The Gathering
A Summer Retreat at the Wild Edge
17–23 July | 6 nights | Northern Sweden
The Gathering is a six-night summer retreat held at Bjärkan, in wild northern Sweden, where forest meets mountain and lake.
This gathering takes place at the height of northern summer, when daylight stretches close to twenty hours and the land is fully alive. We meet at the wild edge, where forest gives way to mountain & lake, and where abundance is visible, tangible, and shared.
Summer as Teacher
In the wheel of the four directions, summer and the South invite us into fullness, expression, and connection.
Not as excess, but as nourishment. Not as effort, but as receiving.
This retreat is an invitation to take in what summer offers here:
warmth, beauty, shared presence, movement, laughter, rest, and time.
What is received now becomes a resource that can be carried into seasons of scarcity, contraction, or uncertainty.
Resilience is not only forged in difficulty. It is also cultivated in moments of ease, joy, and relational richness.
The Shape of the Days
The rhythm of The Gathering is intentionally varied. Each day includes land-based practices, a facilitated workshop, alongside shared activities and ample time for integration. There will be plentiful opportunities for exploring the land, lake-swimming and rest. Across the five days & six nights, we will weave:
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Working with The Wheel of the Four Directions
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Nature Connection and Land-based practices
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Facilitated workshops in Systemic ritual & Family constellations
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Sharing Circles
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Lake Swimming
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A pilgrimage hike up our local mountain - known as Flower Mountain
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Sauna and Hot Tub
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Shared Meals
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Community, Play & Fireside Evenings
The retreat is held within a clear and supportive daily rhythm, with ample time together in community and space to step back into solitude when needed.
Connection at the Centre
This retreat is for those who wish to explore connection:
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To self – through the body, sensation, rest, and expression
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To others – through shared experience, play, witnessing, and presence
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To the land – as a living animate presence that shapes and supports us
We work relationally, understanding that individuals, groups, and land are always in conversation.
At the Wild Edge
The wild edge is not only a place, but a quality. It is where life is vivid, where systems meet, where something new can be felt. In summer, this edge is generous rather than harsh, expansive rather than demanding.
We gather here not to push ourselves, but to remember how it feels to be alive together, held by land, light, and community.
The Gathering is a retreat for those longing for depth without intensity, community without performance, and time in a living landscape that invites presence rather than productivity.
A summer gathering.
At the wild edge.
Accommodation
Welcome to our Swedish Homestead
We offer comfortable shared twin and double rooms within the main farmhouse and our adjacent guest cabin. The cabin also includes two smaller bunk rooms, which can be reserved for single occupancy if desired. In total, we host up to 10 retreat participants (plus hosts & crew)
Guests have full access to all shared living and resting spaces across both the farmhouse and cabin. Meals are shared together in the large farmhouse kitchen and, when the weather allows, outdoors in the long summer light. There are three shared bathrooms, along with a spacious community sauna and hot tub.
Workshops take place in our large barn, warmed with underfloor heating, and we also gather in our traditional goahti hut for sharing circles. Please note that accommodation is simple rather than hotel-standard. The spaces are warm, well cared for, and held with a rustic, lived-in charm.
Single Occupancy
£1295
Shared Twin
£995
Stillness
There will be ample space for quiet time & reflective stillness, both alone and in gentle company, with a simple daily meditation offered
COMMUNITY
Community is explored as a lived experience, shaped through shared time, shared meals, shared experiences and moments of gathering woven throughout the retreat.
WILDERNESS
Our wilderness location in high summer offers a place from which to rest into openness, aliveness, and connection within the expansive light of the living North.
RITUAL
Through systemic ritual, we will honour this time of summer and aliveness, tending what is moving in the field and listening for what wants to be carried beyond this time.
Being at Bjärkan
Bjärkan is nestled at 63°46' north, in a land where the Earth reveals her wild beauty through the full expression of northern summer. In the heart of the Ansättfjällen foothills, often called Sweden’s “Alaska,” this place becomes a living, breathing landscape of forest, mountain, water, and light. In summer, the land opens outward, alive with growth, movement, and colour, inviting connection rather than stillness.
As July unfolds, daylight stretches across the sky for close to twenty hours a day. The sun barely dips below the horizon, bathing the land in a soft, continuous glow that blurs the boundary between day and night. Time loosens its grip here; the landscape is held in a luminous, almost timeless presence. This is a season of ripeness and abundance, where warmth, beauty, and vitality are fully felt.
In attunement with the land, we meet the long days through time outdoors, moving slowly and freely through forest and mountain foothills, swimming in the lake, gathering in clearings, or resting beneath open skies. There is space to walk, to wander, to sit, and to listen. In summer, the Earth invites you not to retreat inward, but to come into relationship, to be nourished by what is alive, and to receive what can sustain you beyond this season.
About Us
Justine & Nick co-founded Bjärkan in April 2023 after many years of dreaming into and visioning-in this project.
Justine will be leading this retreat while Nick will be offering his presence & practical support as co-host at Bjärkan.
Justine Corrie
As an experienced psychotherapist and facilitator, I work at the intersection of embodiment, ecology and ritual. Animist perspectives & a deep reverence for the other-than-human run as a thread through all of my work. More recently I have spent 3 years training in Family Constellations and Systemic Ritual.
Practicals & FAQs
Dates & Times
17–23 July
A five-day retreat programme held over six nights.
Arrival from 3pm on 17 July
Departure on the morning of 23 July
Location
Bjärkan is located in the forested foothills of the Ansättfjällen area, approximately 1.5 hours north of Östersund, Sweden. This is a remote, land-based setting held at the wild edge of forest and mountain.
We are situated on the edge of a small village that is primarily active during the winter months, when it supports seasonal tourism and winter sports. The village includes a winter-season campsite and a small hotel, but there are no shops or other local services. Outside of the winter season, the area is quiet, spacious, and largely inhabited by land, weather, and wildlife.
Group Size & Application Process
This retreat is intentionally small. We can welcome up to 10 participants.
Participation is by application, via a short and considered form. This helps us understand your intentions, context, and what is drawing you to this gathering. As places are limited, the application process allows us to tend the group with care, supporting a well-rounded and relationally grounded retreat field.
Offers of places are made on a rolling basis.
Retreat Cost (Inclusive of All Meals & Accommodation)
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Shared twin or double room – £995
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Single occupancy room – £1295
All meals are fully catered for throughout the retreat.
To confirm your place once an offer is made, a non-refundable registration fee of £250 is required.
The remaining balance is due by 1 June.
We recognise that access to retreats is shaped by many layers of lived experience and structural inequality. If cost feels like a barrier, please feel welcome to get in touch for a quiet and respectful conversation.
Accommodation
Accommodation is shared, with twin and double rooms available in both the main farmhouse and the adjacent guest cabin. Two smaller bunk rooms in the cabin are available for single occupancy at an additional cost.
Guests have access to all shared living and resting spaces across both buildings.
Facilities include:
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Three shared bathrooms
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A large community sauna
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An outdoor hot tub
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Shared dining and living areas
Workshops are held in our large barn, and sharing circles often take place in our traditional goahti hut.
Please note that accommodation is simple rather than hotel-standard. The spaces are warm, well cared for, and held with a rustic, lived-in charm.
Meals
All meals are fully catered for and shared together.
Meals are vegetarian, with vegan and gluten-free options available.
FAQs
What is summer like here?
Northern summer is expansive and alive. Daylight stretches close to 20 hours, with long evenings that blur gently into night. Temperatures are generally mild and pleasant, though weather can change quickly, as is natural in mountain foothills.
This is a season of wildflowers, lake swimming, forest walks, and extended time outdoors.
How do I get to Bjärkan?
The nearest larger town is Östersund (approx. 1.5 hours away).
A smaller rail-connected town, Krokom, is about 1 hour away.
By air:
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Fly to Östersund Åre Airport via Stockholm Arlanda
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Alternatively, fly from the UK to Trondheim (Norway), then travel by train via Storlien to Krokom (approx. 6 hours, often with an overnight stay in Trondheim)
By train:
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Regular trains run from Stockholm to Östersund or Krokom (5–7 hours)
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Sleeper trains are also available
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Travel from the UK to Stockholm by train via Hamburg is also possible
Full travel and logistics information will be sent upon offer of a place.
Can I come with a friend or partner?
Yes. We have shared twin and double rooms suitable for friends or partners attending together.
Please note that we’re unable to accommodate children during this retreat.
What should I bring?
A full packing list will be shared, but essentials include:
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Layers for warm days and cooler evenings
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Comfortable walking shoes
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Swimwear for lake swimming, sauna, and hot tub
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A warm layer or wrap for evenings outdoors
Cancellation Policy
Please read the cancellation policy carefully:
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More than 2 months before the retreat:
100% of the retreat price refunded, excluding the £250 registration fee -
30–59 days before the retreat starts:
50% of the retreat price refunded, excluding the registration fee -
Less than 2 months before the retreat:
You may transfer your place to a friend.
If we are able to fill your spot, a full refund will be issued excluding the £250 registration fee.
If we cannot fill your spot, no refund is available; however, you will receive a 50% discount toward a future retreat.
Contact
If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch:
Email: info@bjarkan.org
