My Story
Tilton House August 2017: working and retreating with my best friends.
Retreating is not escaping life, it’s about coming back to you and living.
4 years ago, my best friends and I dreamt we’d one day work together. This summer, we did. I’m so lucky to have a close friendship group but even more lucky that we all share a passion for creating the best life we can, we all work in holistic health and wellbeing, and we all want to spread our love for movement, balanced healthy eating and drinking, mindfulness and happy living to as many people as we can and so our first retreat was born.
Forget tiny portions of chicken and veg, raw food, 5am alarms and omming and ahhing your way into headstands and pretzel shaped positions. Scarlett, Emily and I are just like you, we love laughter, we love the outdoors, we love a glass of processo and a big slice of carrot cake, we love not rushing, we love being absorbed in a book, we love moving if it feels right and good and we love resting when our body tells us, we love trying new things and meeting new people and we love to feel good. And that’s all it comes down to, we want to feel good and we want you to feel good and as we live amongst each other for the weekend, we begin to listen again and remember what that’s like. Oh yes 8 hours of sleep does make us feel more alert, eating delicious whole food makes us feel amazing, starting the day with movement and walking in the fresh air clears our minds, having a glass of bubbles, switching your phone off and having a giggle is the best therapy ever. Our retreats are from us for you and on August 4th 2017 our dreams came true.
We bundled into the car with our many yoga mats, props, homemade bakes and goody bags for our guests and headed for 2 nights at beautiful Tilton House nestled into the South Downs. We arrived and instantly felt at home as the wonderful owners told us about the stories behind the house and how Virginia Woolf would sit in the cosy library for hours. It’s so easy to get swept away and excited but we had to unpack and organise our goody bags. Emily and I also made chewy tahini cookies the night before and we had my fave Plenish Juices for our guests arrival.
Our little goodies for the guests were left on their cosy beds including Sweaty Betty water bottles and Pilates socks, Squirrel Sister brownies, Neal’s Yard Remedy night time remedy to roll ons, Yogi Tea and a little journal. During the weekend we encouraged our guests to write and journal whenever they felt they wanted to. Scarlett gave us some lovely guidance through our meditation sessions too.
And oh my goodness we were so so lucky with the weather. I mean even in August in the U.K you can never be sure and we did have a gloriously dramatic rain storm at one point but most of the time during the weekend, the sun was beaming down on the house and gardens and allowed us to eat alfresco and catch some rays reading, drinking more tea and chatting.
Our Saturday walk was a pretty epic 11km up into the hills. Our guests were amazing and we all powered on to the most incredible views. As well as the walks we started and ended the days with a Pilates or Yoga session which sometimes Emily and I combine. Emily and I, keep things simple and fun in our classes. We focus on breathing, mobility, strength, body awareness and educating our guests on the two disciplines that we believe work so beautifully together.
One of our shared favourite things about retreat life and life in general is food. All of us are complete foodies and the food on our retreats has to be exciting, colourful and most importantly delicious. Whole healthy vegetarian food is absolutely delicious and my favourite way to eat. We definitely didn’t go hungry with the beautiful fresh salad buffets and homemade desserts on the menu. Meal times are the most amazing time on retreat as everyone gets to chat, enjoy their food mindfully and there’s no rush at all! It’s bliss.
Our last evening together was my favourite as we all got cosy in the library and enjoyed a cheeky processo and group facial workshop which led to lots of laughter followed by a group meditation to calm us before floating to another peaceful 8 hour sleep. The retreat was only a weekend but it really doesn’t take long to switch off, reflect and feel refreshed. It also doesn’t take long to feel super connected to the group and like you’ve made a whole bunch of new besties.
So I’m super excited to say that Scarlett and I will be back at Tilton House for a pre Christmas relaxing weekend in December, Friday 15th-Sunday 17th December.
Join us for a weekend of stress relief, movement and relaxation. We are friends and teachers and are bringing out expertise together again for this unique retreat. Get away to the countryside and prepare to feel refreshed and re-energised.
What’s included
The weekend features daily classes! Learn and practice Pilates and meditation with us in this beautiful setting. From the moment you join us we’ll be helping you to leave the stress of every day life behind and we will be on hand all weekend to answer your questions and help make your stay truly incredible. We’re all about balance, which means our approach to healthy living isn’t strict or unachievable. It’s about taking care of your mind and body, learning new things AND having fun.
This package includes all of your healthy nutritious food, classes, workshops and accommodation (treatments and 1-2-1’s can be booked for an additional cost).
Location
Tilton House is tucked away in the South Downs National Park and was recently constructed by Brooks Construction (within 90 minutes of London, the nearest train station is Lewes). During your retreat, you will have the chance to enjoy the South Downs, visiting Charleston, enjoying treatments or unwinding in the cedar wood sauna.
Price
£450pp based on sharing. Treatments and 1-2-1’s can be booked at an additional cost.
How to book
If you would like to book your place or find out more information, email lottie@lottiemurphy.com (max number of space for this retreat is 10).
Love, Lottie x
lottie
I’m Lottie, a 20 something healthy lifestyle blogger and Pilates Instructor living in London. This blog is a mixture of what I love and do day to day; whether it be a recipe I’ve created, a review of a restaurant I’ve been to recently, my favourite activewear brands or some motivational positive advice. I hope to inspire you to be the best possible version of you!
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