27th October – 1st November 2025
Course Date

‘O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall’  (October, Robert Frost)

Share those ripened leaves in Garsdale’s autumnal beauty on an untutored retreat.

Untutored retreats provide a great opportunity to kick-start a project; to move writing on; or simply to get something finished! Meal-times form the only formal structure of the day where ideas, inspirations and even frustrations can be shared with fellow writers.

The Garsdale Retreat gives writers the time and space often lacking in daily life, and frees them from the interfering pressures of the modern world. It offers simple but comfortable accommodation. Each bedroom has a writing desk and there are two ground floor, en-suite bedrooms. The Retreat also has a sitting room in the main house and a workshop space in the coach-house both of which writers are free to use.

Excellent locally sourced food is cooked for the writers who can also walk straight out into The Yorkshire Dales where they can draw inspiration from the tranquil and remote beauty of the local landscape.

A maximum of seven places are available on each retreat, all of which run from Monday, 3.00pm to 10.00am on Saturday.

The domestic arrangements and meal-times are the same as for the courses (see structure of the day). All food is catered and there are no domestic duties to stand in the way of creative work. At the Garsdale Retreat, writers can devote themselves totally to writing.

PRICES Untutored Retreat fee includes accommodation, inc. sheets and towels and all meals (not including alcohol).

Single – En-suite £870

Single – Shared Bathrooms £820

Shared Room (2 Beds) £770pp – single supplement £50
TO BOOK £200 deposit payable on booking by bank transfer, PayPal or cheque, to secure place. Balance due six weeks before the start of the untutored retreat.
Please see Terms and Conditions.
STRUCTURE OF THE WEEK See Structure of the Week (tab above)
WHAT TO BRING
Boots/outdoor shoes/trainers suitable for walking on rough/wet paths.
A waterproof jacket or coat, plus waterproof trousers if you like to walk in the rain!
Toiletries – we have one hair dryer available for use. Hand wash and shower gel are provided.
Writing materials: laptop and your personal writing preference – notebook, paper, pens etc.
Cash for tutors/guest readers/other participants’ books. The nearest cash machine is in Hawes, six miles away!
START TIME Please arrive between 3:00pm and 4:30pm on Monday 27th October 2025

Housekeeping information, tea and cake 4.30pm

Dinner 7.00pm
END TIME After breakfast, 10:00am on Saturday 1st November 2025
The Garsdale Retreat, Clough View, Garsdale Head, Sedbergh, Cumbria LA10 5PW

Nearest railway station: Garsdale, on the Leeds – Carlisle line.

For directions, see Find Us section on the Contact page.

Untutored Retreats

All untutored retreats start on Monday afternoon.

3.00 – 4.00pm Arrival time

4.30pm Housekeeping/Retreat information with tea and cake

7.00pm Dinner

All untutored retreats end after breakfast on Saturday (10.00am).

Untutored Retreat Structure Tuesday – Friday:

The only formal structure of the week is determined by meal-times (see below), allowing participants to concentrate totally on their own writing.

8.00 – 9.00am: Breakfast       

11.00 – 11.30am: Coffee break

1.00pm: Lunch                  

4.30pm Tea and cake      

7.00pm: Dinner

After dinner, there are optional events such as writing games and poetry/music performances from Hamish and Rebecca. Participation in such events is entirely voluntary and people are free to continue with their writing in the evenings if they prefer. However, we do like to end the week on Friday evening with a shared reading of work-in-progress as a celebration of the week’s writing.

Tree - The Garsdale Retreat