Magic happens at Mad Dogs & Vintage Vans. I already knew this because I’d spent a few days there in July 2022, celebrating my birthday with a friend in ‘Gertie’. A 1930s hand-built van, with lots of sass despite her outwardly demure appearance, Gertie provided the perfect environment for a weekend of writing, celebrating and indulgent self-care. In fact, I wrote part of my forthcoming book sitting by the little campfire with tea and cake to hand, and the promise of a glass of champagne when I had 2,000 words down. I instinctively knew that the glampsite would be the perfect location for a writing retreat – and the following year we made it happen. Freedom to Write and Mad Dogs joined forces to create a very special ‘life writing’ experience for ten aspiring authors over a long weekend in June 2023. And this year we did it again, only even better.
‘We’ is me and Andy. We’ve both written memoirs that combine stories from our personal lives with experiences from our professional careers working in prisons; Andy as a philosophy teacher, me as an academic researcher and prison design expert. We’ve been hosting writing experiences for three years, running Freedom to Write workshops and retreats in London, Bath, Wales and Oslo. We teach creative writing in prisons too, and are writers-in-residence at HMP Grendon, a high-security therapeutic prison in Buckinghamshire. We also provide one-to-one mentoring for writers who want to hook a literary agent and secure a publishing contract as far afield as New Zealand. But it is the annual summer writing retreat in the tiny village of Brampton Abbotts in rural Herefordshire, that is at the heart of everything we do. It is our foundation, our passion, our main event!
So, what’s the magic ingredient? Our recipe for success includes a fantastic community of writers that we are building year on year. The combination of newbies and returning retreatants (or retreat ants, as my laptop always auto-corrects) brings a lovely blend of familiarity and freshness. Many of our guests don’t have a firm idea of what they’re letting themselves in for, and they put an enormous amount of trust in us and in each other. But, when they arrive at the glampsite, we see their shoulders relax and their faces light up as they take in the tranquil surroundings and are introduced to their accommodation. Those in The Hayloft marvel at the cool stylishness of their surroundings, while the ones who have chosen vans coo over cute vintage-inspired interiors. Think Enid Blyton adventures and childhood camping holidays – but with the luxury of a double bed and duvet, rather than a soggy sleeping bag on a thin mat.
So, while Andy and I have become adept at helping people to find their voices, and have created a supportive environment for the sharing of often very personal stories, much of the credit for our success goes to our hosts at Mad Dogs & Vintage Vans. Jo and Al are generous, gracious gourmands. Glamping has never been so grand – not in the sense of material opulence; that’s not what it’s about. The richness is found in the site itself, with wildflower meadow and ancient trees providing a lush canopy over the main campfire, which we gather round each evening to share our day’s writing. It’s in the blood orange sunsets that frame the Black Mountains in one direction and the elegant Georgian symmetry of the Old Rectory in the other. It’s in the abundance of love and care that our hosts lavish on everything they do; the flowers freshly picked from the rectory gardens that brighten every space, and the crackle of logs that are kept topped up in the wood burner. It’s in the scrumptiousness of homemade cakes and scones served with strawberries and cream; the glistening ruby pomegranate seeds adorning Jo’s famously delicious aubergine curry; the sunshine yellow runny yolk of eggs cooked to perfection at breakfast; and the hilarity of Al as he serves them – a cross between Basil Fawlty and a Butlins Redcoat, as he quipped one morning. It all adds up to a nourishing experience for body, mind and soul.
And what of the retreat itself? To paraphrase the “3 Rs” taught to nineteenth century schoolchildren, the retreat is all about reading, writing and relaxation. We provide a mixture of writing exercises and prompts, excerpts from texts which we read together, 1:1 mentoring sessions with me and Andy, and lots and lots of time to write and explore the local area. It’s easy to be distracted by the local wildlife (the fluffy baby owl, a rhea with eyelashes to die for, a litter of pink and brown piglets), as well as by the stunning walks, tennis court, and nearby wild swimming. But everyone writes, and writes beautifully. Even those who arrive thinking they can’t write. Sometimes they turn out to be the best writers of all.
If you have a memoir in you, or simply an interesting story to tell, we’d love to see you at one of our events. Check out our website www.freedomtowrite.co.uk for details of what we offer. Next year’s summer retreat at Mad Dogs & Vintage Vans is Friday 20th to Monday 23rd June 2025. Why not come and experience the magic for yourself?!
Yvonne Jewkes is author of An Architecture of Hope: Reimagining the Prison, Restoring a House, Rebuilding Myself (Scribe, 2024)
Andy West is author of The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Learning to be Free (Picador, 2022)
