Five-day Writers Retreat in French Chateau

This is your chance to escape deep into the French countryside for a five-day writers retreat at an idyllic château with a private pool, where you can work on your writing in a peaceful setting, guided and encouraged by experienced novelists and teachers: Sarah Leipciger, Peggy Riley and Joanna Quinn.

Tucked into a hillside and surrounded by lemon trees, Château de Rochessauve is a perfect spot to get away from it all. We will arrive at the chateau on Monday, 7th September, and begin our voyage together with welcome drinks and a get-to-know-you dinner, followed by an evening writing game (if we’re not too tired!).

Each morning will start with breakfast and optional morning pages, to wake your mind and heart. After breakfast we'll have group writing and learning sessions. We'll lunch together and in the afternoon you'll have free time to sneak off into one of the many cozy nooks of the chateau and its grounds to write and read, or just mull over ideas while swimming in the pool. After dinner, your evenings are your own, though we will offer a few optional activities. 

Your retreat is fully catered and will include two 30-minute one-to-one sessions where you will get bespoke feedback on your writing from Sarah, Peggy or Joanna; a ‘craft Q&A’ lunch; an optional afternoon ‘walk and write’, and a final evening of celebration.

When you head home after breakfast on the Saturday you'll be recharged and refreshed, with a notebook full of ideas and renewed energy for your writing projects.

Unlike other writing retreats, with Hope & Anchor you are hosted by all three of us - Sarah, Peggy and Joanna - for the whole retreat. This means a broader range of experience and styles, more one-to-one time, and loads of good energy.  This week would be suitable if you have always been promising yourself some time to write, or if you have an idea you'd like to get started on. Perhaps you're already working on a project and need some feedback and encouragement for the next stage. We will also ask you to fill out a brief questionnaire before the retreat, so we have a good idea of your goals for the week, and we will do our best to help you meet them.

Your stay at Château de Rochessauve:

Château de Rochessauve is a serene and peaceful château with beautiful views down a valley, surrounded by fruit trees and lavender, and filled with unique art; a stylish and welcoming home from home.

There are eleven rooms in total, including seven en suites. Most are doubles but a couple can be reconfigured as twin rooms if you have a friend you want to share with. There is an outdoor swimming pool, a charming central courtyard, and plenty of dreamy spaces to write, both indoors and out. It is in the Ardèche, part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in southeastern France, an area celebrated for its dramatic landscapes, its historic towns and its excellent wines.

This is a fully-catered retreat, providing home-cooked breakfasts, lunches & dinners. There will also be complimentary tea and coffee, and drinks on the first night. After that, we will provide a honesty bar.

How you'll spend the week with us:

Day 1 (Monday): Arrival day with welcome dinner and drinks.

Days 2, 3, 4, 5: Every day will start with optional morning pages (or, if you prefer, a nice lie-in or a swim). After breakfast we will run group writing workshops and learning sessions with regular breaks for tea and coffee. We will lunch together and then you have the afternoons free for your own writing. We will also be running your one-to-one tutorials in the afternoons: you can book two of these with either Sarah, Peggy or Joanna. One afternoon will feature a ‘walk and write’ session in the beautiful countryside surrounding the chateau and one lunchtime will be a ‘craft Q&A’. There will be optional evening actitives.

Day 6 (Saturday): Departure day. We'll have a wrap up session after breakfast, then say our goodbyes.

Your retreat includes:

• All writing activities & one-to-ones

• Monday dinner, all meals Tues – Fri, Saturday breakfast.

• Teas and coffees throughout the day

• Welcome drinks on the first evening

Travel: 

Writers are responsible for arranging their own travel, but we will help co-ordinate groups for airport/train transfers (both on Monday 7th and Saturday 12th) in order to keep costs as low as possible.

Address:

Chateau de Rochessauve

1895 Route du Chateau

07210

Rochessauve

Airports:

Lyon or Marseille (both are about two hours from the house)

Direct flights from the UK to Lyon (LYS) are typically available from London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Belfast Intl. UK airports offering direct flights to Marseille (MRS) include Stansted, Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.

Train stations:

Valence or Montelimar (both about 50 minutes from the house).

The Eurostar from London St Pancras to Valence, switching trains in Lille, is the best route if coming from London. You can also go via Paris but be warned that the train connection requires going across the city from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon via the Metro.

Car travel:

If driving to the chateau from the UK, you can take LeShuttle (the Channel tunnel for cars). You could split your journey - and see a little more of France - by spending a night in Reims or somewhere on the way.

Places on the retreat start at £1150. A £250 deposit will be needed to secure your spot.

Get in touch to find out more. Email us at hello@hopeandanchorwriting.com