A retreat is your chance to step aside from life for a while, to rest and just 'be' in a welcoming, peaceful place.
Retreat Centre Description
At Sarum College we offer ecumenical space for reflection about how people can live together generatively for the common good where all can flourish.
We explore wholeness and the values which empower us to share well-being especially as they relate to issues such as health, equality, disability, sexuality, age, creativity and love.
Sarum is blessed with one of the most beautiful locations in the country, underpinned by a warm welcome, generous hospitality and great food. Our location in Salisbury Cathedral Close, in buildings where theology has been taught for more than 160 years, along with a supportive community of learning allows time for reflection and contemplation, which is such a rarity in our otherwise busy lives. We are a five-minute walk from the High Street with shops, cafes and a twice-weekly market. There are excellent cultural venues within the Close.
We offer a range of services, including library access, and sessions for spiritual direction or mentoring.
Sarum College does not want finance to be a barrier to anyone who wishes to take part in our programme. We offer a limited number of bursaries for those who would be unable to participate without financial support. Visit our website for more information: https://www.sarum.ac.uk/grantmaking-trusts/
Accommodation on Offer
Forty-one of our 53 guest bedrooms are ensuite. We have two accessible bedrooms. Wren bedrooms at the front of the College have uninterrupted views of the Cathedral, several others have lovely views overlooking the rooftops of the Close and spire. Rooms are single, double and twin; all have tea and coffee-making facilities. None have televisions.
The lift gives access to all the floors. Butterfield Chapel is a lovely 19th century chapel open to visitors when not in use for worship and events. There is also a common room with easy chairs and licensed bar for guest use, as well as a specialist library open to the public.
There are several meeting rooms, the largest of which holds approximately 80 people. Food is freshly made onsite with a range of options and catering to a range of dietary requirements.
Retreat Centre Facilities
Please see website for retreat centre facilities
Types of Retreat Offered
Please see website for retreats offered
2025 Events
The Sarum Course in Spiritual Direction offers an online format that begins on March 18, 2025. The onsite format begins September 2025. Both formats are designed to fit around other responsibilities. Details on our website: www.sarum.ac.uk/learning/spiritual-direction/
2025 Short Courses (please note that new courses are being added, and this is just a selection of courses listed on our website course calendar, www.sarum.ac.uk/short-courses )
15 January, Rule of Life Lunch (£40, 1st of 4 session in series)
28 January, Women, Ecotheology and the Global South (£40)
30 January, Sarum Study Day (£35)
Take time to carve out an intentional space for self-directed reading, reflection and creativity. Also offered in the same format 23 June and 4 November)
17-20 February, Text, Interpretation and Imagination (from £495)
17-20 February, Modern and Postmodern Perspectives on Christian Spirituality (from £495)
26 February, Theology and the Menopause (£40)
24 March, What is Old Age for? (£70)
26 March, King Lear and the Life of Faith (£70)
7-10 April, Popular Culture and Digital Media (from £495)
29 April, Celebrating Extraordinary Ordinary Time (£40)
12 - 15 May, Texts and the Christian Tradition (from £495)
August Summer language weeks: Greek in a Week and Introduction to Biblical Hebrew
13 - 16 October Foundations and Forms of Christian Spirituality
13 - 16 October Theology & Human Culture
17 - 20 November, Spirituality, Health and Wellbeing
Don't miss out - sign up for our monthly enewsletter. https://www.sarum.ac.uk/newsletter
Retreat Centre Location
19 The Close, Salisbury SP1 2EE, UK
2026 Events
The Sarum Course in Spiritual Direction
The aim of the Spiritual Direction programme is to work in the formation of people to begin the task of competent, well-informed, thoughtful and reflective spiritual direction.
The course is designed to model and reflect the nature and values of spiritual direction at every level throughout your time at Sarum and is delivered in residential, mixed mode and online formats to accommodate access requirements and learning preferences. Designed to provide a balanced learning environment, the programme blends personal and spiritual formation with skills development.
Find out more on our website: https://www.sarum.ac.uk/learning/spiritual-direction/ or email Educational Administrator, Clair James: cjames@sarum.ac.uk
Exploring Theology Programme
"Tough questions, great conversations & no easy answers."
This flagship online theology course offers intellectually rigorous, interactive, and accessible learning for anyone who wishes to delve deeper into the world of theology and Biblical studies outside of a formal degree programme. No prior academic theological study is necessary, just curiosity!
Exploring Theology is a two-year course with three 10-week terms designed so that students can join at any time with no obligation to commit to successive terms and years.
Year A (beginning Sept 2025) focuses on Exploring the Bible, serving to equip students with knowledge and tools to read and encounter the Scriptures faithfully and fruitfully in their own lives. The Spring term begins on 13th January and runs every Tuesday 7pm-9pm. It provides an introduction to the New Testament and then the Summer term focusses on the various ways in which we read, interpret, understand, and make meaning of the Bible.
Here are a selection of our courses for 2026. New courses are being added all the time: see you website for further details of these and other courses: https://www.sarum.ac.uk/short-courses/
January
12-15 Greek and Hebrew Reading Weeks
29 Sarum Study Day. An ideal opportunity for busy people to take some time to carve out an intentional space for self-directed reading, reflection and creativity. We offer a framework, companionship and excellent hospitality that will help you to both relax and focus. Onsite 10am-4pm.
February
5 Doing justice. Explore the power of spirituality to transform us so that we can transform social structures and social consciousness. Onsite 10am-4pm with Rachel Lampard.
9-12 Modern & Postmodern Perspectives on Christian Spirituality. An excellent introduction to the forms and types of spirituality in the Christian tradition from the Reformations to the present day. Postgraduate course open to all held onsite at Sarum College over a few days with Dr Michael Hahn & guest tutors.
17 Reading Scripture Together. Onsite 10am-4pm with Rabbi Shoshana Boyd-Gelfand & Dr Jayme Reaves.
26 Can Preaching learn from Stand-Up Comedy? A playful day of theory and practice exploring how skills and approaches from stand-up comedy might challenge and help preaching. Onsite 10am-4pm with Ian Macdonald.
March
10-11 Poetry Retreat. Onsite over two days with Canon Dr Manon James.
24 Spiritual Landscapes. Spirituality, landscape & the environment. Is there anything more vital to write about today? Onsite 10am-4pm with Richard Skinner.
26 Jesus and the Pharisees. Take a new look at the Pharisees taking account of the latest historical research; might they be creative dialogue partners rather than ‘baddies’? Onsite 10am-4pm with Dr Ann Conway-Jones.
April
20-23 Themes in medieval Christian Spirituality. Examine the role of women in this Western Medieval Schools of Christian Spirituality and evaluate their contributions to the mysticism and politics of the period; learn about medieval spirituality in the broader context of medieval theological developments and explore key Christian spiritual texts from this period. Postgraduate course open to all held onsite at Sarum College over a few days with Dr Michael Hahn & guest tutors.
May
13 Exploring the book of Acts. Onsite 10am-4pm with Rev. Simon Woodman.
18-21 Texts and the Christian Tradition. Exploring a specific text, either from the Bible or the Christian spiritual tradition. Critically engage with the text using particular lenses with enable deeper consideration of its meaning, significance, impact and longevity for the Christian spiritual tradition, its adherents, and/or the wider cultural context. Postgraduate course open to all held onsite at Sarum College over a few days with Dr Michael Hahn & guest tutors.
June
3 Reading the Bible: Meaning & Truth. Back to basics: what do we think we are doing when we read the Bible? How do we extract meaning from it, and what sort of truth do we expect to find? Take a look at the very different ways in which historical scholars, Christians, and Jews approach the Bible. Onsite 10am-4pm with Dr Ann Conway-Jones.
18 Reading Scripture Together. Onsite 10am-4pm with Rabbi Shoshana Boyd-Gelfand & Dr Jayme Reaves.
22 Sarum Study Day. An ideal opportunity for busy people to take some time to carve out an intentional space for self-directed reading, reflection and creativity. We offer a framework, companionship and excellent hospitality that will help you to both relax and focus. Onsite 10am-4pm.
July
Courses coming soon.
August
9-14 Hebrew in a week. 6-day intensive course.
10-15 Greek in a week. 6-day intensive course.
September
17 Reading Scripture Together. Onsite 10am-4pm with Rabbi Shoshana Boyd-Gelfand & Dr Jayme Reaves.
October
8 Exploring the non-Pauline epistles. Onsite 10am-4pm with Rev Simon Woodman.
November
10 Sarum Study Day. An ideal opportunity for busy people to take some time to carve out an intentional space for self-directed reading, reflection and creativity. We offer a framework, companionship and excellent hospitality that will help you to both relax and focus. Onsite 10am-4pm.
December
2 Reading Scripture Together. Onsite 10am-4pm with Rabbi Shoshana Boyd-Gelfand & Dr Jayme Reaves.
Sarum College
19 The Close, Salisbury SP1 2EE, UK