Digitally Disconnect at the Blue Light to Star Light Retreat: Unplug, Unwind, and Reconnect
Four Days / Three Nights – 11th to 14th August 2018
Set aside your digital devices and rediscover the beauty of nature on this specially designed From Blue Light to Starlight Retreat. Set on the picturesque island of Sark in the Channel Islands, it promises the experience of getting swallowed up by abundant beauty and nature. Take a deep breath, look around you and digitally disconnect from the technology which drives today’s world.
The average person looks at their phone 46 times a day, and we are becoming more and more enslaved by our digital devices. It is difficult, with the pressures of life and work, to set them aside and digitally disconnect. Yet research has shown that being engrossed in an online world has negative effects which range from physical problems such as arthritis and poor posture, to mental effects such as insomnia and problems in building relationships.
Disconnect from your technology and discover a new and fully immersive way to enjoy the world. Because the real connections are the ones you create with your environment, with the people around you and with yourself. So unplug from social media, take a break from email and switch your devices off altogether as you allow yourself to look outward and not downward.
Digitally Disconnect to Naturally Reconnect
Embark on this magical three-night, four-day retreat and rediscover a once-forgotten childlike wonder at the beauty of our planet. Without the distractions of digital devices, you will witness star-splashed skies, forage for and cook wild-growing foods, photograph, paint, listen to music, read or meditate. Go wildlife-spotting and if you’re lucky encounter dolphins and puffins, or hop in a kayak and paddle along the rugged sea cliffs.
This retreat is timed to coincide with one of Europe’s most astounding astronomical phenomena, the Perseid Meteor Shower. Under the expert guidance of astronomer David Le Conte, you will gaze at the starry sky, watch whooshing meteors and spot up to 7,000 planets and stars. You can also learn how to photograph the night sky with acclaimed photographer Sue Daly, or go foraging for wild foods with John Wright from the UK Channel 4 television show River Cottage. Your private chef, Luis, will then whip them up into sumptuous, healthy meals.
The Retreat Includes he Following:
- Return transfers from Guernsey to Sark.
- Perseids’ meteor shower watch.
- Fascinating talks with 1960s NASA astronomer David Le Conte.
- Dark skies photography class.
- Accommodation at the picturesque Stocks Hotel.
- Kayaking safari.
- Food foraging hike.
- Dedicated private Chef John from River Cottage and Chef Luis.
- Co-created menus made from the foraged ingredients and other local delicacies.
- On-site dedicated Life Butler host.
- Wines and liquors tasting at Stocks’ tasting room.
- Outdoor activities ranging from moonlight horse cart ride to swimming in the natural Venus Pools.
- Digital photographic footage.
*Price and daily schedule on request
Location
Sark has been officially designated a Dark Sky Island for its lack of light pollution. The inky night sky is strewn with stars that will take your breath away. Tractors tootle along the quiet country lanes, and an air of yesteryear permeates. Get to know the three-and-a-half-mile-long and one-mile-wide island on foot or by bicycle and appreciate the fresh air and glorious views.
Your home for the three nights and four days of your retreat is the charming Stocks Hotel. Country chic awaits you in this lovely rural manor house, whose ancestry is entwined with the history of the island. Relax by the heated swimming pool, wake up to birdsong in the airy suites or amble through the pretty country gardens.
Retreat Butlers
David Le Conte
Your expert astronomer for this will be David Le Conte who spent his early career in America, where he worked in the space programme during the 1960s Apollo missions to the Moon for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory under a NASA contract.
John Wright
Renowned forager, John Wright, from the River Cottage series will accompany this retreat, providing the opportunity for you to learn from his expertise and to provide our chef with some excellent, locally sourced ingredients.
Chef Luis
Culinary master Chef Luis will cater this retreat and has a passion for creating delicious healthy and innovative food using locally sourced sustainable produce, developed during his time working at some of the worlds leading restaurants, including Nubu and The Ivy.