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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Lucy Clarke

How a solo retreat helped relight my creative fire

Splendid isolation: alone in Devon, Lucy Clarke found some much-needed head space.
Splendid isolation: alone in Devon, Lucy Clarke found some much-needed head space. Photograph: Lucy Clarke

As the windscreen wipers cut back and forth, and my house disappeared in the rear-view mirror, I wondered if I was going to cry. I tried reminding myself that I was on my way to do something lovely: I’d booked a three-night stay at a hotel in Devon to work on my novel: my first ever solo writing retreat.

I was driving away from a world of chaos, leaving my seven-year-old weeping at the front door, my nine-year-old worrying about a science project, my mother-in-law unexpectedly in hospital, and my husband juggling it all.

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