Exclusive Retreat
The Connection Retreat
A long weekend to truly get to know yourself — and twenty others
The Experience
An intimate long weekend for twenty carefully curated guests at Bovey Castle — a grand country-house estate in 275 acres on the edge of Dartmoor. This is not a mixer with name badges. Over three days we use proper psychological tools — Kelly's repertory grids, a pre-weekend psychometric profile, guided small-group sessions — to do something most social events never attempt: help you understand how you actually see people, and let twenty strangers become a group in the process. Everything is taken care of. Your own room for two nights, every meal, the spa, the grounds, the facilitation — one price, nothing to organise, no decisions to make once you arrive. You just have to turn up and be curious.
At a Glance
- Three days, twenty curated guests
- Your own psychometric profile, debriefed one-to-one
- Kelly's repertory grids workshop
- Two nights, all meals and full spa access
Overnight Stay
Two nights in your own room at Bovey Castle are included, along with all meals, so the group can settle in and stay present across the whole weekend.
Something Deeper
“Most friendships stall at the surface — not because people are shallow, but because nothing in modern life is designed to take them deeper. This weekend is.”
A good dinner can spark a connection; it rarely has time to finish the job. Three days is different. The weekend is sequenced deliberately — arrival and easy conversation on Friday, real tools and real depth on Saturday, reflection on Sunday — so trust builds in the right order and nobody is asked to go deeper than the group has earned. You leave with two things most weekends can't offer: a clearer picture of how you see the world and why, and twenty people who watched you work it out.
Who It's For
Twenty places, curated on purpose. The psychometric test isn't a gimmick — it's how we build a group with range: different ages, different worlds, the same appetite for real conversation. You'll probably recognise yourself in at least one of these.
01
Curious, open people who want to meet others properly — past the small talk a single dinner allows
02
Anyone at a turning point — new city, new chapter, career change — who wants sharper self-knowledge before what comes next
03
Busy professionals whose calendars are full but whose friendships have quietly gone shallow
04
Those overdue a proper reset: three days without screens, obligations or performing a version of themselves
05
People fascinated by what makes them (and everyone else) tick — the ones who love a good framework
06
Solo guests, especially. Almost everyone arrives alone; the whole weekend is built for it
Itinerary
16:00
Arrival & settling in
Check in, tea by the fire, and a gentle welcome walk through the grounds.
19:30
Opening dinner
A long, unhurried dinner with conversation prompts to break the ice.
21:30
Fireside nightcap
No agenda — just the first easy conversations of the weekend.
The Venue
Bovey Castle
North Bovey, Newton Abbot
Bovey Castle sits in 275 acres on the edge of Dartmoor — grand but unstuffy, with roaring fires, a spa, and space to breathe. It's the kind of place that makes a weekend feel like a proper escape.
275 acres of Dartmoor parkland
Full spa with pool and sauna
Individual en-suite rooms
Open fires and quiet corners
Activities
Every hour of the weekend does one of two jobs: it helps you understand yourself more clearly, or it turns twenty individuals into a group. Workshops when minds are fresh, walks and spa when they need to wander, long meals when the conversations are ready to go deeper.
01
Kelly's repertory grids
A structured technique from personal-construct psychology. In one guided session you'll surface the hidden categories you use to judge people and situations — most guests are genuinely surprised by what they find.
02
Your psychometric profile, debriefed
You complete the questionnaire before you arrive. At the retreat, a facilitator walks you through your profile one-to-one — what it says, what it misses, and what to do with it.
03
Guided self-discovery sessions
Facilitated small groups with prompts that go a layer deeper each round. Structured enough to feel safe, open enough to get somewhere real.
04
Dartmoor walks in rotating pairs
275 acres of parkland and moor on the doorstep. Walking pairs rotate, so the conversations change with the scenery.
05
Fireside conversations
Evenings end in small groups by the fire — the unhurried, half-lit conversations the whole day has been building towards.
06
Wellness & spa
Pool, sauna and treatments, with unscheduled time built in. Going deep needs recovery; the spa is part of the design, not a perk.
The Psychometric Test
Every guest takes it — here's why
Before the weekend, every guest completes a short psychometric questionnaire — around ten minutes, online. It's not a gatekeeper and there's no pass or fail. It does two jobs: it lets us curate a balanced, complementary group of twenty, and it becomes raw material for the weekend itself.
What It Measures
- 01How you build trust — quickly and widely, or slowly and deeply
- 02Where your conversational energy comes from, and what drains it
- 03Openness — how readily you explore unfamiliar ideas, people and experiences
- 04What you look for in a group — challenge, comfort, humour or depth
- 05How you handle disagreement, and what that says about who you'll click with
What You Receive
You receive your personal profile before you arrive, and on Saturday your facilitator walks you through it one-to-one. It's also how the group itself is built — twenty people chosen to fit together, not simply the first twenty through the door.
A Glimpse of the Questionnaire
- 01
“I find it easy to pick up a conversation with someone I've just met”
- 02
“I'd rather one honest conversation than an evening of pleasant small talk”
- 03
“I often catch myself wondering why people behave the way they do”
- 04
“A few close friendships matter more to me than a wide social circle”
There are no right or wrong answers — and no pass or fail.
Your Hosts
Dr. Elena Hart
Lead Facilitator
A psychologist specialising in personal-construct theory, Elena has spent fifteen years helping people understand how they see the world — and each other.
Marcus Reid
Wellness Host
Marcus guides the wellness and spa sessions, weaving in breathwork and quiet reflection between the deeper conversations.
What's Included
- Two nights' accommodation at Bovey Castle
- All meals and drinks across the weekend
- All workshops, materials and facilitation
- Full spa and grounds access
How to Prepare
- 01Complete the psychometric questionnaire as soon as you've booked — your profile is prepared before the weekend
- 02Pack for Dartmoor: comfortable walking shoes, something warm, swimwear for the spa
- 03Bring a notebook — more comes up over three days than you'll trust to memory
- 04Come ready to switch off. Nothing to organise, no agenda to manage — just be present
Gallery
What Guests Say
“I arrived not knowing a soul and left with friends I still speak to weekly. The repertory grids session completely changed how I listen to people.”
“The most thoughtfully designed weekend I've ever been on. Every detail — the venue, the food, the pacing — was considered.”
Frequently Asked
The Final Step
Reserve Your Place
£120 per person — all-inclusive — room, meals, workshops and spa
Places are limited to 20 carefully curated guests.
Dates for this experience will be announced soon.