Sharpham Trust

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Sharpham Trust At the heart of the Sharpham Trust ethos is our desire to build a more mindful, compassionate and environmentally-sustainable world.
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A charity working to build a more mindful, compassionate & environmentally-sustainable world
SUBSCRIBE TO HEAR ABOUT OUR RETREATS & EVENTS FIRST:
https://eepurl.com/cIxbbz The Sharpham Trust’s spectacular setting beside the River Dart in South Devon, UK offers opportunities for transformation through mindfulness, nature and learning. The Sharpham Trust is an education and conservation charity set in 550 acres of the Sharpham Estate, on a stunning stretch of the Dart, within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Trust is based within and works to protected and conserve the Grade 1-listed Georgian Palladian villa Sharpham House, its Capability Brown-designed landscape and 18th century walled garden. We connect people with nature and foster mindfulness and well-being through our programme of retreats, mindfulness courses, outdoor learning and the arts. Our work with Mindfulness

Mindfulness allows us to pay attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally. Sharpham has been a centre for mindfulness since the 1980s and the practice lies at the core of many of our activities. Mindfulness is now widely recognised within the NHS as a clinically proven practice, which can help towards reducing stress and enhancing overall levels of health and wellbeing. We host secular mindfulness retreats within Sharpham House (including retreats for beginners to mindfulness) and at the famed Barn Retreat Centre, elsewhere on the Estate. The Barn has been highlighted by The Sunday Telegraph as one of the top 8 retreats in UK and Europe and has offered retreats based on the Buddhist tradition for more than 25 years. Retreatants benefit from the opportunity to enjoy the peaceful, reflective and life-enriching environment of the estate and many people develop a strong emotional connection to the place. We host mindfulness courses at Sharpham and in nearby Totnes and Torquay, helping people understand the principles of mindfulness and meditation. Retreats at Sharpham

The retreats in Sharpham House are secular and suit anyone looking to restore, rejuvenate, relax, de-stress and reconnect with themselves and nature in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. They are perfect for those newer to mindfulness and meditation as well as those with more experience, keen to integrate their practice in everyday life. We also help participants develop mindfulness through themed retreats including yoga, singing, art, food or walking in the soul-enriching landscape. The retreats within Sharpham House are fully-catered with support from house staff, ensuring a relaxing experience where retreatants can make the most of the venue’s peaceful atmosphere. Sharpham as a venue

By using the exceptional beauty of the house and its landscape, we also provide opportunities for transformation and change through a wide range of courses and events including outdoor learning and the arts. The Sharpham Estate is a sought-after venue for residential and non-residential events from small family parties to larger gatherings such as weddings and courses. We are also the home of the Sharpham Meadow Natural Burial Ground and the popular Barn Retreat Centre. We hire out our Bathing House for holidays. Built in the 1770s, at the same time as Sharpham House the Bathing House is on a bend in the river, below the main House. There are three tenant farms on the estate, including the award-winning Sharpham Vineyard and Sharpham W**e and Cheese, Upper Sharpham Barton and Lower Sharpham Barton, run with our partners Ambios and Robert Owen Communities, running programmes with adults with learning disabilities and youth mental health recovery. Join our mailing list via our page or our website to ensure that you hear about new Retreats at Sharpham and our other activities as soon as they are available.

23/10/2026

🍏Pressing apple juice at The Sharpham Trust - a nature-based mindfulness retreat centre...

Volunteers who give their time to support the Sharpham Trust nature-mindfulness retreat centre, help to prepare and pulp apples and make delicious juice for people who stay on mindfulness and meditation retreats.🍎

Thank-you, Volunteers, for helping our Estate work...

Do YOU suffer with  ? Or low mood?As   takes place, we're launching a new mindfulness retreat - with subsidised places f...
09/10/2026

Do YOU suffer with ? Or low mood?

As takes place, we're launching a new mindfulness retreat - with subsidised places for people of low income.

Our retreat for Anxiety and Low mood is a 4-night stay at The Coach House retreat venue, offering a restorative and supportive environment.

We've got bursary places on each retreat that mean a large discount for people who would not otherwise be able to afford to come.

“This is a supportive space where you’ll combine mindfulness practice with time spent in nature, helping you to learn how to step out of cycles of worry and rumination, self-criticism and overwhelm and begin to relate to your thoughts and feelings with greater kindness and balance,” said Trust Director Julian Carnell.

What will participants on this retreat experience?

Retreat participants will experience gentle, nature-based practices whilst learning practical tools to manage stress, anxiety and low mood to support their emotional balance and resilience in everyday life.

This retreat includes:

• guided meditations
• nature mindfulness practices
• relaxation sessions
• mindful movement
• periods of silence and quiet contemplation
• personal and rest time
• time outdoors to slow down and reconnect with the natural world at Sharpham

All Sharpham Trust feature small-group sharing and chances for supportive discussion with others who are likely to have shared experiences.

Bursary places by application - visit our website and search "bursary places"

VEGAN TREATS ALERT!Look at these lovely chocolate welcome nibbles made for retreatants arriving at Sharpham House.They w...
08/10/2026

VEGAN TREATS ALERT!

Look at these lovely chocolate welcome nibbles made for retreatants arriving at Sharpham House.

They were created by our talented cook, Sybille, who regularly welcomes our guests with healthy, delicious snacks such as these.

Since retreats are known for being simple and silent, people assume that the catering on them matches that theme of plain utility. Not at Sharpham.

Our meals and snacks are prepared with a great deal of care, with both nutrition and enjoyment in mind, because the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

Natural ingredients are used in all our meals and snacks, including organic fruit and vegetables grown on the estate by our talented gardeners. While beneficial to your physical and cognitive health, they also taste DIVINE, and feel both nourishing and plentiful.

Sybille is wonderful at creating beautifully-presented dishes, with a focus on aesthetics as well as taste.

She made raspberry chocolates with a pink centre, or crunchy coconut chocolates. They disappeared quickly!

This November, Sybille is going to be co-hosting our mindful cooking & eating retreat, called Moments to Savour.

There is a planned chocolate session featured on the retreat, allowing our guests to indulge! They will have the chance to make tantalizing treats, often using natural sweeteners, and carefully-selected, healthy ingredients.

We are just as excited as she is. Cooking is a calming, creative practice that encourages you to be present as you pay attention to your task and expand your repertoire of recipes and ingredients, plus when you eat mindfully, you become aware of the colours, shapes and tastes of delicious food.

Sybille will be your wonderful guide...

There is a planned chocolate session featured on the retreat, allowing our guests to indulge! They will have the chance to make tantalizing treats, often using natural sweeteners, and carefully-selected, healthy ingredients.

Could YOU manage our internationally-renowned mindfulness and meditation retreat venues?Join a wonderful team in an incr...
01/10/2026

Could YOU manage our internationally-renowned mindfulness and meditation retreat venues?

Join a wonderful team in an incredible setting to continue the mindfulness-in-nature work of The Sharpham Trust.

Visit our website & search "vacancies" to learn more and apply.

*NO APPLICATIONS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA*


Wonderful testimony from a retreatant who stayed at our Buddhist retreat centre The Barn.The Barn at The Sharpham Trust ...
28/09/2026

Wonderful testimony from a retreatant who stayed at our Buddhist retreat centre The Barn.

The Barn at The Sharpham Trust has been hosting people in communal simplicity, sharing daily meditations and gentle, mindful gardening since 1986.

So many people have been through its doors and have benefited from its calm and supportive atmosphere, created and held by the Volunteer Retreat Coordinators giving service there.

And you don't have to be a Buddhist to go there!

All are welcome to benefit from joining our BarnRetreats

24/09/2026

Scared of spiders? We don’t blame you. Most of us would go running if we saw this in our living room. Spiders have earned themselves a reputation for being scuttling, web-weaving creepy-crawlies.

Fear is often a lack of understanding, and maybe if the important role spiders play in our ecosystem was better understood, we could convince you to see them in a different light.

The spiders in this video are babies, sometimes called ‘spiderlings'. Don't you love that?

Lucca, our gardener at the Barn retreat centre, snapped this video of them. These tiny yellow spiderlings are commonly found on webs in the garden around this time. A group of them is only the size of a cherry, and they are entirely harmless.

Spiderlings are reticent toward humans, and will run away if afraid or disturbed. They make webs that can span great distances, and use sticky threads to create the spiral part of the web. In late summer, many spiders mature, mate and produce eggs.

The Common Garden Spider can lay 800 eggs that she cements together and covers in a layer of lightweight yellow silk. These eggs hatch the following spring, releasing bundles of tiny spiderlings. If disturbed, the bundle will ‘explode,’ causing the spiderlings to temporarily disperse, as seen in this video.

Spiders feed on garden pests such as flies, beetles and caterpillars. This protects crops from being damaged, which is why spiders are integral to garden environments. Unlike other insects, they do not scavenge food or spread disease. Their role is to feed on pests, indirectly protecting plants from damage, and to be a valuable food source for birds and reptiles.

If you were intrigued by this little fact dump about spiderlings and would like to learn more about the natural world, consider attending a nature-inspired mindfulness and meditation retreat with us.

FUN FACT: Our Spring-Summer retreats get announced to our subscribers FIRST. Sign up to our mailing list at the top of our website, or message us for the link

An Online Retreatant writes..."I loved the 1 day at home retreat. Loved all of the practices - the flow of the day was b...
23/09/2026

An Online Retreatant writes...

"I loved the 1 day at home retreat. Loved all of the practices - the flow of the day was beautifully paced and I definitely hope to do another one in future! Highly recommend"

Did YOU attend and find our Retreats at Home valuable? We'd love to hear how it was for you.

Also, our next Retreats at Home happen on the following Saturdays:
• 17 October
• 28 November
• 19 December
• 23 January

Visit our website and search "retreats at home"

22/09/2026

Wonderful recent reviews for our Coach House venue!

Still a few spaces on our 4-nighter, beginning Tuesday September 29, from £495 per person...

22/09/2026

Just a few spaces left for this nature-meditation session THIS SUNDAY 27 SEPT.

Join Honor Wolf Moon to explore the world of mycology & fungi and to deepen a nature-mindfulness practice.

Interested? Visit our Events Highlight to find this story & the link, or go to our website & search "awakening relations".

We're on The Plodcast - a podcast by BBC Countryfile Magazine ! Presenter Fergus Collins  came to visit the Sharpham Est...
22/09/2026

We're on The Plodcast - a podcast by BBC Countryfile Magazine !

Presenter Fergus Collins came to visit the Sharpham Estate and met Julian Carnell, Director of Sharpham Trust

Their conversation included the history and ecology of the Sharpham Estate, which borders the River Dart.

In an absorbing hour-long episode, they discussed nature's incredible effect on mental health, the mindfulness and mediation retreats we hold here, the nature-restoration work being done with Ambios Ltd our rewilding partners and Julian's book about the river, Becoming The Ocean and much more.

👂TO LISTEN:

Visit our website and search "plodcast", then take a moment to listen and find out so much about us and our beloved River Dart...

And then do it again with episode 340, which features our regular forage-event leader and author Brigit Anna McNeill (who also took these amazing shots).

Address

Sharpham House, Ashprington
Totnes
TQ97UT

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