How (and Why) to Create Your Own Walking Writing Retreat

Here is an unusual idea for your next writing retreat: a walking writing retreat. Combine an independent walking tour with a self-directed writing retreat. Days have a clear structure. Walk to the next destination, or on your rest day, sit at the desk and write. Free your mind to a flow of ideas or a restful emptiness that later fills with creativity.

(I Attended My First Writing Retreat; Here's What I Learned.)

Walking has always been a tool for writers. You may already use short strolls to take a break from the desk or a longer wander to work through an intractable knot in your novel. A walk in your neighborhood may sharpen your powers of observation, while a hike away from the city could inspire new directions in your writing. Henry David Thoreau and William Wordsworth are particularly famous literary walkers. Writers whose books are about walking, such as Bruce Chatwin, Robert Macfarlane, Rebecca Solnit, and Raynor Winn, found book-length inspiration on foot.

Writing retreats are usually centered in one place. A walking writing retreat moves you and your writing ambitions or project forward, literally step by step. A self-guided walking trip, whether by yourself or with selected others, offers freedom and flexibility to choose dates that suit you and an itinerary tailored to your preferences and often budget. Add in the key elements of a DIY writing retreat, and you are off.

Recently I spent 11 days on my own walking writing retreat, following Offa’s Dyke Path which wiggles back and forth across the border between Wales and England. Days 1 and 11 were arrival or departure, I had rest days in Monmouth and Hay-on-Wye and for seven days I walked. I loved the rhythm of scanning for trail markers, opening and closing innumerable gates, eating my pack lunch with a view of deep valleys traced by hedgerows between pastures and fields, the joy of birdsong and butterflies, the horror and heartbreak of a dying lamb. Most walking days I managed at least a brief Morning Pages. On the trail I stopped to scribble thoughts or a potential paragraph into my notebook. I got a good start to a new chapter and mulled a nagging question on what the narrative arc of my book could be.

Plan the walking first. Where would you like to go, for how long and when? Alone or with others? It is possible to plan the logistics yourself, booking your own accommodation and organizing luggage transfer. Self-guided walking tour operators make this easier and are cheaper than group and guided walking trips. I booked through a Welsh company which modified their standard itinerary to add in the rest days.

The choice of where can be overwhelming. For its size, North America has few long-distance paths with accommodation at regular intervals. A search for inn-to-inn hikes in the USA provided suggestions in New Hampshire, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Arizona. There are terrific options in Vermont, Quebec, or Newfoundland. Suitable walking routes crisscross Europe and the United Kingdom. The choice can be overwhelming: Focus on a country or region that attracts you and look for paths there. Research beyond social media. Look at walking guidebooks. Most European countries have a national trail organization and official tourism websites have links. I chose Offa’s Dyke Path because I was going to be in England for other reasons, it is not over-touristed and I loved the literary linkages to passing Tintern Abbey praised in a poem by Wordsworth and spending time in Hay-on-Wye, of Hay Festival and bookshop fame.

Details matter, especially the walking distance between accommodations. Be realistic. Better to plan on less than discover that you can’t go the distance. There are a few details that I will be checking before booking future tours. It never occurred to me that there might not be desks in every room. Or that Wi-Fi was unreliable at best in a few locations. Finding food that was not highly processed and included fresh vegetables took up too much time.

Clarity of objectives and realistic goals are essential for any writing retreat, stationary or mobile. List yours. Is it writing a certain number of words a day or a deep dive into editing? Researching a new idea for a book or an article you want to explore? Now review against the walking plans.

My retreat suffered from conflicting objectives. I wanted the challenge of walking big distances over many days. I succeeded, but that satisfying tiredness meant that I was not up to writing after I reached the inn. For my next walking writing retreat, I will plan shorter walking distances and build in more rest-writing days.

Find a balance between selecting a location that appeals to you but is not so interesting that you spend more time sightseeing than working. I was very productive on my rest day in Monmouth. In Hay-on-Wye I got too distracted by all the bookshops and trying to find a real salad to get as much done as I wanted.

I am a fan of packing light, but I negotiated the transfer of two suitcases for my retreat. I wanted to bring notebooks, my laptop, and research books. I carried more changes of clothing than I normally would. I did not want to spend time finding laundromats when I could be writing or coaxing handwashing to dry when I was staying one night. I made sure that I could get to the start location easily—adding a few hours of writing time to the retreat and setting the tone that I was here with a purpose.

If you have never done a walking tour before, do some training in walking longer distances. In the shoes or boots you plan to take. Consider staying two nights in the start location. Spend that first day getting used to navigating: learning to spot signage, read paper or online maps, understand the style of written directions or guidebooks. If it is a foreign country, get an e-sim card or pay the roaming fees to ensure that you have data on the trail. Read all the material sent to you by the tour operator and load any recommended apps on your phone in advance. Know the local emergency call number. This translates to less stress on the trail, more mental room for deep thoughts or the joy of walking.

Be prepared for different weather and trail conditions. Make sure your day pack is big enough for a raincoat and extra layers, but don’t overfill it. I use dry bags (like for a canoe or kayak trip) to compartmentalize pack contents and especially keep the precious notebooks dry. Be open to the unexpected. The terrible experience of the lamb led to a draft submission for literary magazines.

I am starting to plan my walking writing retreat for next year. It will be in the Dordogne Valley in southwestern France. I will explore a trail that meanders with the river, passing through golden limestone villages, under high cliffs, around castles, through walnut groves. There are many hotels with desks in the rooms to choose from. The food will be excellent. And I will write.