Peatland Retreat WingRetreat studios for Study, Meditation & Practice

Project Overview

The Peatland Retreat Wing at Gomde UK is a community-build project designed to offer accessible and transformative personal retreats that modern life so rarely provides opportunities for.

Since work began in 2023, volunteers and donors have helped breathe a new lease of life to a row dilapidated outbuildings — now becoming beautiful retreat studios, each with a private bathroom, kitchenette, and a peaceful space with panoramic views of nature to support uninterrupted study, meditation, and practice.

Situated within the natural beauty of the Lindholme Hall estate and the surrounding peatlands, every element of the retreat wing has been designed with care — for future retreatants, for the land, and for the teachings that will be practised within its walls.

Now, as we enter the next phase of construction, we warmly invite you to join us in bringing this vision to life — creating a refuge to nurture hearts and minds today and for generations to come.

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The Retreat Studios

Each of the ten retreat studios has been thoughtfully designed to support quiet, personal retreat — blending simplicity, comfort, and beauty.
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• Dedicated space for meditation, study, and rest;
  
• Fully equipped kitchenette for preparing simple, nourishing meals;
  
• Private ensuite bathroom;
  
• Picture-frame windows offering natural light and expansive views of sky and nature;
  
• Wheelchair-accessible studios available.

Why Retreat Matters

Retreat has always held a central place in the Buddhist tradition, a time to pause, turn inward, and reconnect with the teachings and what truly matters. In moments of quiet, we return to simplicity and step back from distraction, not to escape life, but to see ourselves and the world more clearly.
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Today, that need is felt more than ever. The pace and pressure of modern life leave many of us feeling disconnected — from ourselves, from each other, and from the natural world. As our longing to slow down and return to what matters most grows, opportunities for genuine retreat remain hard to come by.

​The Peatland Retreat Wing helps change that.

Everything, from the peaceful setting to the thoughtful design, has been created to support focused, undisturbed retreat. It offers the conditions for awareness, compassion, and wisdom to unfold, not as abstract ideals, but as lived experience.

​Whether you’re a Buddhist practitioner, a meditator, or someone seeking quiet time to reflect more deeply, the Peatland Retreat Wing opens the door to all backgrounds and levels of experience, creating space for refuge, renewal, and insight.

​At Gomde UK, we’ve seen the deep and lasting benefits retreat can bring. It steadies the mind, nurtures kindness, and strengthens resilience — with its impact rippling outward into families, communities, and daily life.

The Peatland Retreat Wing is about making those experiences more accessible in a safe, supportive space where people can reconnect with themselves, the land, and their own innate potential to live well and benefit others.

For Retreatants and the Community

As student and visitor numbers grow year on year, so does our capacity to welcome more people. Once complete, the new Peatland Retreat Wing will accommodate up to 12 additional guests — expanding our current capacity from 55 to nearly 70, plus space for campers.

While the wing is purpose-built to support personal retreat, it also offers flexible accommodation for a wide range of guests, including:

• Practitioners and meditators seeking quiet solitude and focused practice
  
• Researchers, ecologists, and academics carrying out fieldwork or attending seminars on the estate
  
• Visitors joining transformative teachings and community events
  
• Individuals seeking quiet time for personal reflection and creative renewal

​Once the Thubten Chökor Ling project is complete, lay resident volunteers will live alongside a trained monastic community — providing guidance and creating a safe, supportive environment for both guided and solitary retreat.

It’s a meaningful step forward — making space for more people to connect with this place, the teachings, and the land in ways that foster insight, steadiness, and care.

Architecture & Design

The Peatland Retreat Wing is more than a new building— it’s a renewal of purpose and place. Where derelict cart sheds once stood without foundations and in poor, damp condition, a thoughtfully designed sanctuary now rises. Built with high-quality materials for long-term durability, and using sustainable methods that support self-sufficiency and care for the environment, the retreat wing reflects the values of retreat itself: stillness, humility, and care — both for the land and those who will dwell within it.

Key features include:

• Energy-efficient construction
  
• High-performance insulation
  
• Solar panels generating renewable energy
  
• Low-carbon, self-sufficient heat pumps
  
• Excellent soundproofing
  
• Full-glass façades offering natural light and expansive views of the Lindholme Hall Estate

Architecturally, every element has been shaped by the needs of retreat: quiet solitude, simplicity, and space to connect with oneself and nature.

The building itself bridges tradition and change. To one side stands Lindholme Hall, a historic Georgian house. To the other, the reimagined gardener’s cottage—roofed with reclaimed tiles and clad in red brick, honouring its former life and echoing the adjacent garden wall.

Quietly situated between them is a two-storey infill: glass-fronted with slim aluminium frames, evoking the simplicity of agricultural buildings while offering a contemporary sense of openness and connection to nature.

This synthesis of old and new is deliberate— a visual and practical reflection of the transformation retreat can bring. The architecture holds stillness and stability, while the outer view opens to wide skies, ancient trees, and the quiet, steady presence of the land.

Built for the Community, by the Community

When the Peatland Retreat Wing was first envisioned, the projected cost of labour and materials stood at £375,000. But in 2024, something remarkable happened: the Gomde community stepped forward.

Skilled volunteers donated their time and talents, and a wave of in-kind contributions — from materials to Dharma items — allowed every donated pound to stretch further than we imagined. This collective generosity redefined the project as a true community build, grounded in shared effort and care.

​With the first £70,000 raised, we have already:

• Completed planning and design
  
• Laid foundations and completed all groundwork
  
• Built the full structural frame of the retreat wing
  
• Tiled the roof, started the brickwork and ordered windows

Current Phase

With the structure now complete and windows ordered, we have started Phase 2: Enclosure and Fit-Out. The roof has been installed, the bricks are going up, and interior preparation is in progress. Our next fundraising goal is £70,000 to bring this phase to completion ensuring a watertight building ready for final fit-out and decorations, with hopes to complete in 2026.

Join us — Support the final build!

We’re in the final stages of turning this shared vision into reality — and your support can help bring it to life. Together, we’re creating a space for transformation — shaped by community, grounded in purpose.

​Whether through time, skills, materials or financial contributions, there are many ways to get involved.​

Make a Donation
Every contribution helps us reach our next milestone and finish the build.

Donate

Offer In-Kind Contributions

Donate materials, furnishings, or equipment to help reduce costs.

Make an In-Kind Gift

Volunteer with Us

Join our team of volunteers supporting the next phase of construction.

Volunteer

Join our Book-to-Build Campaign!

Be one of the first to stay at the new retreat wing! For a suggested donation of £700, you can reserve a 7-night stay and support the project in a meaningful way.

Book to Build Campaign

Book to Build Campaign