From Blank Page to Breakthroughs: A Midsummer Writer's Retreat at Guy's Cliffe House

I've been fascinated by Guy's Cliffe House ever since I moved to Warwickshire more than a decade ago. Rarely open to the public, the closest most get to this ancient building is seeing the ruins peeking through the trees, whilst they're drinking a pint at The Saxon Mill pub, across the river.

Writers taking in the view at Guy's Cliffe House

Steeped in mystery and myth I had heard stories of the mysterious Guy of Warwick who lived out his final days as a hermit in the caves built into the rock underneath. To add to the mystery there were also tales of ghosts haunting the site, including the spirit of Guy's lost love, Felice. Then there was the well documented fire that razed the old building to the ground during a Dracula themed episode of Sherlock Holmes. And if all that wasn't enough, I had been told that the building that remains, now houses a lodge for the exclusive and secretive fraternity of Freemasons.

When a chance meeting opened up the opportunity to host a retreat day for writers there, I knew it would be an inspiring location. The day began with our small group of writers getting to know one another over coffee and pastries, before going on a tour of the grounds, including the usually closed-to-the-public Freemasons temple.

Some of our writers - in the writing zone!

After sharing our writing or editing goals for the day, we set about our first of two writing sessions. These sessions are for writers to really get that space and time to concentrate solely on writing, without having to plan meals, attend to family or work commitments and really give time to themselves to get their writing done.

The interior of the writing room at Guy's Cliffe House

Lunch was a phenomenal affair! No soggy sandwiches here. We had platters of delicious food carefully prepared by Alex and Helena from Guy's Cliffe Catering. Our writers all complimented the food and were pleased that it catered to all dietary requirements.

After the break we were joined by author Harriet Cummings who gave a Q&A sharing her experience not just as a published and agented author, but also as a copywriter too. Our writers had lots of questions about pitching to agents, what happens when you want to pivot from one genre to another and general tips on how to build writing into your day. In the afternoon we had our second and final writing session as a last chance to get those words down and meet our writing goals followed by a debrief with prosecco and a chance to share details for those writers who wanted to keep in touch.

Author Harriet Cummings giving her Q&A

One of the highlights for me as a retreat leader is seeing the progress writers make during the day and the sense of community that is built over just a few hours between writers of all genres.

This sense of community doesn't just end with the retreat. After the day every writer is invited to join a dedicated whatapp community for retreat attendees to learn about writing opportunities and share their successes. If you're interested in attending a future writing retreat or finding out what some of our alumni have been up to, you can subscribe to our email newsletter. You can also follow us on Instagram or Facebook at @secretwritingretreats or on tiktok @secwritingretreat.

Jen Secret Writing Retreats