Dancing at sunrise, forest bathing and cold water swimming are on offer at the Welsh star's mid-Wales retreat.
The time is 6.30am on a Wednesday morning and I’m standing in the heart of the Welsh countryside wearing headphones and dancing to rhythmic music as the sun is coming up.
My two best friends are either side of me and we’ve formed part of a circle around a firepit at this sunrise ceremony known as ‘Celestial Blessings’. The lambs in the lush fields around us bleat as if joining in with the music and we move to the beat while breathing in the incredible view.
This crack-of-dawn silent disco wasn’t what instantly sprang to mind when we first started planning a trip together to celebrate our 50th birthdays but as we sway to the music, we find we’re thoroughly embracing the experience.
We’re at The Dreaming, a bucolic retreat in the heart of rural Wales that encourages you to find your inner child and where there’s no Wi-Fi, meat is off the menu and alcohol is banned. Despite the lack of cocktails, our three-night break to this idyllic hideaway turned out to be the perfect way to mark turning half a century – a rare opportunity to spend some quality time together while enjoying the 47 acres of forests and fields surrounding the property.
The Dreaming, which opened last February, is owned by Welsh singer Charlotte Church, 38, who spent her life savings purchasing the mansion and its grounds after visiting it and being awestruck by its ancient woodlands and cascading waterfalls. She spent 18 months transforming the residence, known as Rhydoldog, into a nurturing space where people could get away from it all.
"By connecting with nature and spending time in woodland we can regain our wildness and awaken spiritually," says Charlotte. In this magical place, it’s easy to see what she means.
The Dreaming now offers twice-weekly three-night retreats as well as occasional specialist packages such as the ‘Song of the Soul’, led by Charlotte herself.
The singer was involved in every aspect of The Dreaming’s creation and came up with the quirky names for the house’s seven themed guest rooms. ‘Forest Spirits’ takes its inspiration from Japan with tatami flooring; ‘The Moon’ has a circular white bath and overlooks the ‘Moon Garden’; while my room, ‘The Wanderer’, is decorated with artefacts from around the world.
After settling in our rooms, we’re taken on a ‘Connecting with the Land’ walk, led by retreat co-ordinator Kerry Sanson. It’s a chance to step into the ancient forest at the back of the house, which is so breathtaking I feel as if I’ve wandered on to the set of Lord of the Rings. Rich, green moss sprawls across the ground, clinging to rocks and fallen logs as majestic larch trees sprout up the hillside.
We pass a ‘Forest Pool’ where cold-water swimmers can take a dip (I braved it later on, but in a wetsuit). Those who don’t mind a steep 15-20 minute uphill walk will be treated to the spectacular ‘Waterfall Shower’ in the heart of this forest. Further along there’s the Cedar Forest that was planted by the property’s famous former resident, Laura Ashley, who lived here in the Seventies and created many of her designs at the house, inspired by the surrounding countryside.
It’s in the Cedar Forest the next day that we’re encouraged by Kerry to attempt ‘forest bathing’ – walking around in silence and drinking in the stillness. She suggests that we could even try communicating with the trees by placing one hand on the trunk and one on our hearts and repeating the mantra: ‘Wise old tree, tell me what you see’. Sadly, I found the trees rather reticent, but the feeling of being still in the forest and watching the sunlight dancing along the treetops was unexpectedly moving.
It’s possible to spend all your time at The Dreaming exploring its grounds and the 80,000 acres of wilderness beyond, but there’s a timetable of ‘Offerings’, which guests are welcome to take part in (for no extra charge). The activities change each week but there might be a group walk in the mornings, a yoga or Qi Gong session in the afternoons and, after a delicious evening feast, a campfire with stargazing, or a sound meditation session in the ‘Healing Room’.
During our stay we were also taught the basics of watercolour painting by a local artist and shown how to take part in a Japanese tea ceremony by the general manager Naoko, who grew up in Japan. Both activities were fascinating, but by far the biggest lesson for this city dweller was how restorative it can be to switch off from the bustle of life, especially if you can find an area of natural beauty like this to savour.
As the Welsh poet W H Davies famously wrote in his poem Leisure, ‘What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?’
This article appeared in the August 2024 edition of Saga Magazine.
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