Find Space, Inspiration, and Support for your Writing

For the past five years we've run a writing retreat at Rushay, on the Jurassic coast near Lyme Regis, offering four days of creative writing tutoring, private writing, mentoring and conversation, led by Jason Goodwin and Jeremy Seal, all with good food and good company.

Rushay is an Arts & Crafts country house set in its own gardens and grounds, with nine beautiful bedrooms between the house and cottage. With three further sitting rooms, the house provides plenty of space for quiet work and reflection. It stands a mile from the Dorset coast, on the edge of the Marshwood Vale.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced writer, we want to inspire you, and fire your urge to work and create. 

A Guided Writing Retreat with Jason Goodwin and Jeremy Seal

"An exceptional location. An incredibly gracious host. I would do it again, in exactly the same format, in a heartbeat."

Sunday 22nd to Thursday 26th November 2026

Arrive on the Friday evening in time for supper, and prepare to enjoy five days of private writing, mentoring and conversation, led by Jason Goodwin and Jeremy Seal. We will hold daily sessions to explore different elements of writing, and address issues like character, dialogue, plot, pace, setting and research.We’ll be talking about different forms, including fiction, memoir and travel writing.

After lunch each day there’ll be private writing time, before we convene as a group (over tea and cake) to share our work, with Jeremy and Jason.

Conversation continues over a delicious dinner, prepared by the chef.

We want to inspire you to progress with your own fiction or non-fiction. Whether you are a new writer or an established one, we think that you will draw energy from the relatively informal mix of tutoring, guidance and peaceful writing time.

What a week! I am buzzing and grinning all over my face. Rushay was the perfect environment in which to bathe in words and writing … I feel I unlocked something at Rushay, thanks to many things, not least the chance to air ideas with new people.

Dining
Our writers get breakfast, lunch and supper served every day. 

Walks
Weather permitting, we’ll have some (guided) walks in the surrounding countryside: solvitur ambulando is a writing precept, ‘it is solved by walking.’ You might also want to explore the Dorset/Devon borders, or go fossil-hunting on Charmouth’s famous Jurassic beach. Bridport and Lyme Regis are each under fifteen minutes away by car, and Charmouth has two pubs and a café.

Rooms
All the rooms are king size or doubles, except for the attic dorm with four single beds. They are all set up with writing desks and power outlets, with lovely views, and there is fibre broadband and wifi throughout the house, cottage and garden, with good 4G phone reception on all networks. One double and the dorm are en suite, the other seven rooms share between four bathrooms. 

Getting here
There is ample parking at Rushay, and a taxi from the nearest railway station (Axminster) costs about £15. Axminster is on the Waterloo-Exeter mainline.