A place to rest, to grieve in company and to remember what holds you.
A place to be well fed with simple home-grown food.
Wood-fired sauna.
Walks on the South Downs.
Rituals and ceremonies by what you bring and shaped by the land.
Available as 1:1 retreats or for small groups (maximum 3 people).
What This Work Rests On
Grief needs witnesses.
It needs tears, storytelling, song, the steadiness of others and sometimes the quiet blessing of moonlight or firelight.
It needs a human basket strong enough to hold the thrashing.
As Martín Prechtel teaches, grief and praise live side by side —
two expressions of love housed in the same great thumping heart.
The work of grief asks us to bow to what has been lost, to honour what remains and to let the heart be shaped beautifully by what it cannot keep.
For Those Walking With Loss
If you are grieving — newly, or across many years — you are welcome here.
If you are carrying sorrow that has gone underground, you are welcome.
If you need somewhere to lay down what you’ve been holding alone, you are welcome.
Who This Retreat Is For
Those grieving, newly or across many years – longing for witness and companionship – needing deep rest and space to grieve and lay down sorrows– longing to feel rooted and in relationship with the world around them.
You do not need experience.
Just a quiet yes inside you.
Practicalities
Length: 3 days
Where: The House at the Edge of the Woods, South Downs
Group size: Retreats can be solo or for a maximum of 3 people
Includes: all meals, accommodation, materials, saunas, guided sessions both in the house and the woods.
Retreat Venue & Accommodation
The House at the Edge of the Woods is a beautiful, welcoming cottage set within the South Downs National Park, where the nights are dark and the stars still visible. It is a place shaped by quiet, care, and long attention.
The surrounding food forest garden is rich with life: over sixty fruit and nut trees, alongside berries, vegetables, cultivated fungi, and a wide range of edible and medicinal herbs. Much of what grows here finds its way into the kitchen and onto the table.
The wood-fired sauna is heated using wood gathered from the surrounding woodland and chopped by Emma and her coppicing companions — part of the everyday rhythm of tending and reciprocity that shapes life here.
A ten-minute walk down the lane and across the fields leads into eleven acres of ancient woodland, lovingly stewarded by Emma and a small community of coppicers, craftspeople, and tree lovers. The woodland is not a backdrop, but a living presence within the retreat: a place for walking, resting, listening, and being met by something older and slower than ourselves.
This home, shaped by seasons, ritual, and slow living, is a companion in the work — it softens, holds, and reveals.
Food and Nourishment
Meals are homemade, organic, and often home grown or foraged — broths, herbs, slow stews, fresh bread, garden greens. The kitchen is at the heart of all our retreats: full of fermenting jars, dried herbs and kitchen witchery.
Where you will sleep
Accommodation is shared across two beautiful room within The House at the Edge of the Woods:
One double room
One king room, available to a single person or a couple
Getting here
We warmly encourage participants to travel by public transport where possible.
The nearest train station is Petersfield, with direct services from London and the south coast. The exact location and directions are shared once your booking is confirmed.
We are happy to arrange a lift to and from Petersfield station, so your arrival and departure feel unhurried and well held.
Please Note
I live with two small, non-shedding hypoallergenic dogs. They are very sweet, loving and mostly well-behaved. If you have a strong allergy to dogs then please let me know. There may be the possibility for them to go elsewhere for a few days.
The Exchange — Bespoke Retreats
These retreats are held in a small, intentional container. With a maximum of three participants, the work is shaped slowly and with close attention — allowing for rest, conversation, ritual, good food, and time held gently by place.
The exchange for a three-day bespoke retreat is £800 per person.
A Note on Accessibility
I keep a portion of my time available for those whose hearts are full but whose pockets are currently empty. If you are in a time of genuine hardship, please do not let cost be the reason you don’t reach out. We will find a way that honours us both.
You can read more about my Financial Policy here.
