Do you need to fill up your own cup? If the idea of letting go of roles and responsibilities for a weekend just sounds like heaven, then this compassion retreat is for you.

Although we will be touching on compassion for others, our main focus will be self-compassion. We all need to rest and restore sometimes, in order to continue giving. Self-compassion as a practice teaches us how to do this in the deepest and most efficient way.

Nature can be an unconditional refuge from the complexities of life. What better way to fill your own cup than to practice compassion in nature!

You will leave this weekend with:

• Several self-compassion practices that you can turn to in the midst of life in order to develop resilience
• More connection with yourself and what makes you happy
• An understanding of the need to balance compassion for others with compassion for self, along with the knowhow to be able to begin afresh with this in mind
• Practices that ground you in the body with mindfulness, combined with practices that use the power of the imagination to connect you with compassion

This is an introduction to the practice of compassion for everyone, taught by experienced mindfulness teacher Jacky Seery. The weekend can be taken in isolation as a retreat or as a refresher for those with experience already. It is a perfect way to begin your training in mindfulness with lots of follow-on options available if you want to continue.

The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

Tutor: Jacky Seery

Dates: 15-16 August 2026

Price: Weekend – £185.00

Times: The course will run from 10.00am-17.00pm on Saturday and 10.00- 16.00pm on Sunday.

Venue: Crichton Central, The Crichton, Bankend Road, Dumfries, DG1 4TA.  For more details about the Crichton please click here.

The cafe in Crichton Central is open for food/drinks from 10am until 4pm (last food orders being 3.30pm) and the Bistro in Easterbrook Hall serves food Thursday-Sunday 11am-4pm. Please find the Bistro menu attached here and the cafe menu here to see all the options.

There is an on-site Bankend Bar & Brasserie Holiday Inn, for room rates and availability please click here. Breakfast is served between 7.00am and 10.30am on a weekend and 7.00am- 10.00am on weekdays and dinner between 17.00pm and 21.30pm. There are over 200 complimentary car parking spaces for hotel guests.

There is a room rate for Mindfulness Association participants. Please ring the Holiday Inn (01387 272410) and quote ‘Mindfulness Association’ the room rate is £105.00 per night B&B single occupancy and £110.00 per night B&B double occupancy.

Please click here for the evening menu at the Holiday Inn, tables are available to book via the website. Please find here a list of alternative accommodation in the area and there is also Air B & B and booking.com. These are purely suggestions, not personal recommendations.

There is free car parking outside Crichton Central and in the large car park outside Easterbrook Hall. Electric charging points and cycle racks are available outside Crichton Central and across the estate. The number 5 bus route from Dumfries town centre takes you from Great King Street to The Crichton Campus. The venue is a 10-minute car ride from Dumfries train station and 45 minutes from the M6.

Accessible parking spaces and a Changing Places Toilet are available at the venue.

There is a 12 metre swimming pool, sauna and steamroom which is open daily from 7am-8pm. Booking is essential and you can pay as you go if you are not staying as a guest, please just book at the Bistro.

Booking: To book this course please click Book Here.