Writing retreat

Guided Writing Week 15th-20th March 2026

An exceptional location. An incredibly gracious host. I would do it again, in exactly the same format, in a heartbeat.

Writer

For the past five years we’ve run a writing retreat at Rushay, on the Jurassic coast near Lyme Regis, offering four days of creative writing tutoring, private writing, mentoring and conversation, led by Jason Goodwin and Jeremy Seal, with good food and good company.

Rushay is an Arts & Crafts country house set in its own gardens and grounds, with nine beautiful bedrooms between the house and cottage. With three further sitting rooms, the house provides plenty of space for quiet work and reflection. It stands a mile from the Dorset coast, on the edge of the Marshwood Vale.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced writer, we want to inspire you, and fire your urge to work and create.

A Guided Writing Retreat with Jason Goodwin and Jeremy Seal

Sunday 15th March to Friday 20th March 2026

Arriving on Sunday evening in time for supper, you’ll enjoy four days of creativity and productivity.

Morning sessions explore the elements of writing, addressing character, dialogue, plot, pace, setting and research.

We’ll talk about different forms, including fiction, memoir and travel writing.

After lunch each day there’ll be private writing time, before we convene as a group (over tea and cake) to share our work, with Jeremy and Jason.

Conversation continues over a delicious dinner, prepared by the chef.

We want to inspire you to progress with your own fiction or non-fiction. Whether you are a new writer or an established one, we think that you will draw energy from the relatively informal mix of tutoring, guidance and peaceful writing time.

What a week! I am buzzing and grinning all over my face. Rushay was the perfect environment in which to bathe in words and writing … I feel I unlocked something at Rushay, thanks to many things, not least the chance to air ideas with new people.

writer

Dining

Our writers get breakfast, lunch and a delicious supper served every day, not to mention a sumptuous tea with cake…

Walks

Weather permitting, we’ll have some (guided) walks in the surrounding countryside: solvitur ambulando is a writing precept, ‘it is solved by walking.’ You might also want to explore the Dorset/Devon borders, or go fossil-hunting on Charmouth’s famous Jurassic beach. Bridport and Lyme Regis are each under fifteen minutes away by car, and Charmouth has two pubs and a café.

Rooms

All rooms are king size or doubles, apart from the attic dorm with four single beds. They are all set up with writing desks and power outlets, with lovely views, and there is fibre broadband and wifi throughout the house, cottage and garden, with good 4G phone reception on all networks. One double and the dorm are en suite, the other seven rooms share between four bathrooms.

Getting here

There is ample parking at Rushay, and a taxi from the nearest railway station (Axminster) costs about £15. Axminster is on the Waterloo-Exeter mainline.

Prices

(five nights full board)

En suite ground floor double £1500

Double bedroom with adjacent bathroom £1250

Attic dorm en suite, single beds (up to four ladies sharing) £750

Mentors

Jason Goodwin is an award winning writer, whose works of fiction and non-fiction have been translated into more than 40 languages, including Albanian and Korean. He won the coveted Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel but the roots of his writing are in travel and history. He also writes a monthly column for Country Life Magazine.

Jason has taught creative writing at West Dean College, and given masterclasses at the South Bank and The Guardian. There’s more about Jason, his books, and projects, on his website.

Jeremy Seal is the author of acclaimed non-fiction books which combine travel and history, including A Fez of the Heart, Santa: A Life, and Meander, about his solo canoe journey down Turkey’s eponymous river. A Coup in Turkey was published by Chatto in 2021. He has taught creative writing for the Arvon Foundation and ICE Cambridge. When he isn’t working on a novel, he’ll be showing people through Turkey via his amazing website.

The most wonderful and inspirational week…Thank you for restoring my confidence in my writing. FW