The Poiema Retreat House offers a quiet and hospitable environment within the beautiful surroundings of the Lake District, holding space for retreatants to encounter God, as they take time away from the demands of daily life to pray, reflect and recharge.
Our usual retreat pattern is a 4-night, 5-day stay, starting Monday afternoon and finishing Friday morning. Additionally, we offer occasional Silent Individually Guided Retreats, and themed retreats including an Easter retreat and the Buttermere Camino weekend. There are opportunities for self-guided retreats or individually guided retreats (IGRs). Retreat guests on an IGR are accompanied by a spiritual director or guide, who will meet with you daily to help you explore God’s presence and work in your life, and offer material for prayer and reflection. If you are coming on a self-guided retreat but would appreciate meeting with a spiritual director at some point during your stay, please let us know when you book. Please see the events calendar for further details and availability.
At the heart of the Poiema Community is a daily rhythm of shared prayer and shared meals, giving us each the opportunity to hear how God is working in our lives, and to hear Him speaking to us. We meet three times a day in the Chapel for short times of prayer and warmly invite our guests to join with us for these times.
Space to pray and reflect
For times when you want to reflect and pray, we provide plenty of options depending on your preferences and the weather!
Guests have use of a comfortable lounge, dining room, chapel and garden. Art resources and a library of books are available. Lakes and mountains (or fells) are a short walk from the house for those who like to venture further afield, and guidance and a selection of resources are available for walks.
Quiet spaces are available in many parts of the house and gardens. In the house, the lounge (including its book library) and the dining room have many comfortable chairs, and each bedroom has a desk and chair. The two larger bedrooms also have either an armchair, or sofa. Our chapel is a popular place to spend time in reflection and prayer, and during the summer months the garden is a great place to pray too.
Accommodation
Our residential retreats are full-board accommodation and we have three guest bedrooms available, one single room and two with twin beds. All our rooms are available for single occupancy. Bed linen and towels are provided, and facilities for making tea and coffee are available in each room. There is shared use of a bathroom and shower room.
Meals
An important part of a retreat is enjoying good food! Our meals are home cooked, and we are able to provide vegetarian and vegan food. We may not be able to cater for all food intolerances and allergens; please let us know, prior to booking, if you have particular dietary requirements, so that we can let you know if we can help. As well as our shared meals, packed lunches can be arranged if you would like to eat while enjoying an excursion into our beautiful surroundings.
Residential Retreat Donations
The retreat house runs on a donations model basis, and details of suggested donations for our residential retreats and also for Spiritual accompaniment can be found here.
Programme / Rhythm of the Day
| From 7:45am | Breakfast (self-service) |
| 8.30am | Morning Prayer |
| 12:20pm | Lunchtime Prayer |
| 1:00pm | Lunch |
| 6:30pm | Evening meal (main meal) |
| 9:00pm | Compline / Night Prayer |
| 10pm | House in Quiet |
How to find us
All our details are included on our contact page.
Enquire about a retreat
If you’d like to join us on a residential retreat, check our available dates on the retreats page, then get in touch here to find out more or to make your booking!