A Year of Deepening - and What's Taking Shape Ahead. Our year of learning - what makes the best art retreats in the UK, and looking forward to hosting more painting holidays in Devon.

As we embark on a New Year, I’ve been reflecting on what has quietly unfolded at Lone Pine Retreats over the last twelve months — not just in terms of dates and bookings, but in depth, texture and intention.

Last year felt less about expansion for its own sake, and more about refinement. About listening more carefully — to guests, to the land, and to our own instincts about what truly nourishes people when they step away from everyday life. We set ourselves a task to create the very best art retreats in the UK, and we are steadily getting closer to achieving our goal.

The retreats themselves became slower, more spacious. Conversations lingered longer at the table. Creative work softened and deepened. There was a noticeable shift away from “doing” and towards being — something many guests arrived craving, even if they didn’t yet have the words for it.

That grounding has shaped everything that’s coming next.

Looking Ahead: A Full and Focused Year, learning how to create the best art retreat experience in the UK that we possibly can.

The year ahead is our most considered retreat calendar to date, with 12 Lone Pine Retreats painting holidays in Devon scheduled at Seaview Villa in Lynmouth, and four already sold out. Rather than feeling rushed or stretched, it feels — reassuringly — aligned.

Each retreat has been curated with clarity: clear themes, generous pacing, and space for people to arrive exactly as they are. No pressure to perform. No expectation to transform overnight. Just well-held days, thoughtful food, creative immersion, and rest that genuinely restores.

What’s been especially encouraging is how guests are finding Lone Pine now — often returning, or arriving through word of mouth. There’s a shared understanding forming around what’s offered here: not novelty, but depth and substance, with first class art tutors, and experienced hosting.

Seaview Villa is 300 years old, and full of character and quirks. We continue to strive for excellence, and most recently we have fully renovated two bathrooms, improving both comfort and flow for guests. Renovation, like retreat work, is about restraint as much as change. Knowing when something needs attention - and when it already holds its own quiet beauty. There's more to come, but always at a pace that respects the house, and the experience it offers.

The Sauna: Warmth, Stillness, and Real Benefits of relaxing Painting Holidays in Devon

One of the most quietly transformative additions to the art retreat experience in Devon, has been the sauna. While it has a certain romance — steam rising against the Devon air — its impact goes far beyond atmosphere. Regular sauna use is linked to:

• Improved circulation and cardiovascular health

• Deep muscular relaxation and reduced joint stiffness

• Nervous system regulation, supporting better sleep and stress reduction

• A gentle detoxification process through sweating

• A sense of ritual — a pause — that many of us have lost in daily life

Used alongside cold water immersion, it becomes less about endurance and more about contrast: warmth and release, followed by clarity and calm. Guests on often say the sauna is where they how much tension they’ve been carrying.

Several of our upcoming painting holidays in Devon, include guided sauna and cold water sessions — details can be provided upon request.

A Quiet Confidence Going Forward, Hosting Painting Holidays in the UK

If there’s a word for how Lone Pine feels now, it might be settled — not static, but rooted.

The year ahead will be full, but it will also be spacious in the ways that matter: time to welcome people properly, to cook well, to notice small details, and to keep refining what already works on our quest to create the very best art retreats in the UK.

Thank you to everyone who has walked through the door this year — whether for an art retreat, a stay, or simply a moment of pause. We're looking forward to what the next chapter brings, and to sharing it with you.

If you’re feeling the pull for time away — for warmth, stillness, good food, creative space and deep rest — the retreat calendar is now live : www.seaviewvilla.net/boutique-retreats