ignite your Inner Gold
Take your path – A luxury retreat in the Wye Valley
During this four-day ‘advanced*’ retreat in the heart of the Wye Valley, Karen will guide you through an ‘internal adventure’ whilst you are immersed in nature and the beauty of the area.
This retreat is designed to ‘ignite your inner gold’ : to activate your potential and boost your motivation towards your goals.
Whatever it is you dream of, this four-day retreat will accelerate you towards it.
This retreat is designed for people who know what their goals are but are struggling to take the steps to achieve them.
Over 4 days you will go on a personal transformation and discover more about yourself and the extraordinary things you are capable of.
Throughout the four days we will be combining Performance Workshops with Paddle Boarding or Kayaking activities.
These activities have been specifically designed around the retreat to help you move forward on your journey to Inner Gold and help break down your barriers.
Every morning will start with a mindfulness session and every workshop will build on the last guiding you through a journey of discovery.
You will be given plenty of time for reflection in quiet space in and around the house.
We will be based in a beautiful private house overlooking the Wye Valley. Hidden away in the countryside surrounded by woodlands it is the perfect quiet space for this retreat. You will be given plenty of time for reflection and / or meditation in quiet space in and around the house and garden.
We will have delicious food that is all sourced from local suppliers. We will eat as a group around our communal dining table and have access to the communal kitchen and sitting room.
Each bedroom has a writing space so you can reflect on your journey.
There will also be access to the indoor swimming pool. The house is located in an AONB and you have direct access out to beautiful woodland walks.
Included
4 day coaching journey with Karen Darke
3 nights luxury shared accommodation
Karen Darke – Performance Coach
4 x Work Shops
1 x SUP Lesson
1x Full Day River Paddle
Qualified SUP Coaches
Meals while on the Retreat
All SUP Kit
Not Included
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Transport to accommodation
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Alcohol – BYO policy
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Additional Snack / Drinks
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Personal travel insurance
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Any activities not mentioned
Day 1 - Friday
10am-11am, Welcome & Intentions: ‘Emotions are our greatest resource’.
11am -12.30pm, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Amazing’ workshop: How to create more enabling emotions and explore the ‘emotional’ gap.
12.30pm-1.30pm Lunch with a difference
1.30pm-3pm Tuning Inner Gold: Mind and heart-set techniques to help tune your Inner Gold, meditation to music, connecting with current emotional state.
3pm-6.30pm SUP Activity : Paddle boarding session. Notice any limiting beliefs coming up around going for your big WIBA.
6.30pm-7pm Relax
7pm – 8pm Group reflection.
8pm Dinner, relax by the fire
Day 2 - Saturday
8.30am-9am Morning gratitude: stretching, breathing & appreciation
9am-10am Breakfast
10am-11.30pm Sustaining Your Inner Gold: (CATS & ANTS, the 3 P’s, reframing & perception. Tackle your fear and perceived barriers with mindful time in nature.
11.30am-1pm Supporting Your Inner Gold: Talk & discussion about motivation and aligning goals, intention, mind and heart.
1pm-2pm Lunch
2pm-6pm River Wye Journey: A coaching journey on the water
6pm: Pizza making & evening conversation
Day 3 - Sunday
8.30am-9am Morning gratitude: stretching, breathing & appreciation
9am-10am Breakfast
10am-12.30pm Ignite Your Inner Gold: Flow awareness, using the ‘Flow Cycle’ to enable goals. Mindful walk or nature activity to explore flow.
12.30pm-1.30pm Lunch
1.30pm-6.30pm Reflection: Free time with option for 1:1 coaching with Karen
6.30pm Bottle Your Inner Gold: Gin making, bottle your own gold.
Day 4 - Monday
8.30am-9am Morning gratitude: stretching, breathing & appreciation
9am-10am Breakfast
10am-12.30 Live Your Inner Gold: Creating action plans, daily routines and strategies to support progress to your goals and dreams.
12.30pm-1.30pm Farewell & lunch
keep the embers burning
The Lodge
The lodge is in the heart of the Wye Valley. With a large kitchen and sitting room there is plenty of space to enjoy time together as a group and stunning rooms to relax in after a long day.
The lodge is also equipped with a beautiful indoor pool that you will also have access to.
We have created dedicated quiet space for you to take time to reflect on your journey.
There is plenty of outdoor space to relax in the evening and some beautiful local walks to enjoy right on our doorstep. This is the perfect home from home to base ourselves at for this retreat.
The Rooms
You can pick your room when booking, each room is priced differently depending on their facilities and size.
Stable Room
This is our largest room with Super King Bed overlooking the stables. With an ensuite bathroom it’s perfect for a couple or two friends. This room can be booked by a couple, single person or two friends who are willing to share a bed.
We love this room for is cozy feel and incredibly comfy extra large sleigh bed.
Bed: Super King
Private Bathroom: Yes
Wye Room
This room can be a twin or a double. It is a large cozy room and it has some of the best views overlooking the Wye Valley.
The room has a comfy reading chair and a writing desk.
This room shares a beautiful bathroom with a separate bath and shower with the forest room.
Bed: Double / Twin
Private Bathroom: No
Forest rOOM
This is the smallest room in the house but one of our favourite’s. It’s cozy with a pitched roof.
It has a double bed, writing desk and comfy chair for relaxing.
This room shares a beautiful bathroom with a separate bath and shower with the forest room.
Bed: Small Double
Private Bathroom: No
garden room
A fantastic room on the ground floor of the house it can either be a double of twin room.
Direct access out into the garden and a large wheelchair accessible bathroom.
Bed: Double / Twin
Private Bathroom: Yes
Glamping
We will also have a few glamping tents available to guests as a more affordable option. These will be fully equipt with double bed or twin beds. All the tents will have access to a bathroom in the house.
They will have fantastic views over the Wye Valley on a clear night you will have one of the best seats to see the stars.
Bed: Double / Twin
Private Bathroom: No
The house
Dr. Karen Darke MBE, MA, Ph.D.
Karen’s purpose is to support people in transforming a challenge into an opportunity. With a deep understanding and lived experience of how trauma and life events can create stress, fear, and dis-ease, Karen has a passion for helping people move beyond perceived limitations towards expansive possibility.
“Ability is a state of mind not a state of body” infuses Karen’s approach. A climbing accident that resulted in paraplegia led her away from studying gold as a ‘rock-doctor’ into becoming a ‘mind miner’, exploring experientially how we can learn to be our own alchemist and transform the ‘mud’ of life to discover ‘inner gold’. Karen likes to shine a light on the meaning of challenge and on the limitless possibilities of the human spirit, enhancing performance, wellbeing, and meaningful contribution to the connected web of the world.
Exploring the boundaries of what is possible is something Karen has personally embraced. Her curiosity for what it takes to overcome self-doubt, face fear, and step-up performance has led her to her own experiments in high-performance sport and also in pushing the boundaries of adaptive adventure exploration. She becameParalympic hand-cycling champion (Rio 2016), World Champion in Paratriathlon, a silver medalist in her first Paralympic games (London 2012), and is the Guinness World Record holder for land speed by arm power, each time requiring deep engagement with her intrinsic motivational stack. She has also sit-skied across Greenland, sea kayaked at extreme latitudes of the planet, handcycle across the world’s big mountain ranges and with coastlines and rivers of all the continents. These experiences combined with unique studies of the mind, resilience, and performance have led to helping people view life as an adventure, and to embrace all its’ experiences as opportunities to learn and grow.
Whilst hand-cycling and adventurous journeys are Karen’s primary flow activities, coaching and expanding possibilities for others is her second. She is fascinated with the power of the mind and language to positively impact emotions; improving presence, performance, and possibility. Much of her spare time is leading Quest 79, a community-focused organization with the aim of creating and supporting inspirational projects that connect people and communities to enhance inner gold and possibility.
Karen has an MBE, a Ph.D. in Earth Science, an MA in Development Training, and a second MA in High-Performance Coaching, and Diplomas in Clinical & Pastoral Counselling, Hypnotherapy & Motivational Coaching. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from The University of Aberdeen, Leeds, Cumbria, Sheffield Hallam, and Abertay Universities, in recognition of her contributions to adventure and high-performance sport. She has written three biographical-based books about overcoming challenges, facing fear, and positive psychology tips for achieving surprising things: If You Fall; Boundless; Quest 79: Find Your Inner Gold
Similar Trips
Why AdAstra?
AdAstra has been taking people on incredible adventure around the world for over 6 years. We are excited to be teaming up with Karen Darke to create retreats that will take you on a journey to fin your inner gold.
- Small groups of adventurers
- Passionate team looking after all your needs
- Years of experience creating extordinary adventures.
Why Ignite Your Inner Gold?
Now you know your path it it is time to move forward with your journey. Ignite your inner gold is designed for people who know what their goals but are feeling unable to move forward with them. We will focus on where you are and where you want to go.
- 4 Day adventure in the heart of the Wye Valley
- Daily workshops with Performance Coach Karen Darke
- A personal journey of Discovery