What Really Happens When Women Gather: Lessons From 10 Joy-Fuelled Retreats in the Lake District

Megan Holloway
7 days ago
2 min read

Let’s get one thing straight: these retreats are not about fancy spas, surface-level chats, or pretending life is perfect.

They’re about permission, presence, and power and what happens when you stop outsourcing your self-trust and start showing up for your damn self.

After running 10 life-changing retreats (and witnessing hundreds of breakthroughs, belly laughs, and full-body exhalations), here’s what I’ve learned about what really happens when women gather intentionally - in the wild, magical Lake District.

1. Small talk doesn’t build sisterhood. Shared truth does.

Forget the weather chat. When a woman says, “I feel like I’m too much,” and another replies, “Same” - that’s where the healing begins.

2. Women show up seeking permission - then realise they had it all along.

Permission to rest, cry, scream into the wind, take up space. And the wild part? They leave knowing they never needed anyone’s sign-off to begin with.

3. Advice is overrated. Resonance is everything.

We don’t come to fix each other. We come to say, “Me too,” and mean it.

4. Unfiltered is where the magic happens.

No makeup? No problem. Ugly cry? Welcome. The realest connections are forged when we drop the performative “I’ve got it all together” energy.

5. When one woman stands tall, the rest exhale.

We move as a collective. Courage is contagious. Every brave moment sends a ripple.

6. Masks off = breakthroughs fast.

The sooner we stop pretending, the sooner the joy, clarity, and holy-sh*t-I-needed-this moments arrive.

7. Every woman arrives thinking she’s the exception. Spoiler: she’s not.

Too loud? Not experienced enough? Secretly terrified? You belong. All of you.

8. Connection doesn’t come from sameness.

It comes from shared truth, held in safe rooms - or on windswept hiking trails surrounded by lakes and mountains.

After 10 retreats, here’s the truth: joy is a strategy, not a reward. And when women come together with honesty, intention, and a little bit of “fuck it” energy, transformation happens.