Rest & Repair
A retreat for deep restoration and remembering how to stop.
Rest and Repair is an invitation to step out of the grind of urgency and into a slower, kinder rhythm - one shaped by land, body, and breath rather than demand.
Held at the House at the Edge of the Woods and in the ancient woodland it rests beside, this retreat offers time to lay down what has been carried for too long, and to let rest become something more than collapse at the end of exhaustion.
Here, rest is not a reward for productivity.
It is a practice.
A remembering.
A quiet, necessary repair.
This retreat is for those who are tired in ways that sleep alone has not touched — tired in the bones, the nervous system, the heart. For those who sense that rest, taken seriously, is a threshold rather than an escape.
What We Do Together
Rest and Repair is intentionally spacious. Nothing is forced. Everything is offered as invitation.
Time to be held
There is time to be held by the woods, the hearth, and the steady companionship of others.
Nourishing, organic food
There is nourishing, organic food — homemade and often home grown — prepared slowly and with love.
Wood-fired sauna
There is a wood-fired sauna, to warm the body and ease what has been clenched.
Gentle walks
There are gentle walks on the South Downs, and long pauses with no destination at all.
Rituals of settling and release
Simple rituals shaped by the land and by what you bring — small, human gestures that help the body remember to stop.
Permission to…
There is permission to nap, to wander, to write, to stare into the fire, to say very little.
We live in a culture that treats rest as laziness and exhaustion as normal.
Rest and Repair begins from a different knowing:that deep rest is relational, that it requires safety, slowness, and often witnesses, and that the nervous system softens best in the presence of beauty and care.
This work trusts the intelligence of the body.It follows the pace of the land, not the clock.It makes room for what emerges when nothing is demanded.
Who This Retreat Is For
Those who feel ready to slow down and reconnect with their intuition– curious about simple ritual and place-based magic. Drawn to craft, herbs, the woods, and the unseen– longing for companionship with others– 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.
You do not need to arrive with clarity or intention.
Just a quiet yes to slowing down.