An exclusive peek inside Charlotte Church’s wacky Welsh retreat

You’re in The Womb,’ says The Dreaming’s beanie-capped manager, as he leads me into a room with a pink, cozy 1970s vibe. It could have been in The Mush-Room, The Mystic, The Wanderer, or The Moon. In the bathroom, I find the ‘douche’: pink Moroccan waterproof plaster, open and welcoming.

Later, Welsh songbird Charlotte Church, 37, who has just launched her retreat in The Dreaming, says they didn’t set out to create an official douche. The appearance of her only suggested the name.

Along with seven other women and one man, mostly in their 40s, I am here in the remote green depths of Mid Wales for a long weekend, with no wi-fi or phone signal, to experience healing vision. of Charlotte.

The reasons vary: one guest, from London, wants to get away from her family for what she calls ‘me time’; another hates spas and is looking for a new kind of relaxation; a third had seen Charlotte Church’s Dream Build on Discovery+ and wants to experience the results for herself.

Frankly, I’m skeptical of anything ‘magical’ or ‘spiritual’, but I am reassured to see that the only magazine available is New Scientist.

Josa Keyes participates in Church’s retreat, along with seven other women and one man. They are there ‘to experience Charlotte’s healing vision’

Charlotte tells us that she came across what estate agents were calling ‘Laura Ashley’s Welsh mansion’ while trying to buy a glamping pitch. Impressed by the 33 acres of mossy rocks, temperate rainforest, and rushing streams, she decided to open a full year-round retreat.

“It’s all about connecting with nature,” she says. ‘In our busy lives, we don’t have time. People are so distracted by everything. Our nervous systems are burning out.

On a blackboard in the refectory, where we eat, there is a list of ‘offerings’, from Nature’s Craft and Heavenly Blessings to Healing Dance, but this is a ‘self-guided’ retreat. You choose what to do. I recommend trying everything, and there is also time for walks in the woods. You don’t have to call it ‘Forest Bathing’ if that’s not you.

On the first night, General Manager Lukus Robbins takes us into the woods, where a fire burns in what Charlotte has called the ‘Holly King’s Courtyard’ next to the ‘Gateway to the Underworld’.

So far, so crazy, but there’s nothing forced about it. Lukus leads us through a short meditation and I start to relax.

The next day, Charlotte leads our morning meeting and we break into pairs for partnership listening, a five-minute exercise in which we ask the other person how they are doing and actually hear a truthful answer, unlike normal life, where we just say, ‘I’m fine’.

Upstairs is one of the rooms in the retreat, which is in what the estate agents called ‘Laura Ashley’s Welsh mansion,’ Josa reveals.

“It’s about connecting with nature,” Church says of the retreat.

Describing the meals at the retreat, Josa says, “Every meal is a ‘feast,’ and the vegan food is prepared by Pete, the handsome chef.”

In the photo on the left is the ‘douche’. Josa says that Church did not set out to create an official douche, but “her appearance of her only suggested the name.” On the right, guests soak in an open-air bathtub.

This warms us up to share more, and an atmosphere of trust and collaboration grows.

Our one man, for example, plays the role of a (wild) bath attendant, complete with a pom-pom cap, standing waist-deep in the chilly forest pool, leading us women down the slippery rocks. I catch myself loving the tingling sensation of the water.

Every meal is a ‘feast’ and the vegan food is prepared by Pete, the handsome chef, who comes over to tell us what we’re eating, rosy-faced from his stove.

My favorite ‘deal’ is the Sound Journey. We lay down in the Healing Room, where festival favorites Tim Wheater and Cherub Sanson have set up their instruments.

Gong, in particular, is a pleasant physical sensation of chills. Tim plays the shruti box, an Indian instrument that produces a rich drone; and Charlotte sings, wordlessly, her peerless voice weaving around the single note like smoke.

Josa says the experience is ‘crazy’ but points out that ‘there is nothing forced about it’

In the photo to the left there is a waterfall on the grounds. Josa says Church was “impressed by the 33 acres of mossy rocks, temperate rainforest and rushing streams” at the site when she first visited. To the right, a fire burns in what Charlotte has called the ‘Court of the Holly King’

Guests can choose from a list of ‘deals’ that includes Nature Crafting and Celestial Blessings. Above is the ‘Gateway to the Underworld’ of the retreat.

In the photo on the left there are stargazing chairs for guests, while in the photo on the right there is a spectacular view of the Nant Caethon valley.

Josa in the Forest Pond. “I surprise myself by loving the tingling sensation of the water,” she writes.

There’s more singing at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, as Charlotte roams the halls like a human alarm clock.

As dawn calls, she hands us silent disco headphones and I pick the green music channel from the dance floor, just like she does. We followed her onto the lawn, with a spectacular view south of the Nant Caethon valley, and danced as if no one was watching; it hasn’t been long before all self-awareness fades away.

On Monday morning we meet for the Closing Circle. The most unexpected of us cry with emotional release as we discuss what the retreat has meant to us.

We are invited to write lines for a collective poem, as a gift to the next group, reflecting on the experience: ‘The Dreaming has helped the real me feel brave enough to get by’ is one line. Others speak of ‘shared moments, a circle of hearts’ and ‘clarity, peace, space, nature, unity, emotion, beauty, calm and rest’.

That’s a list and here’s the surprising part. I find myself agreeing with almost every word.