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Venue & Accommodation:
Le Moulin de Beteuil now known as The Mill Retreat Centre was
discovered by Kolinka Zinovieff in 2007, in a very run down and
dilapidated state. He fell in love at first with the lake besides the
Mill and then saw it’s wonderful and exciting potential - much of the
grounds were very overgrown, like an ancient impenetrable thicket.
Originally the Mill was built in 1846 as a Camembert cheese factory
The river was used to power a hydro electric turbine to facilitate the
cheese mixing process. This turbine is located underneath the west end
of the house. A leat was built to divert the water from the river to the
Mill which powers the turbine. Kolinka is in the process of renovating
this 1880 turbine which has an extremely unusual and rare design. It has
a vertical axis and the turbine wheel is permanently underwater, so it
cannot be seen even when it when it is in action. Even though it was
built 130 years ago, the design and efficiency of this turbine is nearly
as good as a modern design, give or take 10%; an extraordinary feat of
the European 1800’s industrial revolution. The goal is to have the
project finished and the Mill to be carbon neutral by 2011
It was used by the previous owners as a holiday school, by a group of
parents with children with learning difficulties.
A team of builders arrived in 2008 to renovate the whole Mill and
convert the attic. The six additional bedrooms plus the stunning
workshop space/meeting room has really turned the building into an
exceptional retreat venue.
Kolinka’s vision for the Centre is for it to be used by groups who
are doing work for the common good, and hold the highest ethical
standards.
Food:
is given special attention. Organic and locally sourced wherever
possible. The
delicious, vegetarian food is freshly made by renowned chef,
Julie. Special dietary requirements can be catered for.
The
accommodation at the Mill Retreat Centre consists
of an impressive Mill house with room for up to 35 people in 17
bedrooms.
The first floor is where most of the bedrooms are, together with
the (shared) bathrooms.
On the second floor there are further bedrooms/bathrooms.
There is a triple bedroom on the ground floor. Pawel Rel the
caretaker and engineer refurbishing the mill wheel lives on site in
rooms attached to the main house. Two bedrooms are reserved for
staff.
The centre is comfortable, warm and only one group is ever there
at a time. Barbara and Mike know how important is is to provide a
safe and nuturing environment in which groups can flourish.
Both Mike and Barbara are experienced teachers themselves and aim
to provide a venue fully equipped for the needs of facilitators of a
great number of courses and activites. The standards of
accommodation are high and we will always consider ways in which
your hire of the centre can be improved.
The Mill is run as a centre for retreats and although we like to
think that you will be well supported, we are not an hotel. We
provide a friendlier and more homely environment than a hotel, where
people help out a little during their stay and get a sense of
participation whilst they are here. Just simple things like washing
up (or at least helping to load or unload the very efficient dish
washer), keeping the place tidy and stripping beds at the end of
your stay. (We will remake them).
more about the venue
 
Yoga Our
weekend will begin on Friday evening at 6.00 pm with a gentle asana
practice and the deep relaxation of yoga nidra, followed by dinner at
8.00 pm. After breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, we will practise from 10.00 am to
12.30 pm (asana, pranayama and meditation). After lunch you will be
free to explore the surrounding areas or have a massage or read and
relax and have a nap. Our afternoon class will be from 5.00 to 7.00 pm, and
will introduce more pranayama and meditation techniques. Saturday dinner
will be at 7.30 pm. Monday morning’s class will be from 10.00 am to 1.00
pm, and will again incorporate asana, pranayama and meditation.
Our weekend will finish with Monday lunch, but you are welcome to stay
for a while during the afternoon if you wish to chill out for a bit
longer! Classes will
be suitable for all levels of experience, except complete beginners to
yoga
Treatments a
range of holistic treatments will be available.
click
here for more information (TBC)
Travel
TBA
What to bring:
yoga mat, bolster and eye pad easy to get them at www.yogamatters.com. Also bring walking shoes, wellies if you have them
waterproof jacket a good book and whatever else you think appropriate.
... and your lovely smile :)
Prices:
TBA please email
shantiyoga@gmail.com or signup for the
newsletter to have more updates about this or other retreats events
and special offers.
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