***Please note that songs taught on this retreat will be the same as on the Autumn Retreat***

WHERE

OA Surf Club | Widemouth Bay, Cornwall
EX23 0DF

WHEN

6th - 9th November 2025

Arrival time: 6pm Thursday 6th November

Departure time: 9:30am Sunday 9th November

ABOUT

Due to popular demand, we've added a brand new retreat to our 2025 listings. Our new Winter Singing Retreat will be held at the OA Surf Club on breath-taking Widemouth Bay on the rugged north coast of Cornwall. This incredible location has been carefully selected to create a cosy hide-away as the days get shorter and winter approaches. Here, you can immerse yourself in singing, looking out onto the epic backdrop of the Atlantic coast. Widemouth is a dramatic, two-mile-long expanse of sandy beach, steeped in smuggling history - the perfect setting for a weekend of folk singing.

THE VENUE

There are multiple communal spaces within the hostel-like accomodation; a large living room for evening singing; a beautiful dining room overlooking the bay and a small, separate studio space.

Workshops will take place in a combination of these rooms.

We have a selection of different bedrooms available; some are en suite and you have the option to choose from double occupancy (based on two sharing) or a dorm room. Some bedrooms have bunk beds.

Our retreats are technology-free so that participants can be present in the moment and create a safe, singing bubble away from the outside world.

We've chosen a location that creates a sense of cosiness within a spectacular, dramatic backdrop, as the temperatures drop and the nights draw in. As always, we create a cosy and safe singing bubble away from technology and the hustle and bustle of daily life.

WORKSHOPS

Workshops will include lots of easy rounds and loop songs, breath explorations and singing technique workshops. You will also learn more challenging, unique arrangements of traditional and contemporary folk songs, written by Julu and Heg, in four part harmony. You are invited to explore your voice in a supportive and safe setting, develop new skills and discover sounds you didn't know you had!

Over the past couple of years we've carefully redesigned the structure of the autumn/winter retreats to reflect the time of year, placing the more energetic workshops earlier in the day, keeping your evenings free for relaxing and enjoying each others company.

YOGA OR BREATHWORK SESSIONS

(yoga OR breathwork depending on which tutors are in attendance - currently TBC)
Yoga/breathwork warm up sessions on Friday and Saturday will be run by one of our experienced teachers. The aim of these sessions is to set your body up for singing, opening up the breath and stretching out the body so that you can get the most out of your voice.

These sessions are designed for complete beginners, so no prior experience is needed to take part. For these sessions you will need a yoga matt and loose fitting clothing.

These sessions create a fantastic balance from the engaging and stimulating singing sessions and are a way to bring greater awareness of your body in preparation for singing.

WALKS

There will be guided walks along the coast path, where you can take in breath-taking views and enjoy the amazing scenery that the Cornish coast has to offer. The difficulty level of these walks are moderate, but can be challenging if the weather is wet.

We strongly advise good quality walking shoes and wet weather gear is essential.

We try to cater for all abilities so please speak to one of the team about the walks if you are unsure about the difficulty level. If you prefer not to walk, you are welcome to rest at the farm house by the fire.

Walks are undertaken at participants own risk.

EVENING SONG SHARES

Evenings are a chance for some fun, informal singing/playing with a drink in hand! Julu and Heg will facilitate song shares and singarounds with chorus-driven songs. Join in, share a song of your own or just sit back and listen and take in the atmosphere. Bring your instruments and song books if you have them!

Remember that our retreats are a no-technology zone so bring paper and pens and print outs of any songs you wish to share.

CABARET

On the final night of the retreat there will be a cabaret where you are invited to share something (only if you want to - there is no obligation to join in). The cabaret has evolved into a beautiful and special part of these retreats, where our participants get to show each other some of the small group songs learnt over the weekend as well as have a go at performing. We encourage everyone to dress up and make this part of the weekend extra special!

ACCOMMODATION

The OA Surf Club offers modern, comfortable accommodation which has been designed for large groups. Some rooms have en suite bathrooms, and some with shared bathrooms. Rooms come with a combination of single beds in dorms, some bunk beds, twin rooms and some rooms with double beds. We have a range of different options to choose from depending on whether you are in a group, coming on your own or coming as a pair.

ROOM TYPES

- One person, single gender dorm (some single beds, some bunks)

- Two people sharing a private room (some with doubles, some with twin beds)

FOOD

All your meals will be provided for you. Enjoy delicious home-cooked vegetarian food throughout your stay as well as a glass of wine with dinner. Vegan options available. You will need to bring your own alcoholic drinks for the evenings.

IMPORTANT: Please note, because our kitchen is small and we cook communal meals, it is not possible for us to 100% guarantee that all allergies can be catered for. We can usually cater for gluten, dairy and nut intolerances but anyone with severe allergies or anything more complicated than those listed need to contact our team BEFORE booking at folksingingretreats@gmail.com

TEAM

The team for this retreat will be Julu & Heg and Bogi the dog! Additional team members TBC.

INCLUDED

- Three nights accommodation

- Singing workshops

- Morning yoga OR breathwork sessions

- Delicious home-cooked food throughout your stay

- Tea & coffee

- Wine with dinner

- Two stunning guided walks

- Facilitated evening song shares and singarounds

- End of retreat cabaret

NOT INCLUDED

- Travel to and from OA Surf Club

- Personal travel Insurance

- Alcoholic drinks (apart from a glass of wine with dinner)

- Extra snacks of your choice

If you would like any further information, please email us at folksingingretreats@gmail.com. Full detailed itinerary will be provided on arrival. Essential information including directions and arrival information will be sent out a few weeks before the retreat.

NEW Winter Retreat 2025 | Widemouth Bay, CORNWALL (from £365)

£365.00

Name, email address & gender of each person attending. Please also specify if you are a couple.

Anything else you'd like us to know (optional)

Quantity

Customers shall pay Suthering Singing Retreats in full (or use PayPal 'Pay In Three' or 'Pay Later'). £100 of your initial payment is a non-refundable, non-transferable deposit, due for each person named in the booking.

In the event of cancellation by the customer, regardless of the circumstances, the following refund fees, minus the deposit, apply. The deposit is non-refundable, as mentioned above:

- Cancellation 8 weeks or less prior to commencement, 0% refund

- Cancellation up to 8 - 12 weeks prior to commencement, 50% refund (less the deposit) only if Suthering Singing retreats is able to fill your space. If the space is not filled, 0% refund.

- Cancellation more than 3 months prior to commencement, 100% refund (less the deposit)
TERMS AND CONDITIONS

It is the customer’s responsibility to check the reservation and ensure that the particulars contained therein are correct.

Customers shall pay Suthering Singing Retreats £100 as a non-refundable, non-transferable deposit, due for each person named in the booking, as part of their initial payment.

In the event of cancellation by the customer, regardless of the circumstances, the following refund fees, minus the deposit, apply. The deposit is non-refundable, as mentioned in 2:
- Cancellation 8 weeks or less prior to commencement, 0% refund
- Cancellation up to 8 - 12 weeks prior to commencement, 50% refund (less the deposit) only if Suthering Singing retreats is able to fill your space. If the space is not filled, 0% refund.
- Cancellation more than 3 months prior to commencement, 100% refund (less the deposit)

Participants must be 18 years of age or older.

Due to teacher cancellations or other situations beyond our control, Suthering Singing Retreats reserves the right to make changes to retreats and shall inform the customer as soon as possible. Alternative arrangements will be offered but we do not accept responsibility for any costs incurred.

Suthering Singing Retreats is not held liable for travel costs.|

Suthering Singing Retreats reserves the right to offer discretionary discounts and this does not affect the status of any guests who have paid the full price and no discount will then become due to them.

The customer shall not use the property except for permitted use and shall not use the property for any offensive, noisy, dangerous, illegal, immoral, or improper purposes. The customer shall not do anything which may be a nuisance or annoyance to Suthering Singing Retreats and its guests, staff or owners. Suthering Singing Retreats reserves the right to evict any customer found to be in breach of this rule.

Customer's will not invite guests on site who have not paid or booked to be on a retreat.

The customer shall keep all hostel/cottage/hotel fixtures, fittings, furniture and effects in a clean and good condition and shall replace any articles which are destroyed or missing with articles of a similar kind and of equal value.

Suthering Singing Retreats reserves the right at its sole discretion to terminate use of the property or any of its facilities by the customer in the event of any breach of these terms and conditions. The customer will be required to vacate the property and Suthering Singing Retreats shall not refund payment or accept any consequential liability damages or loss.

Suthering Singing Retreats retains all copyright licence rights and sole exclusive ownership of the information, photographs and material displayed on its website. The material may not be modified, copied or used in any other way.

Any user of the website has to be 18 years of age or older and agrees to be entirely financially responsible for all charges and other fees arising from use of the website.

Suthering Singing Retreats accepts no responsibility for keeping the website up to date and will not be liable for any loss by its failure to do so. We are not responsible for the contents of any links displayed on our website.

Suthering Singing Retreats can accept no responsibility for delay or cancellation of any flights, train, buses or other forms of transport.

Suthering Singing Retreats reserves the right to alter any facility accommodation or workshop activity.

The customer must comply fully with all and any health and safety regulations introduced by Suthering Singing Retreats. The customer must ensure that he/she is medically and physically fit and able to use our facilities and participate in activities. Customers who have injuries or illnesses are advised to seek doctor’s advice before practicing yoga or walking. Suthering Singing Retreats is not liable for any injuries to the customer in his/her use of our facilities or participation in activities. A customer must always stop and rest if he/she is feeling any pain or sickness and inform the teacher of any previous injuries.

COVID: If a customer tests positive prior to, or during the retreat, the customer will be required to vacate the property and Suthering Singing Retreats shall not refund payment or accept any consequential liability damages or loss.

Suthering Singing Retreats cannot accept any responsibility for loss or damage of personal possessions or valuables of the customer.

In the event of a customer having any complaint then he/she will not discuss this with any third party and shall notify the retreat co-ordinator as soon as possible.

Suthering Singing Retreats shall not be liable for any failures beyond its control. This covers natural disasters, war, ‘acts of God’, closure of airports, civil strife, accidents or failure to perform by third parties, including suppliers and subcontractors.

Suthering Singing Retreats accepts no liability for loss, damage, injury or illnesses which may be received during the customers stay or travelling to and from Suthering Singing Retreats.

We recommend that all customers have adequate travel, cancellation and medical insurance for the duration of the trip.

Customers will treat each other with fairness, dignity and respect and without discrimination based on gender, race, sexuality, religion, disability or age. Suthering Singing Retreats reserves the right to cancel a booking or terminate a customer’s participation on a retreat if a customer is found to be in breach of this rule.

These terms and conditions shall be governed by British law and the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the British courts in all matters regarding them.
PRIVACY POLICY

This policy sets out how we will use and share the information that you give us.

Introduction

Suthering Singing Retreats (SSR) is a Devon based company which is part of Julu Irvine and Heg Brignall's umbrella company Suthering.

You can visit the Suthering website here:
www.suthering.com

How to contact us.

When we refer to “we”, “us”, or “SSR” we are referring to this company.

You can get in touch with us in any of the following ways:

By email: folksingingretreats@gmail.com

About this privacy policy

This policy sets out how we will use and share the information that you give us. This privacy policy relates to personal data collected by us via:

Our website(s)

Email correspondence

Telephone calls

Paper communications

Social media

Visiting our offices

Enquiring about, or buying products or services from us

Providing products or services to us

Retreats and events

You should be aware that if you access third party websites, using links provided on our websites, these websites are outside our control and have their own privacy policies governing the use of personal data and we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies.

What data we process about you.

SSR may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you:

Contact Details:

Name, contact details, organisation, employment details

Information generated by the work, service or relationship we may have with you:

Business details, bank and financial details, communication and correspondence.

Information generated by visiting our website or engaging with us on social media:

IP addresses, social handles or usernames

How we collect information about you and how we will use it.

We may collect and process information that you provide during your correspondence with us, this could be, but not limited to, one of the following ways:

Giving information directly to us by methods including filling in forms either on our website(s) or via other media

Subscribing to our newsletter

Requesting any of our goods, services, downloads or other information

Communicating with us through methods including but not limited to e-mail, telephone and written correspondence

We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal information in the following circumstances:

Where you have given consent for us to process your information.

Where we need to perform the contractual obligations we have entered into with you, or the business you are working for, or with.

Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.

Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests

The purpose(s) for which we will collect and process your data are shown below:

To manage our relationship and administer our business either as a part of a contract or where we believe we have a legitimate interest to do so

To execute a contract or request

Where we have a legitimate interest to keep you informed of our products or services by appropriate communication methods unless you’ve objected to us doing so.

Sending you marketing and information about our business via e-mail if you have consented to it

Adding it to information that companies/affiliates already hold on you or your organisation

Data sharing

Your personal data may be shared with other companies within Suthering Singing Retreats umbrella. We will not share your data with any other third parties.

Your choices in relation to personal information.

It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal information changes during your relationship with us. You also have the rights and choices which you can exercise on the data we hold on you.
You have the right to:

Obtain access to your personal information

Withdraw consent

Object to direct marketing

Ask us to correct any errors or delete the information we hold

Object or restrict our processing of your information

Request that we port your personal information

For more information or to action these rights, please contact us at folksingingretreats@gmail.com

Retention and destruction of personal information

We will take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the information we hold about you. We will not use your personal information unless it is (to the best of our knowledge) accurate and up to date.

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

In some circumstances, we may anonymise your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you.

When the purposes for which we have collected the data for have ended we will retain and securely destroy your personal information in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

If you have any questions, please contact the team at folksingingretreats@gmail.com

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office if you believe we have not acted within the law or have infringed your rights.
https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/

folksingingretreats@gmail.com

*NEW* Winter Retreat 2025 | Widemouth Bay, CORNWALL (from £365)

RETURN AND REFUND POLICY

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

PRIVACY POLICY

NEW Winter Retreat 2025 | Widemouth Bay, CORNWALL (from £365)