The Uncensored Journaling Retreat Southwest France

A few quiet days to put pen to paper, clear your head, and hear yourself think again, with the opportunity to walk short sections of the Camino de Santiago

This 5-day soul-soothing journaling retreat starts every first and third Saturday of the month from March to November — also available as a 7-day retreat

Have you got a small library of half-filled notebooks lurking in a drawer somewhere, each one abandoned around page twelve? Do you buy a beautiful new journal every January with the best of intentions, only to find it propping up a wonky table by February?

You are not alone. And frankly, your notebooks are beginning to wonder if this relationship is going anywhere.

This retreat is your chance to stop collecting blank pages and start using them. Because journaling isn’t about producing beautiful prose, having profound insights on demand, or suddenly becoming the sort of person who writes three pages every morning before breakfast. It’s simply a way of giving your thoughts somewhere to go.

Put something down on paper and, quite often, it becomes easier to see what you’ve been carrying around in your head. The muddle starts to untangle. Feelings become clearer. Decisions feel less enormous. Sometimes you discover what you actually think only after you’ve written it down. And sometimes the most useful sentence in the whole notebook is the one that begins, “If I’m being completely honest…”

So imagine this: a quiet corner, a decent pen, a beautiful notebook, and permission to write down the thing you haven’t quite managed to say out loud yet. No notifications. No errands. Nobody asking what’s for dinner. Just a window seat, soft golden light, and enough uninterrupted time to hear yourself think.

Here, journaling isn’t another thing you’re supposed to be good at. It’s a gentle way of slowing down, making sense of what’s been swirling around inside you, and perhaps finding a little more clarity about what comes next.

At this retreat, that isn’t a fantasy.

That’s just Tuesday.

A journaling retreat is ideal if you are yearning for a tranquil environment free from distractions, allowing you to unwind and recharge your batteries in a peaceful setting.

Why attend a Reading Retreat?

• To get out of your own head by putting what’s in it onto a page, in a setting quiet enough that you can actually hear yourself think.
• To step away from the emails, the to-do lists and the low hum of other people’s expectations, and give your own thoughts a turn.
• To use carefully curated and created prompts and gentle structure (not homework, never homework) to get past the “Dear Diary, nothing much happened today” stage and into what’s actually true.
• To notice your own patterns. A week of consistent writing tends to surface things a person doesn’t see when life is moving at its usual speed.
• To be around other people quietly doing the same brave, ordinary thing, without anyone needing to perform or explain themselves.
• To give your nervous system a rest. Expressive writing has been linked to lower stress and better emotional processing, which is a fancy way of saying it tends to make people feel lighter.
• To escape from the demands of daily life, a break that will provide an opportunity to escape the stresses and responsibilities of work and home in favour of indulging without restraint in the pure, undiluted pleasure of journaling.
• To get to know yourself better. Your journaling retreat provides you with an opportunity for introspection, self-discovery, and contemplation, as you engage with ideas that resonate with your own life.
• To meet other like-minded people who share a passion for journaling, during a retreat that fosters a sense of camaraderie, community, and shared interests among retreat participants.
• To look after your mental health. Journaling for pleasure has been linked to improved mental well-being, including reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, increased feelings of happiness and fulfilment, and greater overall life satisfaction.

So if your journal has been more decorative than functional lately, come and escape to the sun-blessed southwest of France, where all you’re expected to do each day is show up for yourself on the page.

Guests return year after year to the heart of the Cotes de Gascogne vineyards, to read, walk short sections of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, indulge in scrumptious home-cooked meals, and sleep as long as they want in a cosy bedroom in this 200-year-old, lovingly restored French farmhouse.

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Accommodation

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Cancellations

Why attend this Journaling Retreat?

Picture brunch time on the retreat. The table’s out on the terrace, coffee’s going round, and there’s a comfortable quiet because everyone’s still half inside their own morning pages. Delphine is on her third notebook of the year, she says this one’s finally going to survive past February. Rosalind’s tucked into the corner with a fountain pen and a look on her face that says she’s just written something she didn’t expect to. Two of the guests are comparing prompts from yesterday’s session, low voices, the kind of conversation that isn’t for me to overhear. Someone’s dog-eared a page to come back to later. In an hour or so we’ll walk a stretch of the Camino, notebooks tucked into daypacks, because some sentences only arrive once you’re moving.

Journal to your heart’s content, without editing, feeling guilty, selfish or lazy.

Your host for this retreat is Dr Margaretha Montagu, a five-time published author who has spent two decades encouraging people, first as their doctor and now as their retreat host, to tell the truth about how they’re actually doing. She’ll make sure you have the quiet, the structure and the gentle nudges to actually use your notebook, rather than just admire it from across the room. You can journal entirely on your own terms, solo and silent, or join the optional guided sessions if you’d like a prompt to work from. Fast-speed internet is available throughout the house, though most guests find they want it less than they expected to.

I have kept a journal, on and off and then consistently, for most of my adult life, and it has been the cheapest and most honest therapist I’ve ever had. As a doctor I watched patients carry things for years that they’d never once written down. As a retreat host, I’ve watched a week of quiet, guided writing do more for someone’s clarity than months of turning a problem over in their head on the school run. So this retreat exists because a notebook and a bit of uninterrupted time is one of the most underrated tools we have.

Dr M Montagu MBChB MRCGP MedHypDip NLP Master Cert Prof Life Coach Cert Counseling CertEAGALA Cert

Uncensored Journaling Retreat Program

Anytime you wake up:
Open your eyes, find your glasses (always the first adventure of the day), and settle in with your journal. Morning pages are encouraged — three pages of whatever is swirling around in your head. No editing. No judging. No worrying about whether it makes sense. Your notebook is sworn to secrecy.

A little while later:
Eventually emerge from your writing cocoon for a hot chocolate, coffee or tea — preferably accompanied by something delicious and slightly unnecessary (the best kind of treat). Returning to bed afterwards is not only permitted, it may be considered an advanced relaxation technique.

Mid-morning:
A leisurely buffet brunch. Because nobody should have to make important life decisions before they have been properly fed.

Around midday:
Weather permitting, wander out for a gentle stretch of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. A chance to walk, breathe, notice the landscape, and allow your thoughts to untangle themselves. Entirely optional, of course. The Camino will still be there tomorrow if your journal is calling louder today.

A little later:
Gather for afternoon tea and conversation with fellow retreat guests. Share stories, laugh, ponder life’s mysteries, and discover that everyone else’s notebooks are probably just as full of abandoned intentions as yours.

Early evening:
Dinner. Because profound insights surface much more easily after a wholesome meal.

After dinner:
An optional journaling session with prompts to help you explore, reflect and perhaps uncover a few things you didn’t realise you were carrying around. Or simply retreat to your room with your notebook, a cup of tea, and the soothing sounds of the French countryside at night.

Midnight (give or take):
Sleep. Or read. Or stare thoughtfully at the stars like the main character in a novel.

At your convenience:
Send a brief text or make a quick call to family and friends to reassure them that yes, you are still alive — you have simply temporarily swapped emails, errands and endless notifications for notebooks, nature and a little peace and a lot of quiet.

Glorious Gascon Food

Esprit Meraki’s food is simple but delicious and we aim to give your digestive tract as much of a rest as the rest of you while feeding your body as well and as generously as your mind.

This is a celebration of the wonderful variety of fresh local produce available from our garden as well as from the local weekly fresh food markets.

In the morning we serve you a scrumptious brunch buffet, consisting of cereal, fruit, bread, confiture, honey, milk, yoghurt, typical cheeses and patés of the region. Tea and coffee are available from early, and throughout the day. You can also make sandwiches and take some fruit/yoghurt with you, to eat during your walk.

Dinner is served early and consists of a homemade soup (hot/cold depending on the season,) a healthy and hearty main course, often vegetarian and often heavily influenced by the cuisine of our Spanish neighbours, followed by something sweet, if required. Only water is served at the table.

Dinner on day 4 we have at a local restaurant to help regenerate the local economy post-COVID. The cost of this meal is not included – usually 15-30 euros, depending on your choices.

We cater for most diets: Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Low fat, Sugar conscious, Egg-free, and Dairy-free but we do not (yet!) cater for Vegans. If you have any intolerances, allergies or dislike some ingredients or foods, please let us know during your booking, at the latest two weeks before your arrival. Complicated diet requirements may incur an additional fee.

What’s Included In this Package

• 4 nights accommodation in an authentic half-timbered landaise farmhouse
• Wholesome brunches and delicious dinners (except dinner on day 4.) You can also make sandwiches and take some fruit/yoghurt with you, to eat during your walk.
• 2 unforgettable days walking the Camino de Santiago
• Introduction to Walking and Writing Meditation
• Introduction to the Meraki Morning Program
• Transport to and from the starting and end points of the Camino on each walking day

What’s Not Included In this Package

• Transport costs to local airports (flights)
• Transport from local airports to local train stations (ex. Auch) to Nogaro
• Personal Health Insurance and/or Travel Insurance (we highly recommend insurance cover in case of cancellations)
• Additional activities not included in the itinerary
• Personal Mentoring (might be available at an additional fee)
• Dinner on days 4 ~ we have this meal at restaurants nearby to support local small business owners (15-30€, depending on your choices)
• Alcoholic beverages

When can you come to a 5-day Uncensored Journaling Retreat?

I’d love to welcome you to my little part of paradise here in the sun-blessed southwest of France – the retreats start at 18h on Saturdays and end at 11h on Wednesdays every first and third Saturday of the month.

Please email me at margarethamontagu@gmail.com for further possible dates.

How much is a Uncensored Journaling Retreat?

Are you ready to step out of the chaos and into an experience that renews, refreshes, and realigns you?

This potentially life-changing 5-day 4-night retreat includes accommodation, meals, transport to and from the Camino and costs 1099€ for a single bedroom and €I999 for 2 people in a double bedroom. (2 people travelling together) No single supplement. For the 7-day retreat fee, please email me at the address below. Please read the Cancellation Policy and Terms and Conditions before booking. The deposit is non-refundable and full payment is due 30 days before the retreat starts

Think of asking your employer to pay for this stress-reducing break; you can motivate your application by mentioning that, according to Forbes, approximately 70% of people experienced burnout in the last year. Work-related consequences include job dissatisfaction, decreased productivity, poor performance, professional mistakes, absenteeism, quiet quitting and resignations, resulting in a high turnover rate. Although conditions at work may also need improvement, a retreat focused on stress management, led by a medical doctor, can contribute significantly to preventing burnout in employees.

👉 Send an email to MargarethaMontagu@gmail.com to claim your spot. Only 3 spots are available per retreat starting date. Retreats start on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month. Book your spot asap!

Prepare to be a different person by the time you have to tear yourself away from this profoundly restful and peaceful haven to return home.

In only a few other places will you find all the ingredients of a perfect holiday combined with such abundance as in Gascony: fabulous food, outstanding wine, generous people and the breathtaking beauty of mountains, rivers, lakes and medieval villages perched on hilltops.

So seize this exceptional opportunity to spend a few nights here NOW…a warm welcome awaits you amidst the Armagnac and Cotes de Gascogne vineyards in the sun-blessed southwest of France.

Ready to immerse yourself in journaling? Join us for this Journaling Retreat. Send an email to MargarethaMontagu@gmail.com to reserve your spot today and get ready for an unforgettable escape in the heart of Gascony.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Your Burning Questions Answered

So, what exactly is a Journaling Retreat?

Imagine a place where the only thing on your to-do list is turning pages. This 5-day escape is your golden ticket to guilt-free indulgence in the heart of Southwest France. We’re talking about a haven where you can finally journal to your heart’s content without anyone asking if you’ve done the dishes. It’s less a retreat, more a glorious surrender to the written word, with a side of French charm and a dash of self-discovery.

Who’s the mastermind behind this literary paradise?

Your host is none other than Dr. Margaretha Montagu, an eight-time published author and, more importantly, a certified journaling addict! She understands the sacred bond between a writer and their journal, and she’s curated this experience to ensure your inner cheerleader sings with joy. Think of her as your journaling fairy godmother, but with more wisdom and less glitter (maybe).

Where is this magical reading sanctuary?

Picture this: rolling vineyards, sun-drenched landscapes, and the gentle hum of rural life in the Cotes de Gascogne region of Southwest France. It’s the kind of place where the air smells of possibility, and the only traffic jam you’ll encounter is a migrating flock of sheep. It’s far enough from the hustle and bustle to truly disconnect, but close enough to local delights, the closest town is Nogaro, for a taste of authentic French living.

Do I need to be a “writer” to come?

Not remotely. This isn’t a writing workshop and nobody’s marking your grammar. If you can hold a pen and tell the truth (even just to yourself, even just on paper), you’re already qualified.

When can I ditch my responsibilities and dive into journaling?

Our retreats are like literary constellations, appearing reliably every first and third Saturday of the month from March right through November. Each escape is a perfectly crafted 5-day, 4-night journey, starting Saturday evening and wrapping up on Wednesday morning. Plenty of time to forget time as you journal, emerge blinking into the sunlight, and then dive back in for another round!

What’s the vibe like? Will I be forced to socialise?

Absolutely not, unless you want to! This retreat is all about journaling. Whether you’re a social butterfly who loves discussing prompts over brunch or a contented caterpillar who prefers to cocoon with a notebook, you’ll find your rhythm here. Many of our guests come solo, eager for uninterrupted journaling time, and they leave feeling refreshed and re-centered. There’s a beautiful balance of communal meals and plenty of personal space, so you can be as introverted or extroverted as your heart desires.

Let’s talk about the food. Will I be well-fed?

Oh, darling, you’ll be more than well-fed; you’ll be soulfully nourished! Imagine wholesome brunches that fuel your journaling marathon and delicious dinners that are a true taste of French hospitality. While we won’t list every single morsel, rest assured your taste buds will be as happy as your heart. (Just a heads-up, one evening is reserved for you to explore the local culinary scene – a little adventure for your palate!)

Is this retreat suitable for someone travelling alone?

Are you kidding? It’s practically designed for solo adventurers! This is your chance to reclaim your time, your thoughts, and your journaling without compromise. You won’t have to negotiate when to journal next or share your last piece of croissant. It’s a judgment-free zone where your only companion needs to be a notebook. Come alone, leave with a renewed sense of self. It’s pure bliss for the independent spirit.

©MMontagu Description frequently updated