Wild Stories
A Retreat for those Looking to Inspire Change
with Martha Tilston & Andy Raingold
Wed 3rd to Sun 7th Sept at Dartmoor National Park, Devon
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"The seeds for a life changing experience. A coming home."
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"A sweet marriage of nature, community, song and creativity."
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"I felt I found my voice. Thank you for holding a safe space."
The Craft of Stories: A Retreat for those Looking to Inspire Change
Stories shape how we see the world—and how the world sees us.
Join us for an immersive storytelling retreat where you’ll craft stories that inspire, deepen connections and build your capacity to drive meaningful change. Through guided workshops, reflective nature experiences and hands-on practice, you’ll learn to:
Find and shape compelling narratives that resonate with others (for both personal and professional contexts)
Build confidence in sharing your voice
Harness storytelling as a tool for influence and transformation
Share stories that make a difference.
What is Wild Stories?
An immersive learning journey to find your authentic voice and inspire others. Through creating an oasis of calm, connection and curiosity, this retreat takes a deep dive into story. We create the space to stop and listen in nature so that you can touch the stories in your heart and develop your capacity to tell these stories to a range of audiences to inspire and weave change. There will be lots of invitations to create in different ways, trying a number of different creative doorways to your stories - including sharing myth around the fire, song, poetry, creative writing, unlocking imagination, activating hope and lots of laughter.
Why stories?
“What might save us from the consequences of our blindness may not be wave machines or wind farms, treaties or political movements – but stories.” Paul Kingsnorth
We are at a pivotal moment in human civilization, living in a time of monumental transformation and challenge. How do we meet our concerns and fears, while also weaving a more hopeful, caring and beautiful world around us? We feel that the stories we tell are an essential part of the answer. The old stories of who we are and how to live are giving way to new stories of regeneration and interconnection. Let us remember what we truly value and conjure new ways of being that allow life - in all its forms - to flourish. Our intention here is to accelerate new, inspiring stories for our communities, our species and our world.
Who is it for?
You do not need to be an aspiring storyteller to come to this experience. We are all storytellers. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are telling stories every day, in our offices and kitchens, on our streets and footpaths, in our dreams and social media posts. This course is for anyone - professionals, community organisers, activists, artists, social entrepreneurs and all those who are curious - who are looking to harness the incredible potential of story and creativity to inspire positive change in people’s lives.
What will you come away with?
The intention is for you to develop:
Skills and experience for using stories to deliver messages that affect audiences and shape attitudes for change
Connection to your authentic self
Stories to activate hope (drawing on the work of Joanna Macy) and connection (drawing on the work of Charles Eisenstien and others)
Communication skills to engage different audiences
Deep listening skills and techniques
Tools for creative thinking and writing
Seeking the wisdom and guidance of nature - and transmitting this to others through the stories you tell
Inspiration, confidence and ideas to apply the learning into your professional and personal life with bundles of creativity
A deeper personal connection with nature
Your capacity to create the change you would like to see in the world.
“An equal focus on personal discovery and the craft of stories… The whole experience was transformational and unforgettable with masterful facilitation and space holding.”
“Life-changing… Really helped with confidence building and ideas stirring.”
the facilitators
Andy Raingold: Change maker, speaker and nature facilitator
As Co-Founder and Director of Change in Nature, Andy supports people and organisations to make meaningful action in this pivotal time. He is a facilitator, coach, speaker, environmental campaigner and social entrepreneur with a wealth of experience leading people through transformation. Throughout his career, he has used story as a key medium to drive social change. For over seven years, he worked in the corridors of power with CEOs, Government Ministers and thought leaders to drive environmental change - giving talks, writing articles, publshing high level political reports and becoming a key social influencer. At Change in Nature, he facilitates deeper connection through creativity, imagination, myth, deep time stories and embodied practices to radicaly shift perspectives. In 2018, he hosted a regular storytelling fireside evening in Bristol. He has written for the Guardian and been interviewed on BBC Newsnight, The Sunday Times, BBC Radio 4, The Independent and Guardian Environment Podcast.
martha tilston: Musician, writer, director and actress
Martha Tilston has developed a successful musical and film making career with a large and loyal following worldwide. She has played her music on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and festivals and released several critically acclaimed albums. In the world of film making, Martha has gained nominations for best arts film for The Clifftop Sessions and recently released her feature film The Tape which she writes, directs and performs in. Martha also studied theatre and lectures in song writing, performance and the telling of story through song. Her passion is unlocking the creativity and story in all of us.
Course Objectives
In addition to any personal learning objectives, we aim for you to develop:
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"The past few fays are what I will think of when people ask me to describe my perfect week."
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"You will forget what life was outside of this place and become who you were always meant to be."
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"A rich, loving, grounded and inspirational space for creativity and open heartedness."
Book now to secure your place
All of our training courses have been heavily oversubscribed in the last few years, so early booking is recommended
Arrivals from noon on Wednesday (for a 1.30pm start) and it finishes at 1pm on Sunday.
We are currently offering a limited number of early bird places saving £150 on the full course fee. Book now and pay £495 (low income £450). We offer these early birds at a highly discounted rate as this helps us to plan in advance more effectively.
We don't want price to exclude anyone. If the course fee is unaffordable for you, we would really like to hear what might be possible for you. We offer a number of bursary places - please click here to apply for one of these.
Let us know if you would like to pay in instalments.
The course fee includes all teaching, as well as all dinners and breakfasts + lunch on Saturday (you bring your own packed lunches for Thursday and Friday).
The venue is near Moretonhamstead, Devon. There will be shared taxis from Newton Abbot if you are taking the train. The train from London takes two and a half hours. This is a camping experience, so please bring a tent and all your camping gear. Camper vans also welcome!
Please read our terms & conditions before booking.
“Raw, pure nature and sober celebration. I rediscovered connection with many parts of my life.”
“I feel making music for me has taken a next step. The support of experienced musicians and singers was life changing.”
“I feel I have gained the confidence to write songs and believe in my creative process.”
“If you have a song in your heart, or if you would like to find one, then this is your place.”
“It has been a life-changing experience for me… I have never written a song before and now I have.”
The facilitators
Martha Tilston
Martha Tilston has developed a successful musical and film making career with a large and loyal following worldwide. She has played her music on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and festivals and released several critically acclaimed albums. In the world of film making, Martha has gained nominations for best arts film for The Clifftop Sessions and recently released her feature film The Tape which she writes, directs and performs in. Martha also studied theatre and lectures in song writing, performance and the telling of story through song. Nature is a big influence in the songs that Martha writes and the way she chooses to live.
Andy Raingold
Andy is a coach, facilitator, speaker, reslience practitioner and social entrepeneur who inspires transformative change. He has been guiding immersive nature experiences and personal development programmes since founding Change in Nature in 2015. His work includes guiding transformative nature experiences, teaching facilitation skills, leadership training, enhancing creativity, crafting new stories for social change and supporting progressive businesses and organisations to “think differently”. He has worked and studied with wisdom keepers and elders from different traditions; as well as supporting and learning from a number of marginalised communities around the world (including Syrian refugees in Greece and San Bushmen in Namibia).
The Location
We make our camp in a secluded and magical 62 acre woodland in Dartmoor National Park, which is a rewilding site for nature and people. The site is rich in natural habitats, in badger setts, deer beds and fox dens, including an ancient beech grove, spruce forests, hazel coppice, wild flower meadows, a stream and mixed broadleaves. The site is home to an abundance of wildlife and rare birds, including nightjar, wood pipits and the mythical white deer. It is the ultimate escape from modern living with no electricity, road noise or wifi, and replaced with a sky full of stars and the sound of birdsong all around and owls calling at night.
We create a temporary village with fire pits, sheltered spaces, compost toilets and wild camping spots to provide an authentic, yet comfortable, experience in nature. We cook all our meals over an open fire, provide a smattering of solar powered fairy lights and fetch our water from the stream. At the center of it all is the White Deer Lodge, a large covered shelter where we gather in the evenings. A place where the old stories are told and heartfelt songs are sung. The site also has the best swing in the world!