My solitary Hermitage retreat review

I recently came back from a 6-night solo retreat at the Hermitage, part of the Barn retreat centre, which itself is part of the Sharpham Estate.

The accommodation was excellent. It was a perfect mix of seculsion, with support if I needed it. The coordinators were kind and available but otherwise let me do my own thing. The space was beautiful, quiet (if you discount the wrens & blackbirds) and very conducive to going deeper. The views are wonderful. You can see what my daily routine looked like here.

The food was delicious. The daily lunches were always enjoyable and the food available in The Barn’s pantry was high quality. Organic eggs, nuts, tofu, yoghurt, milk, cereal, pasta, porridge and lots more are all available.

The price for the 6 nights was very reasonable.

I wrote each day I was there, in my journal, and transcribed the posts when I got back. You can read each of them here:

• Hermitage retreat reflections (May 11)
• Metta is sanity (May 10)
• It’s not all routine (May 9)
• Interrupt the narrative (May 8)
• Are meditation retreats relaxing? (May 7)
• Life as a hermit (May 6)
• Hello again, Rob (May 5)
• On retreat (May 4)

Things to do

• Walk down from The Barn to the farm and then turn left down a shaded descending track which will bring you to a paved path. Turning left takes you all the way to Totnes. Turning right takes you along the river and towards the Sharpham House.
• Walk out the top garden, past the wild pigs and up to the Natural Burial Ground. Sit on one of of the 8 logs around the fire and enjoy the sunset at your back. Say hi to Rob.
• Look out for nesting bats. I saw one scramble into the cladding of the Hermitage 🖤
• I read Pema Chödrön’s Living Beautifully while there, and I think it’s a great book to take with you.