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A Retreat Story

I have a favourite Retreat House! Launde Abbey, nestled in the beautiful Leicestershire countryside, the retreat house of the Leicestershire and Peterborough dioceses.

For many years now, I have managed a couple of days there, twice a year.

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The Quiet way of Pilgrimage – Preparation

There’s something wonderfully exciting about preparing for pilgrimage. Even before a single step is taken, something begins to shift—not just in the body, but in the soul. The careful choosing of clothes, the unhurried reading of maps, the mindful gathering of just enough—it all becomes part of the journey. Pilgrimage starts long before the path meets your feet.

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The Quiet way of Pilgrimage

There is something ancient and sacred in the act of walking toward a holy place. Pilgrimage invites us to slow down, to pay attention, to strip life back to its essence. In a world of constant connection and digital noise, the spiritual practice of pilgrimage reminds us that depth is found not in speed, but in stillness.

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Welcome


Welcome to Monastic Retreats – a quiet companion for those drawn to the gentle paths of monastic and contemplative life.

In a world shaped by urgency and noise, many are discovering the quiet necessity of retreat – not as escape, but as return. Through our directory of monasteries and retreats across the UK, you’ll find communities who quietly open their doors to those seeking silence, presence, and a different way of being.

Each place listed here holds a particular rhythm, shaped by the seasons, by liturgy, and by the long witness of lives given to prayer. Whether you are drawn to the ancient stones of an abbey or the simplicity of a hermitage by the sea, we hope this website helps you find a space that meets you where you are.

Alongside the directory, we offer a fortnightly podcast, where we reflect on the enduring relevance of monastic wisdom in our disoriented age. Episodes include conversations with monks, nuns, retreat hosts, and fellow pilgrims who are learning to listen more deeply, live more slowly, and attend to the sacred in the everyday.

Monastic Retreats is not simply a resource—it is an invitation. To pause. To listen. To step quietly across a threshold and discover, perhaps again, that the stillness you seek has been seeking you.

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July 2025

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