Retreat-Holidays
Make retreats a treat and holidays holy
What are Retreat-Holidays?
The short answer is that they are a combination of a Christian retreat and a holiday. Read on for more...
Spiritual, emotional and physical refreshment
We all get tired. The daily grind can take up all our energy so that it is difficult to access the source of living water within us. Sometimes we need to get away in order to be re-energised.
Retreat-holidays are meant for Christians of all traditions - and, indeed, for others who are searching. You don't need to be particularly "pious" to enjoy them - in fact, those of us who find praying difficult are often the ones who find them most liberating.
Beautiful surroundings 
The surroundings are important. They put us in holiday mood from the outset and still us down enough to stand and stare at God's creation. Retreat-Holidays are about making space to listen to God through Scripture, through the beauty of creation, through our God-given imagination and through other people.
Retreats not pilgrimages
Retreat-holidays are not busy-busy but gently paced. They are in peaceful locations chosen for their atmosphere. They offer comfortable, welcoming accommodation, with all rooms en suite. We don't do spartan! You are free to go out visiting or to wind down and do nothing very much. You'll want to spend some of the time being quiet, but getting to know other Christians is also part of the pleasure of the stay.
Practicalities
There is normally a short input session in the morning, giving you thoughts for the day and a Bible passage or two to mull over.
There may be an excursion to a place which connects in some way with the theme of the day, Then, in the evening before dinner, we have
some time to reflect on the day and to pray together. 
One of our clients wrote,
"Retreat-Holidays has been a marvellous blessing."
and another said,
"Coming on that retreat-holiday was one of the best things I have ever done."
There is a verse in Micah which is very appropriate:
Shepherd your people
with your staff,
the flock that belongs to you,
which lives alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land. Micah 7:14
The Archbishop of Canterbury likens prayer to sunbathing:
You’re not going to get a better tan
by screwing up your eyes
and concentrating.
You give the time and that’s it.
All you have to do is turn up.
And then things change,
at their own pace.
You simply have to be there
where the light can get at you.
Cartoon by kind permission of Jonathan Pugh
and the Tablet (www.thetablet.co.uk)
Our retreat-holidays are primarily for people travelling from the UK and Ireland, but we are very happy to welcome English-speaking clients from other countries and to discuss with them the most convenient way for them to come and join us.