A Cabin of their own: Inside a Welsh writers retreat

Gosia Buzzanca

A wooden cabin stands just three miles outside of Machynlleth, over the road from where a forest once grew. The cabin is made out of trees that were felled there.

Julia Forster and her partner saw an opportunity to create something out of the raw materials.

She said: “We ended up buying and processing over twenty tonnes of larch on site with a mobile sawmill to construct the Cabin.”

The Cabin is now a writer’s getaway, but more than just a place to stay. It’s intentionally built as a place for solitude, exploration and creativity.

Julia told me: “My dream job was to run a creative writing centre.

“Over the years, I’d worked not only in publishing and as a practising author, but also on several writer development projects, including co-directing Being A Writer for The Literary Consultancy in London and co-conceiving the New Welsh Writing Awards back in 2015.

“I’d been a writing mentor for many years, but I took the opportunity over lockdown to train as a coach, and I’ve specialised in coaching authors.”

All these experiences combined into creating a unique, blended offer at the Writers’ Cabin.

“I suppose this project comes at a time where I’m maturing as a creative practitioner, and it’s nice to feel I can give something back to the writing community by hosting writers on retreat here,” Julia added.

Writers can arrive to spend time in solitude, developing their work or just reconnecting with their creativity. The surrounding nature helps. So does the sauna with the sweeping views of the Crewi valley.

And guests staying during the week can make the most out of Julia’s expertise and book an optional author coaching session, too.

Writers often struggle to find space and focus when writing at home. My own ideas came to me during two separate weeks I have spent in Ty Newydd Writing Centre.

I’ve asked Julia what she thinks is the reason behind it, and how writers can overcome it.

She laughed: “I am one of these writers!

“‘Allow housework to reach bio-hazard levels’ was one of the mantras I had to adopt when struggling to finish my second book, a novel called What a Way to Go which was published in 2016.

“Some things just have to give. I knew that the stakes were high when I had a car accident a couple of years before I got an agent, and my first thought was not ‘Am I alive?’ but rather, ‘I can’t die yet, I haven’t finished my novel.’

“Over the years, I’ve adapted strategies to combat the challenge of finding space and focus at home.

“This has included adapting my creative practice to short-form work – during the past ten years, and while my children went through high school, I switched to writing poetry instead of prose and my third book, out in 2027, will be a poetry collection.

“Writing poetry was far easier to achieve in smaller bite-sized chunks of time, which is often all I had to hand.

“As a coach, I would say that the best lens to bring to this challenge is a curious one. Often the answer to the issue lies within the question.

“It’s not always the case, but sometimes a struggle with finding space and time can be a way to soothe the nervous system; because the creative project matters so much to the individual, this challenge can actually be a way of avoiding something which matters greatly to the writer.

“For others, simply getting out of the house – to a local café, library or, if time and budget allow, to go on a retreat – can work wonders.”

Everything about Writers’ Cabin feels like it would be a perfect spot to restart the creative brain.

It isn’t just an ordinary holiday let. Everything is personable and personalised.

“We make an effort to greet each guest in person and give them a quick tour of the site – forget punching codes into key-safes in the dark!”

Each guest receives a personal prescription of ‘Retreat’ pills by the Poetry Pharmacy. And if Julia knows any details about the author’s work in progress, she will curate the bookshelf with books on craft they might enjoy.

“We live nearby the Cabin and are on call if guests need anything; while it is remote here, you don’t feel completely alone, like you would staying in an anonymous holiday let.”

Julia tells me she enjoys the spirit of independent publishing, and she was published by and worked for small presses, some of which started from a kitchen table.

She carried this spirit of independence into her management of the Cabin.

“I’ve stayed off the major booking platforms so that I can keep my costs as low as possible.

“The alchemy worked.”

Within a few months of opening in 2024, the Writers’ Cabin was named by The Sunday Times as one of the top UK writing retreats.

Julia Forster is also keen on engaging with the literary community of Wales and beyond. She told me about the writer development initiative for underrepresented writers she ran during the Cabin’s launch year.

“Last year, we collaborated with the Welsh National Theatre to host two playwrights to work on their scripts in development.

“Currently we’re in conversation with other writer development agencies to find a way to make the Cabin a place for writers who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to access the space.”

Essentials covered

Julia recalls how, after being on several writer’s retreats herself, she knew exactly what a writer will need when they come to her Writers’ Cabin.

She made sure the cabin has lots of plug sockets near the desk, an ergonomic office chair with adjustable height, a laptop stand, USB keyboard and mouse, a wide variety of teas and good quality coffee as well as lots of comfy seating and snuggly blankets.

Good views also help. As Julia tells me: “The windows and elevation of the Cabin are both positioned such that guests get the most spectacular view of the Tarren mountain range

“This place privileges the views at a writer’s level.”

Another interesting cultural artefact belongs inside the Cabin. The desk by the window that has once belonged to a literary agency in Soho.

Story has it that Bernie Taupin wrote a lyric for Elton John’s Your Song while sitting at it.

“We’ve also commissioned local artisanal makers to create hand-thrown mugs and an everlasting wreath for the Cabin, Julia said.

“These small touches all add up to make the Cabin feel a little bit magical.“

A true labour of love, Writers’ Cabin has hosted scriptwriters, songwriters, novelists, poets and PhD candidates. Writers of all stages of development have sought solace in mid-Wales.

I was curious to know what guests made of the place, and how they felt when it was time to leave.

Julia leafed through the Cabin’s guestbook and selected a handful of entries she felt best captured the experience.

Some writers spoke of arriving alone, yet feeling held by a quiet, supportive sense of community.

Others described coming in feeling lost, not only in their writing but in themselves, and leaving steadier, as though something had realigned within them.

More than one guest wrote of rediscovering faith in their ability to write at all, departing re-energised and inspired.

“The visitors are often happily surprised at how cosy the Cabin is, added Julia.

“We insulated it to a very high specification and as a result, it stays cool in the summer months and retains the heat in winter, while the spa is heated via underfloor heating.”

Cabin’s most recent guest, the romance author Jack Strange, drafted over 18,000 words during the Winter Solstice weekend.

Earlier last year, Clare Mackintosh plotted her next thriller during her writer’s retreat. She embraced nature and went on runs through the quiet lanes surrounding the Cabin, trying to get to know her new protagonists better.

Natural magic

Writers on retreat at the Cabin often find themselves guided by nature.

In spring, swallows nesting in the eaves provide company for those staying alone. The Cabin sits amid a thousand shades of green, on the edge of a dark sky reserve, where the night sky is unspoiled.

Guests often report sleeping more soundly, their nervous systems quietly soothed by the stillness around them.

As I’m ready to look at the availability of the Cabin in spring, Julia shares her closing thoughts: “I hope that the magic of this place lingers in the realms of the writers’ imaginations.

“It’s easy to feel alone in a life of devoted, sustained creative practice, but my wish is that the Cabin, while it offers a place for solo retreats, still captures and emanates the communal spirit of the quixotic collective endeavour which writers all share – to make meaningful art.”

You can book your stay here and follow the Writers’ Cabin on Instagram here.