A Midweek Retreat at Waterwynch House
The Sky Room, Waterwynch
Yoga, Sea Swims and Slow Days by the Bay
There were sixteen of us, most of whom had never met before. A mutual friend had brought the group together, which meant the first evening had the particular energy of strangers finding their footing with each other. By the end of the stay, those strangers were firm friends. The retreat has since become an annual event.
We had come for a week of yoga, good food and sea air, and Waterwynch gave us more than we had planned for.
Each morning began the same way. Before breakfast, before coffee, before much was said at all, we walked down through the garden to Waterwynch Bay and swam. The water was cold, genuinely, bracingly cold, though the interesting thing about cold water is that you stop feeling it after a while. What you feel instead is the sea itself: the gentle rise and fall of the waves, your feet lifting slightly as each eddy passes beneath you, the way your body is held and moved without effort. Conversation flows easily in that state. You have to be careful not to stay in too long.
Sea swimming at Waterwynch
We swam in the mornings and again in the late afternoons. For the evening swims we hired a mobile sauna, which turned out to be one of the best decisions of the week. The swimmers would come out of the water and pile in, still talking, warming up slowly while the conversation continued. It became its own kind of gathering place.
Yoga happened twice daily, led by a teacher who had the rare ability to pitch a session perfectly to a mixed group. Morning practice was gentle and grounding, a good way to ease into the day after the sea. Evening sessions took place in the Great Hall as the light faded, with the garden still just visible through the windows. The room suited it well: high-ceilinged, calm, with enough space that sixteen people could move freely without feeling crowded.
The Great Hall, Waterwynch
We were also lucky enough to have a writer in the group, who led a creative writing session one afternoon. Something about the week: the sea, the conversations, the particular openness that comes from being away from ordinary life, seemed to loosen people. The writing that came out of that session surprised everyone, including the writers themselves. For some in the group it felt like more than an exercise.
The massages were arranged through Mellow Massage, and the team were excellent. Treatments were given in the house’s dedicated treatment room, and there was a steady stream of people disappearing for an hour and returning noticeably quieter.
The cycling was a highlight none of us had quite anticipated. We hired electric bikes through Pembrokeshire E-Bike Hire and were led out by a guide, which meant we could hand over all responsibility for route and navigation and simply look around. The electric bikes meant that different levels of fitness didn’t matter: everyone rode together, nobody fell behind. The route took us out of Tenby through quiet countryside and on to Manorbier Castle, then up onto the clifftops where the views opened out over the sea. At some point we rounded a corner and found horses grazing at the cliff edge with the water behind them. We stopped, as you do, and stood there longer than was strictly necessary.
The food deserves more than a mention. We had asked for vegetarian catering and Laura from Fuchsia Catering delivered it without compromise. Roasted vegetable tarts, dal, big sharing salads, hearty soups, puddings that nobody turned down. The kind of food that feeds a group properly, generously and without fuss. Laura won Welsh Caterer of the Year, which surprised nobody who ate her food that week.
Evenings were long and unhurried. Some people took their wine out to the sea-facing balconies and watched the light change over the bay. Others settled into the Sky Room or gathered in the sitting rooms as the house grew quieter. Waterwynch has a way of accommodating whatever mood takes hold, pulling a large group together when people want company, and giving everyone space when they do not.
By the end of the week, the house no longer felt like somewhere we had booked. It felt like somewhere we had briefly belonged.
We will be back.
Read more from our journal:
A Weekend at Waterwynch House