Fri 12th to Sun 14th, May 2023 at New Forest, UK
Your place is confirmed once we receive payment. We will send you payment information once we receive your form.
If we are oversubscribed it is possible that we may need to put on a waiting list – we will inform you as soon as we are able to.
Nourishing Roots and Blossoming Branches
Both camping and dormitory accomodation available.
You are warmly invited to join a group of Plum Village Monastics for a weekend retreat, learning how to connect to and nourish our spiritual roots, living simply and celebrating diversity, new communities blossom.
The retreat will be held in the heart of the New Forest, offering an opportunity to connect with nature in this beautiful location and to cultivate the joy of practicing together.
This unique opportunity to practice with monastics, as part of their UK & Ireland Tour, will include sessions of guided meditation, walking meditation, talks and sharing circles – plus time to simply relax and spend time in nature with friends.
Accommodation is mainly camping on one of the beautiful sites within the 65 acres of grounds of the Georgian manor Foxlease, although there are also options to stay in dormitory, or 1-2 bed room accommodation.
All ages and levels of experience are welcome. There will be a separate programme for children and teens in addition to that for adults.
The journey is less than two hours from London door to door with easy connections by train and bus, and a similar distance from Brighton or Bristol.
We hope that you can join us!
With lotuses,
The Spring Retreat Team
Contributes a little extra to enable others to come.
If you can only pay less we will help with this if we can.
Adult | £115
Teen 13-17 | £80
Children age 6-12 | £60
5 years and under | Free
Bring your own tent, sleeping bag and mats.
For family groups (max 6 per tent)
Adult | £135
Children/Teens | same as camping
Tents provided and set up by venue. Bring your own bedding and sleeping mats.
Trains to Brockenhurst take 1 hour 40 minutes from London Waterloo or less to Southampton Central. Foxlease is 10 minutes by taxi from Brockenhurst. Alternatively there are buses from Brockenhurst or Southampton that stop opposite the venue’s entrance.
You are invited to arrive between 2pm and 6pm on Friday 12 May, with dinner served from 6pm – 7pm. The retreat activities will start on Friday evening. The final retreat activity ends at 3pm on Sunday 14 May.
There is plenty of camping space, all with showers and toilets nearby, or you can sleep in a bunk bed in a dormitory.
All meals and drinks are included and will be vegan, plus there will be vegetarian options for children. Please mention when booking if you have any special dietary needs.
There will be a children’s programme, for children aged 6 and over, to cover the times of the main adult sessions in the morning, afternoon and evening. Unfortunately we are not able to look after the under 6s. There will also be a teens programme. Monastics will be involved in leading these programmes.
Any surplus generated by the retreat will go to Plum Village and the monastics’ expenses.
As is traditional, there will be an opportunity to offer a donation (“dana”) at the end of the retreat. This offering is a practice of generosity for having received the teachings, a contribution towards monastic training, their shelter, food and healthcare, which is paid for entirely by donations. If you can support and help the monastics in this way it will be gratefully received.
Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes.
Thich Nhat Hanh
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