Mon 18 Aug
|Chateau de Sacy
Poetry and Yoga Retreat with Salena Godden
Escape to a bohemian château set among picturesque gardens, immerse yourself in poetry with morning workshops and one on ones with the legendary Salena Godden, realign with daily yoga classes and enjoy convivial, nutricious al fresco feasts
Time and Place
18 Aug 2025, 15:30 – 24 Aug 2025, 11:30
Chateau de Sacy, 1 Rue Verte, 60190 Sacy-le-Petit, France
What's Happening
SALENA'S POETRY MASTERCLASS
This exciting course is for poets at any stage of their projects. In guided workshops, generative exercises and 1-2-1s, award-winning poet and performance veteran Salena Godden will share her knowledge and guide you to write from the heart. What might it be like to really look at all the truth, grief, joy, rage, love and hope inside your writing? During the week she will help you find your voice, and discover the words for your poems, your past, present and future. Can you give yourself permission to be hopeful and creative even when it feels like the world is burning? As poets we all have the capacity to be lighthouses to each other, to note not just the warnings, the darkness and the storms, but also share the glimmers of light and hope. This course will fill your pens, feed your soul and send you away with a mental and emotional tool-kit to use on your poetic path ahead.
All bedrooms have a desk and there are other peaceful spaces to work in – the salon, the barn, the gardens, the studio.
YOGA
The beautiful old barn makes a perfect space for pre-breakfast Vinyasa Flow yoga classes, run for all levels by popular Sacy regular Megane Thiboust. These will clear your mind and prepare you for the focus of the day ahead.
FOOD AND DRINK
Meals will be Ottolenghi-inspired, largely vegetarian, nutricious and locally sourced where possible. We can cater for various diets on request.
Each participant will pair up with another to prepare one dinner, with ingredients and recipe supplied and help at hand.
Coffee, tea, fruit and pastries will be available throughout the day in a separate communal kitchen.
Wine will be served with dinner.
ACCOMMODATION
We offer a range to suit different budgets - from a furnished bell tent in the orchard that can be shared with a friend, to an en suite with windows giving on to both sides of the garden. All the rooms are private. You can find out more about each option here or by clicking on the images below.
OPTIONAL OUTINGS
Thursday To the fascinating Armistice Museum, site of the train carriage where the Armistice of both World Wars were signed. After lunch in the riverside town of Compiegne, we will spend the afternoon at its magnificent chateau, built by Louis XV and remodelled by Napoleon.
Saturday To a wonderful local arts centre in Verderonne, as well as a medieval convent where the Poor Clares once lived and worked, and a different swimming lake.
FREE TIME
Walk through the nearby woods to the Chapelle Saint Catherine, a spot visited by Joan of Arc
Swim in a large, gorgeous lake surrounded by wildlife
Explore the countryside on our boneshakers, ie bikes
Learn to walk our tightrope, swing from the trapeze
Play table tennis or French billiards
Dive into the theatrical dresses, suits and hats of the Dressing-up Room
Or just relax and soak up the atmosphere at the château
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Six nights in your own room or furnished bell tent at the château (sheets, towels and toiletries provided)
Five poetry workshops
A 1-2-1 session with Salena
Four yoga classes, with equipment provided
Lifts to and from the station
Welcome cocktail
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks at the château
Wine (within reason) at dinner
Coffee, tea, juice, snacks at all times
Use of the communal kitchen
Run of (most of) the house, gardens and outdoor buildings
Use of our bicycles
Wifi
Parking space
Outings to local lake and places of interest
Travel advice
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
Travel costs
Airport transfers
Travel Insurance
Visa fee if required
Meals/drinks away from the house
Entry tickets on excursions
TESTIMONIALS ON OUR WRITING WEEKS AND SALENA GODDEN
'Came here with no ideas and nothing on paper and left with a concrete plan and words on paper. Gained many kilos as a result of the great comfort food.' Marieke Heikens
'Great week, help, inspiration and women in an unforgettable setting. Thank you!' Kate Slater
'What a week! What a house! Thank you for an incredible experience and the out of this world food. Loved the dressing-up room. Special.' Emma Louise Gallic
'One of the most brilliant, incisive, incredibly inspirational writers I've ever come across' Andi Oliver
'Salena's writing is urgent and detailed, colourful and clamorous. Like all love stories, her memoir is intense and intimate' The Times
'Heartfelt and surreal, uncompromising and tender, Godden holds the poem in the palm of her hand like a hummingbird. Salena Godden is a legendary UK writer famous for embodying her work on stage, and this new collection expands that on to the page in a collection that compresses poems of praise and protest, despair and uprising and translates them into love and rage. An inspiring and vital book for the 21st century.’ Joelle Taylor
Find out more about Salena Godden and the schedule here. More about each room here.
BOOK YOUR SPOT
Bell Tent
The furnished, 4m Bell Tent is pitched in the orchard and has a single bed (another may be added), bedding, a rug, low table, desk and camping lights. You will have use of the shared loos and shower in the house. The tent can be booked for one participant or two booking together.
From £899.00 to £1,699.00
£899.00
+£22.48 ticket service fee
£1,699.00
+£42.48 ticket service fee
Mansarde
A cosy, carpetted room with twin beds, clothes rail, skylight and desk. The shared loos, shower and bathroom are down a flight of stairs. Can be booked for one participant or two booking together.
From £899.00 to £1,699.00
£899.00
+£22.48 ticket service fee
£1,699.00
+£42.48 ticket service fee
Attic Double
A large, basic but romantic room under the eaves.. It has a concrete floor with a rug, wifi, desk, clothes rail, full-length mirror and contains many historical objects. The shared loos, bathroom, and shower room are down a flight of stairs. Can be booked for one or two of you together
From £999.00 to £1,899.00
£999.00
+£24.98 ticket service fee
£1,899.00
+£47.48 ticket service fee
End Room
A delightful room full of light on the first floor. It has a large, curtained-off single bed, tiled floor, fireplace, two windows and desk. Shared loos, bathroom and shower room are along the corridor.
£999.00
+£24.98 ticket service fee
Blue Room
The picturesque blue rooms have a striking, ancient patina with a tiled floor, desk, a marble fireplace, marble washstand, and an annexe with a daybed to store clothes. Shared loos, bathroom and shower room are along the corridor. The rooms can be booked for one participant or two booking together.
From £1,099.00 to £1,999.00
£1,099.00
+£27.48 ticket service fee
£1,999.00
+£49.98 ticket service fee
Apartment
This large, carpeted double has its own loo and shower, excellent wifi, comfortable armchair, wardrobe space, alcove bed, marble fireplace and adjacent communal kitchen. It can be booked for one participant or two booking together.
From £1,299.00 to £2,399.00
£1,299.00
+£32.48 ticket service fee
£2,399.00
+£59.98 ticket service fee
Total
£0.00