Wren Studio
The Invitation
A 3-night minimum stay. Sound journeys, spiritual accompaniment and shared meditation with Kate may be requested and agreed in advance or after arrival. Times by agreement.
Those wishing to be on retreat, without support, are welcome.
Guests are requested to arrive between 4.00 and 7.00pm on day one, if possible, and leave by 11.00am on their final day.
There is one parking space at the front of the house and use of a car is recommended as there is no public transport in Roxburgh.
Food shopping: Tesco, Sainsburys, Aldi and Morrisons delivery to Roxburgh. Guests may wish to order their food beforehand. Please arrange for it to be delivered after your arrival, if possible.
Travel by train and bus: The nearest train stations are Tweedbank (14 miles, 25 minutes’ drive) and Berwick-on-Tweed (27 miles, 45 minutes’ drive). Buses to Kelso or St Boswells are available from these station. Kate will usually be able to meet guests at either destination.
If you plan to travel by train to Tweedbank, Kate may be willing to meet your train. Please ask.
Bus services are available in Kelso (4 miles) and St Boswells (8 miles).
Support from Kate
Support from Kate
The following support with Kate is available and may be requested by guests to suit their needs:
- Morning or evening meditations (up to ½ hour each). Generally this includes a reading followed by silent meditation. A singing bowl is used as the 'bell' to open and close the session. The length of the meditation will be altered to suit the guest. Kate’s meditation practice began when she was closely involved with Zen teacher, Thich Nhat Hahn’s community.
- Sound journeys (½ to 1 hour). Kate is trained in creative therapeutic sound and, with singing bowls, a drum, her voice and other instruments, she spontaneously creates 'journeys' for the mind and body. The beautiful sound vibrations, especially of the singing bowls, help to promote deep relaxation and the release of tension.
- Spiritual counselling/accompaniment (1 hour). Trained in deep listening and accompaniment, Kate offers a safe space for guest-clients to share and explore their experiences, concerns and aspirations, with a view to better understanding their life path, offering themselves loving kindness, and gaining clarity in moving forward.
If you are undergoing treatment or have ongoing support for any mental or physical issue, please ensure your usual support is available to you, if needed, during your stay at Wren Studio.
The accommodation
The accommodation
Wren studio is designed and built as a place for rest and renewal. It occupies a ground-floor corner of a newly-built home of contemporary and eco-friendly design. It is furnished and decorated with loving care to be restful and interesting.
The studio may be accessed through the garden and from within the house. It has a lovely en-suite shower room (towels provided) and windows overlooking the garden which is planted for seasonal interest and variety, with a Buddha statue and oak post with sacred lettering.
Wheelchair accessible throughout.
There is a comfortable 5ft bed with pure linen bedding provided (air dried and non-ironed to save energy), a sofa, an armchair and side table. The dining table and chairs are by Ercol. An antique middle-eastern floor rug and hand-stitched Indian throws bring soft colours to the room. Calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh hangs on the wall along with water and oil paintings by various artists.
There is a mini-kitchen for self-catering, with cooker, hob and fridge, crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils. Food essentials such as teabags, salt, pepper, sugar and olive oil is also provided.
On booking Kate will send a tick-list of items that may be included in a complementary ‘welcome pack’ or bought in addition. These vary from time to time but usually include milk, home-prepared sourdough bread, kombucha and sample pots of krauts, kimchi, jams, chutneys and marmalades.
A complimentary sample jar of honey from Kate’s bees is provided for all guests. (Food for body and soul comes in many forms at Wren Studio!)
Wi-fi and a Sonos system are available in the studio.
The mobile signal in the house is unreliable but it is generally possible to get one outside, close to the house.
If guests wish to watch films or TV they are invited to bring their own laptop and access these via the internet. There is a radio available for those wishing to be off-grid during their stay.
There is a no smoking policy throughout the premises and a low alcohol intake is requested.
Quiet time (Noble Silence) is requested between 10.00 pm and 7.00 am.
No pets please ... though Kate has a friendly cocker spaniel called Beason (who is not allowed in the studio).
The library
The library
Alongside the studio, also off the hall, is a library and meditation room. Meditation, sound journeys and counselling sessions with Kate will be held in this room which has a couch to lie on if you wish.
The shelves are packed with a wide range of books, including many with a spiritual, religious or self-help focus. There are oracle cards of various types as well as maps and reference books.
All these may be borrowed for the duration your stay.
The surrounding area
The surrounding area
Wren Studio is in Roxburghshire, which suggests Roxburgh itself might be a town of some significance... as indeed it once was but not today (and thankfully so for those who seek peace and quiet).
The original Old Roxburgh town, as it became known, was beneath the castle of that name, near the meeting of the two rivers, the Tweed and the Teviot. During the reign of David 1 who built Roxburgh castle above the town in the 12th century, it was a thriving centre attracting many visitors and travellers to its river crossing. The castle was sacked several times in battles between the Scots and English and has laid in ruins since its demolition in the 15th century.
Meanwhile Roxburgh disappeared off local maps and popped up again some three miles upstream in the 18th century. (Perhaps folk become utterly weary of being ransacked by marauding hoards from north or south?) Kelso – on the north bank of the rivers' confluence – continues to this day to be an influential centre for trade and river crossing, with its important abbey, established around the same time as the castle, now also in ruins.
Today’s Roxburgh is a quiet village – almost a hamlet – without a shop or pub and surrounded by gentle rolling countryside occupied by arable and livestock farms.
The railways to Kelso and Jedburgh, closed in 1964, met near the great viaduct over the Teviot at Roxburgh, seen from the house and quarter of a mile from Wren Studio. The old railway embankments offer fine walking, including a circular walk to and from Kelso... walkers taking the path along one of the embankments on the way there and back along the other side of the river.
Kate, a keen walker herself, provides walking guides in a studio folder, along with information about some of the many sites and buildings of historical interest in the area, with its four great abbeys – Melrose, Kelso, Dryburgh and Jedburgh. The abbeys are linked by a long-distance footpath, the Borders Abbey Way.
It is an area with a long, rich history, fine scenery, an abundance of wildlife and wildflowers, with pleasant towns and villages to visit.
I hope you’ll come and see for yourself!
Food
Food
Guests will be self-catering but may purchase from Kate – depending on availability – from a small selection of home-made frozen main meals if they wish. This includes one or more vegan options.
Kelso is some 4 miles away and offers a range of food-shopping options.
As mentioned above re the ‘welcome pack’, Kate is a beekeeper and provides guests with a sample pot of honey. She also makes sourdough breads, fermented drinks and vegetables, jams and chutneys. Depending on availability, some of these may be selected for your ‘welcome pack’ and some may be available for purchase.
COVID-19 compliance
COVID-19 compliance
Kate will enquire about guests' vaccine status before arrival.
She will agree with you prior to arrival the extent to which it will be appropriate to maintain distance and wear masks when meeting within the house.
Please bring a mask with you.
Arrival and privacy
Arrival and privacy
On arrival guests are welcomed at the front door by Kate and shown across the hall to the studio.
Guests are asked to meet briefly with Kate in the library, as soon as is convenient after arrival, for orientation and to agree the times of support sessions. She finds it helpful also to know something of a guest’s recent circumstances and aspirations for their stay so she enquires about these prior to your visit.
The interlinking door between the studio and hall of the house is not normally used. Generally, when joining Kate for support sessions in the library, making enquiries or seeking help, guests are asked to come to the front door, through the garden.