Lauren Hall’s Trip to Chapelgarth

In June 2022 I was delighted to travel to Chapelgarth Estate to attend a three-day writing retreat after the PGRO at York St John opened up applications for a scholarship place. As I drove along a pebbled drive, I was greeted by an Edwardian house nestled at the foot of the North York Moors National Park. The grounds were incredible with llamas just a short stroll from the conservatory, and the house was full of unique decoration, high ceilings, and open fires.  

This was my first writing retreat – which filled me with slight anxiety, but I knew that these three days would be the only way to take the time to focus solely on my academic writing. The pressures of undertaking a PhD are enormous, combined with ensuring you have work to support yourself and building up your repertoire of conferences, published papers, and teaching to (hopefully) give you a career path post-doctorate. So it isn’t surprising that someone finding time to think and write, as well as meeting deadlines, can be difficult.  

Dr Marcella Sutcliffe facilitated the retreat as soon as we arrived, with us quickly dropping off our bags and immediately making our way to our writing rooms. My desk overlooked the undulating terrain surrounding the house which I would occasionally glare at when my brain seemingly ran out of words, but with rules including no phones and no internet in the writing room, the silence of text messages and email alerts made writing so much easier.  

All decisions were also made for us, cued by the sound of a gong which echoed throughout the house. Our meals were made and we were told when to eat, we were taken on walks during our short breaks, we were given slots to practice yoga and meditation…we even had a scheduled power nap! Having these choices pre-decided allowed me head space in an environment that was conducive to reflection and productivity.  

Being a PhD student can be lonely, and Covid-19 hasn’t helped this. I’m due to submit my thesis in the next month, and what I have missed most is the community with the post-graduate research office. Students from all departments, disciplines and stages of their research spending time together to share ideas and exchange information. This retreat quickly created a safe environment to discuss and debate – and sometimes that brain dump of information to the person next to you can be what you need to then return to a screen and write it down coherently.  

I would highly recommend anyone writing up their thesis to attend a writing retreat at Chapelgarth Estate. I have come back with written content that I am happier with in terms of quality and a new structured way of writing. Not only this, I feel more energised and motivated when writing.