Can’t beat a retreat: Sue Nicholls on Rookhow

‘I feel calm coming to Rookhow.’

by Sue Nicholls 8th November 2024

In 2021, thanks to an initial grant from the Quaker Mental Health Fund, the Rookhow charity in the Lake District set up a Retreat Away Fund, to help groups stay in its Bunkbarn. (As well as being a Meeting place for Quakers over the last 300 years, Rookhow’s Bunkbarn was converted from the original stables to provides simple and affordable accommodation for groups.) Three years on the scheme is thriving, with over 650 people from fifty groups having benefited, including: refugees; LGBTQ+ youth groups; people dealing with trauma and abuse; mental health support groups; drug and alcohol recovery groups; and organisations supporting families on low incomes.