PENNARD HOUSE, SOMERSET

Interior view of a dining room with a wooden table, a vase of white lilies, a bowl of fruit, and a notebook. There's a large portrait of a man with a dog on a pedestal, a grandfather clock, and a woman walking into the room in the background.
A woman sitting on a couch near a window with patterned curtains, smiling with her hands clasped in her lap, in a dimly lit room.

AUDACIOUS & TENACIOUS: a five-day writing retreat with guest speaker Tracy Chevalier

Next dates coming soon!

Pennard House retreats have been running to a seasoned schedule over 14 hugely successful years and a retreat here is – for both Susan and many of her “regulars” – an absolute highlight of the year. Welcoming and relaxed, and as elegant as it is cosy, there’s a real sense at Pennard of being invited to make it your home – and what a very special home it is. You’re looked after by the lovely in-house team who, accustomed to lively wedding guests, always seem pleasantly surprised to find everyone happy to be scribbling away quietly in their rooms… (though they enjoy tempting us out with homemade cake.) Then there’s the log fires, the pre-dinner cider (Pennard’s own), the occasional drop-ins from a Dearden (plus dog) to see how everyone’s getting on, the newly refurbished conservatory (lush!) and the freshwater swimming lake for occasional shock treatments. And, of course, the fact that there’s a ready-made gang of other writers at hand – all dedicated, all interesting, and all embarked on the same heady journey as you. All in all, this is a gorgeously supportive time- and headspace-rich week for people who love to write but don’t always get enough time to do it.

This November’s retreat features the best-selling author Tracy Chevalier as our mid-week guest. Tracy is a wonderful speaker – generous, eloquent, humble, and fascinating on all the topics she has covered in her wide-ranging novels (to date, eleven, including her latest, The Glassmaker, set in Venice.) Tracy and Susan have been friends since they met on the MA in Creative Writing at UEA so this promises to be a particularly lively and relaxed conversation that will, at some stage, involve Tracy revealing her absolute top tips on How To Do It.

A limited number of tickets for this event (Wednesday 12th November at 17:30) will be available to people not on the retreat. If you’d like to join us for the talk + drinks, or talk + drinks + dinner, please enquire below.

“It’s a highlight of my year, honestly. It’s headspace and inspiration and a rest and a party and a jolt into action, all in one.”

“I’m always impressed by what people can write in a few minutes. It seemed that a lot of people dramatically improved in the first 48 hours or so which was fairly astonishing.”

“I love that there are so many regulars – it gives the week a university feel – but also that there are always new people, too, keeping things fresh.”

How your week will look:

Mornings at Pennard are spent workshopping around the fire in the Drawing Room – being triggered to write in ways you hadn’t planned, and exploring (no – nailing!) a new aspect of the writer’s craft. This week we’ll be particularly looking for ways to be more audacious – with our approach, our material, our voice, style, structure, everything. If we’re going to embark on a project as ambitious as a book, we need to be brave and take leaps, not shuffles.
To keep us fresh and well-stretched, there’s optional yoga first thing – and/or a cold plunge in the freshwater swimming lake. You’ll be able to book in for a one-to-one tutorial with Susan, ideally having sent her some of your work in advance. Otherwise, afternoons will be free to spend as you wish – going for a walk, curling up with a book in the conservatory, or editing what you’ve produced that morning. We’ll be fed three delicious meals a day prepared from local ingredients by Pennard’s in-house chefs – a huge treat for those whose job it normally is to put food on the table at home.

Where you’ll stay:

Pennard House, in the Somerset village of East Pennard, is a family-run estate offering the perfect mix of elegance and comfort. Bedrooms are beautifully decorated in English country style. All are single occupancy, and most have ensuite bathrooms.

Rooms and prices:

The price of the retreat is all-inclusive but varies depending on which room you have – see the table below. Let Susan know your room/price preference when you book, and you will be allocated one that best fits your needs.

A woman with curly blonde hair is lying on a vintage cream-colored sofa with wooden accents, reading a book and chewing a stick. She is dressed in a pink sweater and jeans, with red and yellow slippers. The room has large windows with cream curtains, beige walls, and an elegant wall decal of birds and branches behind her.
A table listing different room names, type of bed, and their costs in pounds. The rooms are East, Blue, Garden, Oak, Orchard, Berkeley, Gifford, Venetian, West, Dabinett, Lewis, and Pippin. The bed types are primarily double or twin, with some shared bathrooms, and costs range from £985 to £1,125.

Early morning yoga:

The wonderful Sarah Constantinides, a senior level Iyengar teacher and long-term collaborator with Susan, will be offering pre-breakfast yoga for those wanting an energising start to the day. These are entirely optional and paid for separately at a cost of £60 for four sessions. Sarah is used to students of all levels – complete beginners will be in very safe hands. Please let Susan know at the time of booking whether you’d like to take part.

One-to-one tutorial

All guests will be invited to have a 45-minute one-to-one tutorial with Susan during the retreat. These take place in the afternoons. Most people use this session to get feedback on something they’ve written prior to the course. If you’d like her to read something, please send it by email no later than 4 weeks before the retreat (max of 10 pages, 1.5 spacing, 12pt font, to hello@susanelderkin.com. Please make sure your pages are numbered and your name is on the first page.)

Two women sitting outdoors, engaged in conversation, with lush greenery and flowers in the background.

"An enormously rich week, beyond all my expectations. Susan is an exacting, intuitive and insightful teacher who gets you to think carefully about the power of words and where they can take you, if you let them. Yes please to next year too!”

 

Getting there:

If you’re coming by train, the nearest station is Castle Cary. Trains from London Paddington take just under two hours. Let Susan know which train you’re planning on taking before you book. We’ll arrange for a taxi or someone to pick you up from the station. If you’re coming by car, the address is Pennard House, East Pennard, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 6TP. What3words: ///bracing.intervene.volume

How to book:

If you’d like to book, or want to find out more, get in touch with Susan via the form below. A deposit of £350 will be taken at the time of booking, with the balance due four to six weeks before the retreat. If for some reason you have to cancel, we will do our best to fill your place, but payments are non-refundable if we are unable to do so.

AUDACIOUS & TENACIOUS:

WRITING RETREAT AT PENNARD HOUSE

A deposit of £350 will be taken at the time of booking, with the balance due six weeks before the retreat.

A woman standing outside a house, smiling and holding a coffee mug, with pink flowering bushes and trees in the background on a sunny day.
A woman and a young girl run on a large grassy lawn near a grand estate with ivy-covered walls. In the background, children and adults are playing and walking.
Bright bedroom with large windows, white curtains, a vintage chaise lounge, a bed with patterned white bedding, and chandelier lighting.
Two women are sitting outdoors on steps, laughing and enjoying conversation. One woman is wearing a green sweater, black pants, and a striped shirt underneath, holding a mug. The other woman is wearing a tan jacket, jeans, and tan boots, looking at h
A woman wearing pink overalls, glasses, and red boots sitting in a vintage armchair in a living room with large windows and a view of a lush green outdoor landscape.
People swimming in a natural hot spring with lush trees and bushes in the background, one woman in a floral swimsuit and red knit hat standing on the edge of the pool, engaging with others.
Bright bedroom with cream-colored walls, large windows with white curtains, a vintage wooden vanity with a mirror, a floral arrangement, a brass bed with white bedding, an antique wooden chaise lounge with patterned upholstery, and bedside lamps.
Group of women standing outside on a sunny day, engaged in conversation, some holding cups, with a house and garden in the background.
A rustic wooden table with three small jars of honey, a wicker basket with a sign for honey, and a gold decorative vase. A vintage chair with a purple cushion and a mirror on the wall reflect parts of the room. The background features hanging copper

“I love the laid-back, warm hospitality at Pennard. Breakfast is a particularly special treat.”

“Simply the best week of my life.”

“Thank you for another wonderful Pennard retreat. I was worried I wasn’t in the right headspace when I was arrived but again the writing flowed. You managed to sprinkle your magic creative dust on everybody. I did a lot of much needing laughing too – it was so much fun.”

“I absolutely loved my time at Pennard. The break from ‘normal’ life was so welcome, and the chance to really think about what I want to do with my writing was a real luxury. I’m no longer afraid to apply for the Master’s course but, equally, I no longer mind if they don’t accept me. Progress indeed!”

“What a special week! Eye-opening, voice-finding, a call to arms… I loved the way Susan navigated us through it all.”

“A perfect week, simultaneously hard-working and restful. I loved listening to our different voices emerge.”

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