The Cabin
I’m very aware that most writers aren’t lucky enough to make a living from their craft – hence the need to retreat from life in order to get some writing done – and that money is often tight. To that end, I also want to offer our writing cabin in the back garden as a retreat space, for people who don’t mind a rustic life, where they will be truly separate from the rest of the household.
The cabin is a special place. With a beautiful bed, books on writing and a shelf of short stories, a comfy chair to read in, and two desk, one of which will be turned into a coffee-tea making station or dining table, when you are in residence. These retreats will be self-catering, to keep the costs down, but you will be given full access to our kitchen for food storage and cooking. There’s Wifi, and a heater for the colder months.
The only drawback: No toilet or bathroom. You will need to come into the house and use one of the bathrooms inside. So, if this sounds awful, then this isn’t for you! Our retreats in the ensuite Rooms M and N are definitely more luxurious. Yet there is something magical about the cabin…
As in the house retreats, I will be available for mentoring sessions during your time in the house, should that be useful to you. (Fee based on amount of reading required and length of 1-2-1 session.) And you are welcome to write anywhere in the house you feel comfortable. (We might be writing there too!)
4 nights (Monday – Friday; Thursday – Monday) £250
This is our family home, and we want you to feel at home as well. My wife and I will be around living our lives, reading and writing and editing and cooking and watching television. Occasionally some of our twenty-somethings will also be in residence. But you will have peace and quiet and be in a house where every day a lot of writing goes on.
There are a lot of great walks in and around Lewes – you can borrow our Jack Russell, if you like – perfect for thinking through a storyline problem as you get up on the Downs. Lewes also has a plethora of lovely restaurants, pubs, independent cafes and micro-breweries, as well as antique markets and all sorts of artist-makers kinds of shops. But I’m not going to dwell on that because…you know, this is about you wanting to write.
The best way to get to Lewes is by train (1 hour, five minutes from London Victoria), and we’re a short walk from the station. If arriving by car, we do have one space in our drive for a car (which you might have to fight over if a second driving writer is in residence), and this will also involve stopping your work to move your car if we need to get out with ours. So you might want to avoid being interrupted! There is a free parking on the outskirts of town.
