Our Mission

Encountering Christ through creation, community and challenging activities...

It is our aim that every young person who visits us will grow closer to God, encountering Christ in many different ways. We know that the most special way in which we encounter Jesus is through mass, through being with him in prayer and in the sacrament of the eucharist. All of our residential retreats provide young people with many opportunities to pray and reflect, including small group night prayer where young people are invited to prayer openly each night, and the celebration of mass on the second evening. These times of prayer, where our retreatants can come together as a community, are truly special moments where they encounter Christ. 
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The castle's beautiful setting, perched at the top of the Churnet Valley, provides an opportunity for the young people who visit to experience God's wondrous creation and the beauty of the world in which we all live. They have opportunities to go out into the countryside, encountering Christ through creation.
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Our residential retreats are unique in the way the experience of creation, and times of community prayer, are woven through challenging activities. Retreatants are pushed to trust in each other, to work together, and to conquer challenges as the encounter Christ in each other and in the activities they take part in.

What we offer

​​Here at the Castle we offer two main residential retreat programmes: a KS2 (Years 5 and 6) Discipleship Retreat, and a KS3 (Years 7 and 8) 'Called' Retreat. Both programmes combine times of prayer, meditation and reflection, with outdoor adventurous activities. Young people who visit us get to spend two nights in our breath-taking 19th century castle, taking part in a range of challenging activities, and encountering Christ in many ways, particularly through the celebration of mass together in our beautiful church.

To see a typical retreat timetable, or to find answers to our FAQs, head to our 'Manage Your Trip' page.

 Discipleship

The theme for our KS2 retreats is: 'discipleship'. On retreat, young people will reflect upon the qualities they need to have as a disciple, and how they can be more like Jesus in the way they act. Within each of the activities we do, we pause for a time of meditation where retreatants think about the qualities a disciple needs to be a good follower of Jesus. We link these with Jesuit Pupil Profile virtues used by Birmingham Diocese schools, to draw connection between the retreat experience and school/everyday life.

 Called

The theme for our KS3 retreats is 'called'. Young people on retreat think about their unique purpose and calling from God and how they can use their gifts and talents to answer that call. Within each of the activities we do, we pause for a time of meditation where retreatants think about their callings, and how they can be attentive to this call in all elements of their day-to-day lives.

Activities

Hover over each image to read a little bit about the activities young people can do when they come on retreat. On every retreat we offer just a selection of these activities, suited to the age range of the young people on the retreat.