Floral Ark
Signature Retreats, Courses & Events
Floral Ark
Walking around the gardens, smelling the roses, learning about the different flowers and herbs in the garden was wonderful, followed by the plant meditation (I chose Rose). I truly felt at one with the rose bush I had chosen...[I felt] very calm, refreshed and excited to learn more.
Dione, a participant on our May Plant Connection course.
Return to the Woman Who Knows - Earth in Her Bones, Rhythm in Her Blood
I invite you to join me, Amanda, for a gentle return to the living world of plant spirits on my three-day retreats in the beautiful Black Mountains of mid-Wales.
This is a chance to meet the beings who dwell in this sacred landscape, and to gift yourself something so rare - unhurried time. Time to slow down. Time to listen. Time to reconnect in the way that feels right for you.
So many of us are running on empty. Our nervous systems are overstretched. Our bodies are tired. Our spirits feel scattered. When you step onto this land, something begins to soften. The pace drops. Your breath deepens. The constant doing gives way to simply being.
Floral Ark is a deeply nourishing sanctuary for healing, restoration and recalibration - especially so in these times of chaos and upheaval. Here, you’re held by the land, the plants, and the rhythm of something far older than the noise of the modern world.
Through ceremony, reiki, plant connection, creativity and deep rest, your system has the space to rebalance itself naturally. The land steadies you. The plants gently realign you. The rhythm of drum and ritual brings you back into coherence. You may arrive depleted or uncertain - but you leave feeling clearer, stronger, and more rooted in yourself.
I've chosen our dates to align with the powerful Earth festivals - the Summer Solstice and the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes - when the veils feel thin and transformation comes more easily. These seasonal thresholds are potent times for resetting your inner compass and restoring harmony between body, heart and soul.
Each retreat carries the spirit of its season.
Ceridwen's Retreat – Summer Solstice
19 - 22 June 2026
This retreat is inspired by Ceridwen - the enchantress, shape-shifter and keeper of Awen, the cauldron of poetic inspiration in Welsh medieval mythology.
At the height of the Summer Solstice, when solar energy is at its most intense, I guide you in turning that outer fire into inner wisdom. Rather than burning out, we learn how to harness that brightness and let it illuminate what truly matters.
The solstice reminds us that even at the peak of light, the seeds of darkness and change are already stirring. Ceridwen teaches us about transformation, creative power, and the courage to step into new beginnings - not from force, but from alignment. This retreat restores your creative flow and reconnects you to your own inner source of inspiration.
Cave Bear Autumn Retreat – Autumn Equinox
21 - 24 September 2026
At the Autumn Equinox, we honour the Great She-Bear as she returns to her cave for hibernation. Cave Bear is an ancient guardian of both light and dark, calling us inward.
This is a time of preparation — tending to what needs strengthening before the colder months arrive. It’s a powerful moment to gather yourself, to consolidate your energy, and to consciously release what drains or distracts you.
Cave Bear brings the medicine of deep introspection, profound inner strength, and the importance of clear, protective boundaries. Together, we embrace solitude, face what needs facing, and restore our reserves. You leave steadier, more self-contained, and deeply resourced for the months ahead.
Cave Bear Spring Retreat – Spring Equinox
19 – 22 March 2027
In spring, the Great She-Bear emerges from her den - ready to forage, to move, to play. The Spring Equinox marks the shift from introspection into action, from dreaming into doing.
This retreat is about renewal and reawakening. After winter’s inward journey, we gently stir the body, the heart and the creative spark. We restore confidence in your instincts and help you step forward without rush or overwhelm.
It is a rebalancing into movement - grounded, embodied and alive.
Across all Return to the Woman Who Knows retreats, we move within the rhythm of this living sanctuary. There is space for silence. Space for laughter. Space for deep rest.
During our time together, I gently guide you into experiences that are designed to restore your energy, settle your nervous system and bring you back into balance, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Retreats include:
A 90-minute Reiki session with Medicine Drum
This is a deeply restorative treatment where I work intuitively with Reiki energy and the rhythm of the drum to clear stagnation, soothe overwhelm and realign your system. The drum's steady heartbeat helps regulate your nervous system, while Reiki flows to where it's most needed - often bringing a profound sense of calm, clarity and inner spaciousness. Many people leave this session feeling lighter, grounded and quietly re-centred.
Healing Tools & Deep Immersion with the Spirits of Place
We take time to truly listen to the land, not just walk upon it. When you slow down enough to connect with the spirit of a place, something ancient within you remembers how to belong. That remembering is deeply regulating. It restores a sense of connection that modern life so often fractures. You begin to feel supported rather than separate. Garden walks and talks, identifying our herbal allies and collecting materials for your sacred tools - your medicine drum, rattle, beater and herbal elixir.
Working with the plants in this way is both practical and devotional. As we gather materials consciously and respectfully, you begin to rebuild relationship — with nature and with yourself. Crafting your tools by hand is grounding and empowering. It brings you out of mental busyness and into embodied presence, restoring confidence in your own creative power. Once made, they will walk beside you for years to come as companions and allies, helping you return again and again to the balance, clarity and strength you reconnect with here.
A Guided Foraging Experience
We step into the hedgerows and hills not simply to walk, but to gather - to truly engage with the living larder around us. Foraging invites you to slow down and pay attention. Your senses sharpen. You begin to notice textures, scents, subtle differences in leaf and bark. This kind of focused presence is deeply regulating for the nervous system. There is something profoundly balancing about harvesting with care and gratitude, about receiving directly from the land. It rebuilds trust in nature’s abundance and in your own instincts. You learn to discern, to move with respect, and to take only what is freely offered. It restores a feeling of participation rather than consumption — relationship rather than separation.
Morning Yoga
Each morning begins with gentle, accessible movement to open the body and release held tension. This isn't about performance — it's about coming home to yourself. Stretching, breathing and moving mindfully helps integrate the work we do and creates steadiness for the day ahead.
Shared and Individual Circle, Meditations, Journeys and Play
Circle time offers safe witnessing and shared reflection - a powerful way to feel seen and supported. Individual journeys allow you to go deeper into your own process. We balance introspection with lightness and play, because joy is also medicine. Laughter and creativity restore vitality just as much as silence and stillness.
Vegetarian or Plant-based Breakfast and Lunch
Everything about this retreat is designed to support your restoration — not just the ceremonies and practices, but the way you are nourished and cared for throughout.
The food we'll share is wholesome, seasonal and thoughtfully prepared to sustain you without heaviness.Plant-based meals help lighten the load on your system, allowing your body to gently detox and rebalance.
Eating in rhythm with the land supports digestion, steadies energy levels and enhances mental clarity. Shared meals also offer simple connection — grounding conversations, quiet companionship and the comfort of being nourished in community.
All Refreshments & Snacks
Herbal teas, nourishing drinks and wholesome snacks are available throughout the day. Hydration and steady blood sugar are often overlooked foundations of emotional and physical balance. Warm infusions soothe the nervous system, support digestion and deepen your connection to the plant allies we are working with. You are encouraged to pause, sip and replenish whenever your body asks.
All Materials for your Drum, Rattle, Beater and Herbal Elixir
Everything you need to create your sacred tools is provided with care and intention. There is something deeply restorative about working with natural materials - oak, hide, plant medicines - and shaping them with your own hands. The act of crafting is meditative. It quiets the mind, grounds the body and restores confidence in your creative instincts. You leave not only with beautiful tools, but with a renewed sense of capability and connection.
An Additional Alternative Therapy Session
In addition to Reiki with the Medicine Drum, you will receive an additional therapeutic session tailored to what you most need. This might focus on energy balancing, intuitive bodywork or another supportive modality.
These one-to-one sessions offer space for deeper release, whether emotional, physical or energetic. Being witnessed and supported individually allows your system to soften in ways that group work alone sometimes cannot.
All of these elements weave together to create a steady, held container for your recalibration. You are nourished. You are supported. You are given space to rest, create, reflect and reconnect. Restoration isn't something forced here - it unfolds naturally when your body feels safe, fed, seen and connected again.
Most importantly, this is your retreat. Your precious time.
If your body calls for sleep, you rest.
If you need solitude, you take it.
If something doesn't feel right for you, you are always free to opt out.
Honouring your own rhythm is part of the restoration. Learning to listen to your needs — and act on them without guilt — is one of the most powerful ways to rebalance your life. Everything I offer is an invitation, never a demand.
This is a space where you can exhale.
Each retreat is intentionally small, intimate and by invitation only. I keep the circle contained so that everyone is truly seen, supported and able to go deep without distraction. We gather at three powerful turning points of the year - Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox — allowing the work to be held within the natural rhythm of the Earth.
If you feel called to join me, please email me at talktofloralark@gmail.com to request a place on the permanent waitlist. Let me know which retreat speaks to you - Ceridwen (Summer Solstice), Cave Bear Autumn, or Cave Bear Spring — and I will be in touch personally.
Because numbers are limited, spaces are offered thoughtfully and in alignment with the energy of the group. The investment is £800 per person. For 2026 only, both the Ceridwen and Cave Bear retreats are being offered at a 20% reduced rate of £640 per person.
This exchange reflects the depth, care and breadth of what you receive over the three days - your individual therapy sessions, all ceremonies and guided practices, daily yoga, plant immersion, foraging experience, all materials for your sacred drum, rattle, beater and herbal elixir, as well as all breakfasts, lunches and refreshments. When you consider the individual cost of these elements separately — including handcrafted drum making and one-to-one therapeutic work — the retreat offers exceptional value for the richness of experience and the sacred tools you take home with you.
Your place is secured with full payment at the time of booking. This ensures commitment within the circle and allows me to prepare materials and hold the space with care for each participant.
If you feel the pull, trust it.
When the invitation comes, it is rarely by accident.
Please Note: Evening meals and accommodation are not included in the retreat fee.
This allows you to choose a space that suits your comfort and budget. I am very happy to recommend and help you select local accommodation in the area so that your entire experience feels supportive and easy from beginning to end.
28 September 2025
Harvest: Celebrate the abundance in the garden. We'll connect with the berries, Hawthorn, and Elder and see how we can protect ourselves for the coming winter.
5 July 2025
Midsummer Night's Dream: find your plant ally and get to know the Artemisias, such as Mugwort, growing in the garden. Meditate and make a dreaming pillow.
24 May 2025
Early summer: Connect with Rose, Nettle and Yarrow, and create your own herbal preparation.