The United Kingdom

April 9-13, 2025
North Norfolk Coast, UK

Gateless Offerings

The Experience

A festival of words, this retreat will welcome 24 writers from all over the world. For five days, we will bask in the spirit of the word. Mornings, we breakfast on the chef’s gourmet, then to the music room for your first Gateless Writing Salon, where you’ll write the morning away. Gateless feedback will show you your unique talent on the page. Daily Reiki and Thai head massage, garden walks, inspired art viewing, reading aloud, and finally group candlelight dinners, tarot readings by the fire, breathwork, shamanic healings, yoga nidra and channeling the spirit of the word. You’ll sleep like an angel in one of the stunning bedrooms in the Voewood Manor.

Gateless Offerings

The Locale

Downton Abbey meets high bohemian in this 17-bedroom haven of creativity and wonder. A three-hour scenic train ride from London, near the North Norfolk Coast, the famous Voewood Manor is the writing retreat you’ve been dreaming of. Regal aristocracy is replaced with eclectic art, cozy fireplaces, rich velvet couches, clawfoot tubs, epic garden views and beds you can dream the night away in. Owned by Notting Hill’s best-loved bibliophile Simon Finch and his screenwriting partner/wife Ms. Martha Fiennes, this mansion has hosted some of the most iconic artists of our time. An Arts and Crafts manor with the spirit of a rock and roller. You will write, laugh, dance and feast for five glorious days.

Gateless Offerings

The Writing

Gateless Writing Salons are world-renowned for teaching the art of the written word. We start with a meditative prompt, Reiki and Thai head massage to move you into a creative state. You will write silently in community. Finally, we read aloud. Gateless feedback–oral and written–shows you your innate craft and the core energy of the story you were meant to tell. Radical nurturing of the writer allows emerging and seasoned writers to take incredible risks on the page. If you’ve only ever journaled, you may discover the novel within. Memoirists find the last chapter of the book they’ve been trying to write. Whether you’re established or just starting out, in Gateless salons, life-long friendships are born.

Request more information HERE.

“That first Gateless Retreat completely changed my career, my writing and my life. I will never be the same.”

~ Sarah Montana, Screenwriter, NYC

Gateless Offerings

The Channeling

For centuries writing has been understood as a channel to the divine. From the ancient Sumerians, to Sanskrit and the Kabbalah, the mystics have known that spirit speaks through the word. At Voewood, we will enter this field during evening sessions with Suzanne who’s long been a channel for the Akashic and Ascended Masters. This intelligence comes to her from many lifetimes, including the ancient female scribes of Mesopotamia. The channel moves past your “should” into your full potential in love, career, health, wealth, finding community, geography, family and more. This is a sublime experience of profound bliss that connects you with an unconditionally loving source that wants only your highest good.

Gateless Offerings

The Participants

Authors, doctors, therapists, composers, moms, inclusion consultants, educators, massage gurus, brand advisors, journalists, those who have only ever written emails and yet feel an intense connection with the word and others who have published extensively and need a boost. Gateless is never about “what” you do but the essence of who you are. We value kindness, curiosity, inspiration, grace and laughter in a puppy pile of support. We’re here for the astounding joy that comes with writing, story, memory, the imagination. By leaving criticism at the door, you cocoon in the sweetness of literary artists who have your back every step of the way, even (especially) when you return home.

Gateless Offerings

The Result

This is what you’ve been waiting for. Known for its profound artistic beauty, the Voewood retreat is the high-touch escape into a force field of creative fire. Through writing salons and ancient embodiment practices–including channeling and immersive bodywork–Gateless shifts your neurotransmitters, floods you with endorphins and leads you into the wild landscape of your deepest self. This is where you find the courage and agency to take risks without fear of criticism. You will discover the incredibly supportive community you’ve been craving and the true bliss of being artistically and spiritually alive. Writers who come to Gateless Retreats often say it is one of the highlights of their lives.

Request more information HERE.

“The Gateless Writing Retreats are transformative, electrifying, nothing compares to the elation you feel when you receive feedback in the circle. That incredible infusion of community and soaring creativity can really only happen in Gateless. The critical voice falls away and you find again the pure bliss that’s been inside you all along. Nothing else compares.”

~ Lauren Myers, MFA, Newton, Massachusetts

Voewood Retreat Gallery

Request more information HERE.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get there?

We recommend flying into Gatwick or Heathrow Airport by April 8 so that you have a day in London to get your bearings and make it to the retreat on time the next day.

On April 9, take a taxi to Liverpool Street Station in London. 

Trains to Sheringham Station leave every 30 minutes (there’s one changeover in Norwich). 

We’ll pick you up at the Sheringham Station for the 15-minute drive to Voewood.  

Until then, rest easy!

Absolutely everything you need for your trip will be found at Voewood: amazing meals, a comfy bed, lots of places to write, walk, talk and cozy up.

What’s the schedule?

Arrive at Voewood on April 9 between 2:00 – 4:00 pm, GMT.

You’ll be welcomed, and can explore the house, get settled in your room, walk the gardens, take a little nap, and meet your incredible group. Then enjoy little nibbles in the kitchen for afternoon energy. 

Our first Gateless session will start at 4:15 pm in the music room at Voewood. We will talk about details, logistics, the Gateless Guidelines and have our first (short) writing salon. 

Dinner will then be served at 6:00 pm with a group channeling session afterwards.

You will be in bed by 10:00 pm. 

Each day breakfast is served from 8:00 – 9:00 am (come down whenever you feel hungry). The Gateless Writing Salon begins at 9:00 am.

We break at noon for lunch with time to explore. 

The next salon starts at 3:00 pm with dinner starting at 6:00 pm.

After dinner there will be a group embodiment practice/channeling that runs until 10:00 pm. 

On the final day of the retreat, April 13, we’ll have breakfast with a closing ceremony, and then you are free to leave by 9:30 am.

What should I bring?

North Norfolk is renowned for its spectacular coastline, fantastic wildlife, miles of glorious beaches, seaside communities, beautiful hinterland of rolling countryside, picturesque market towns and villages, and National Trust estates. Voewood is a sweet, warm oasis of creative inspiration amidst it all. Think streaming sunlight, nooks to read in, and beds to nap on. 

You should bring: your laptop, tablet or journal, clothes to cozy up in, a good pair of walking shoes, an umbrella, raincoat, your favorite pajamas, headphones to listen to music while you skip around the estate’s gardens, slippers, not what you are working on necessarily, but an open mind for what may come to you while you write in salons with your new friends. This is a casual, fun, extremely nurturing experience. Bring what makes you happy.

Should I already know what I’m working on?

Some people come with an idea for a novel, with the first draft of a memoir; others want to commune with the spirit of the written word and literally have no idea what is going to arise. Writers are always (always) surprised. We don’t “work” on your writing. We play in the landscape of what’s possible for you on the page. 

Gateless Writing Salons start with a prompt to get you writing and you may or may not read aloud and get feedback (at least once during retreat, try to read aloud, the feedback is a literary massage!).   

Gateless salons will knock your socks off with how powerful they are and how gratifying they feel. So many times writers leave retreats realizing that they have found their calling. They know exactly what they want to do and where they want to go. 

One of the most exciting things about retreat is that the power of who you are as a creative creeps up on you when you are having the time of your life.

What’s the total cost?

The total retreat cost includes Reiki, Thai head massage, writing salons, your beautiful bedroom at Voewood, meals from our gourmet chef, channeling, breathwork, sound healing, and more. There are 17 bedrooms and seven baths available at Voewood Manor.

Depending on your accommodation preference, we have the following options available:

 

The Hideaway:
Five to seven beds to a room
$2,200 per person

Chamber Rooms:
Two beds, two people to a room (very spacious)
$3,475 per person

Single Rooms:
One bed, shared bath down the hall
$3,875

Ensuite Rooms:
One bed, private bath
$4,800 (ensuite rooms have all been taken)

 

Ready to Register?

Please complete THIS FORM and note that a $775 USD online payment deposit will be required to secure and confirm your registration. Please note that any cancellations post paying this deposit will incur a $25 USD processing fee.

For any general questions about the retreat, please contact us HERE.

Your Retreat Staff:

Sarah Byrden is a Gateless Trained Teacher, a graduate of the Gateless Writing Academy. As a practitioner of Watsu, craniosacral massage, Qigong and Shiatsu, she will be with us as bodyworker for the UK Gateless Writing Retreat.  Sarah has many roles as an Educator. Mentor. Writer. Speaker. Advocate. She has been an experiential educator in wilderness, international, somatic and soul landscapes for over 21 years, is a two time TEDx presenter and carries over 2,500 hours of formal training in western and non-western healing modalities. Sarah has worked from Indonesia to the Himalayas, Coast to Coast in the United States, from grassroots movements on college campuses to retreat settings, from remote deserts to mountains and oceans. She founded The Elemental Self in 2012 as a bastion of soul-centered work and is a tried, true and trusted master of her craft.

Sarah helps you connect to the deeper truth and source in themselves so that they can live lives as agents of change and creation in our world. She helps her students and clients claim agency, honesty and congruence, in purpose, relationship and expression.

Camilla Royce read English at Southampton University and then completed classical theatre training in repertory at the Jermyn Street Theatre, off West End, London.

After a couple of years of semi-successful touring, she left London feeling disillusioned and went to Paris looking for inspiration. There, she worked as an assistant to veteran Hollywood actress Leslie Caron. Camilla went on to work in magazine publishing within events and for many years was a freelance events producer for corporate and experiential events in London, Middle East and Europe.

Camilla currently works part-time with two film directors on script development, film production and digital art projects. She is dipping her toe back into acting by joining the 2024/2025 cast of immersive theatre event, You Me Bum Bum Train.

She is a master tarot reader, www.veritytarot.com, and is currently writing her debut novel – a historical thriller with esoteric and supernatural themes.

Sheena Cook is a Gateless Trained teacher, a graduate of the Gateless Writing Academy, and our resident Reiki practitioner and salon leader at the UK retreat.

Sheena grew up north of Scotland, has a law degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, an MFA in Literature and Writing from the Bennington Writing Seminars, Vermont, US and an MA in Crime Writing from the University of East Anglia, UK.

Her short stories and novel extracts have appeared in the UEA Crime Fiction Anthology 2024, Beached, Two Serious Ladies, Literary Orphans, The Southampton Review, Gutter Magazine, The Potomac Review and Inertia.

In 2018 she was a Hawthornden Fellow and in 2018/2019 she was a Bookends Fellow, during which she worked on her manuscript A TENDER HATE with mentor Meg Wolitzer.

Her new novel, MEN WOULD KILL FOR THIS, was shortlisted for the Little, Brown UEA Crime Fiction Award 2024. Excerpts from the novel were long listed for The World of Interiors Writing Competition 2024 and won two Scottish Arts Club awards.

She divides her time between Baltimore, Maryland and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Christina Dexter is a Gateless Trained teacher, a graduate of the Gateless Writing Academy, and teaches writing at The New Rules Studio, Terri Trespicio’s virtual studio for content creators and long form writers. A freelance communicator who helps social advocacy groups talk about their priorities by telling the stories of the people they impact, Christina became a certified instructor of the Gateless Writing Method in 2021 and has since used the methodology in her work, generating content for nonprofits, facilitating groups of writers, and as an empowerment tool for women and girls on her travels through India. Her writing practice weaves spicy fictional and non-fictional tales, and she is still working to understand what the writing wants to be. When Christina is not traveling, she resides in a tiny house on her family’s farm near Kansas City, Missouri.

Me: Suzanne Kingsbury is an award-winning, internationally noted author, whose work has been translated widely abroad and optioned for film. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Award, an Oxford Town Fiction Award and has been shortlisted for the Robert Olen Butler Award, the Fog City Writer’s Award and a Dana Award.

In 2007, after graduating from the Bennington College Masters in Fine Arts program, Suzanne founded Gateless Writing, an internationally-acclaimed organization whose unique methodology combines brain science and therapeutic touch to draw out writers’ unique talent and singular genius, enabling them to move through residual blocks and create domain-changing prose. Through retreats, workshops, one-on-one intensives and career training programs, Suzanne has helped countless writers on their path to acquiring top agents, signing 6-figure book deals, hitting bestseller lists and wining prestigious literary awards. Her writers have been interviewed by the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and major Hearst publications, they have seen themselves on CBS, NBC and ABC affiliates, and have appeared in Forbes, USA Today, and on the Jane Pauley show.

As a writing intuit, Suzanne’s “channeling” and shamanic practices have created incredible shifts in her writers’ work and in their lives. Ultimately, she believes the urge to write is a dancing order from the divine; writers are “scribes”, and the messages they are called to write have extraordinary power to change the world.