Run from Kent · Open to men across the UK
MendCoaching is based in Canterbury, Kent. The retreats themselves aren't always here, but the reason for them is the same: time away from the noise, with other men, without needing a crisis to justify coming.
Open for interest now
A secluded UK farmhouse · December (dates being confirmed)
Outdoors, good food and real conversation. Walking, cooking together, sitting round a fire. Built for men in practical, physical and demanding roles who want a few days away from the noise.
See A 4-day men's retreatDahab, Egypt · Summer 2027
Seven nights on the Red Sea. Diving, desert, and time with a small group of men. Built around why diving itself helps quiet the mind, not just the destination.
See Under the SurfaceA retreat isn't a holiday, though it can feel like one. It's a deliberate break in the routine. Out of your usual environment, away from the roles you play at home and at work, and around other men who are doing the same thing.
That combination, distance from routine, honest conversation, and something real to do, tends to create space for perspective in a way that a normal week rarely does. Not because anything magical happens. Because the noise actually stops for a few days.
Meals, conversation, downtime. Some of it structured, most of it not. You're not there to perform for the group.
Walking, diving, cooking, being outdoors. Talking is often easier alongside something to do with your hands, rather than face to face in a circle.
The point of leaving is leaving. Different surroundings do some of the work that a conversation alone can't.
Not every hour is programmed. Rest and quiet are part of it, not a gap to be filled.
The specific shape, activities, schedule, meals, differs by retreat. Each retreat's own page sets out what it actually involves rather than a generic itinerary.
You don't need to be in crisis, and you don't need a diagnosis or a specific problem to justify coming. Men arrive for all sorts of reasons, and most don't fit neatly into one category:
You don't need to arrive ready to tell your whole story. Nobody gets a prize for being the most vulnerable man in the room, and there's no ranking for who's had it hardest.
Participation is a choice throughout. If something isn't for you, you sit it out. Nobody needs an explanation, and it isn't logged against you.
It's fine to spend the first half-day mostly quiet, finding your feet before you decide how much you want to put in.
Most men who come don't know anyone else there. That's normal, not a problem to solve before you book.
A retreat is small and deliberately unhurried, which does most of the work of settling people in. By the time everyone's cooked a meal together or been out on the same walk, the sense of being the outsider tends to fade on its own.
You're not required to be the most talkative man there to feel like you belong. Being present is enough to start with.
MendCoaching is run from Canterbury, Kent, and men from across Kent, London, Sussex, Surrey, Essex and the wider South East regularly attend, alongside men from further afield in the UK.
Where a retreat is UK-based, travel and access details are confirmed alongside the venue and dates, and appear on that retreat's own page. Where a retreat is abroad, like Under the Surface in Dahab, flight arrangements are covered on that page too, since they work differently from a UK weekend away.
A retreat isn't the only way in. Some men start somewhere quieter first.
FAQ
Register your interest
See the two retreats currently open above, or register interest directly on either page. There's no pressure and no commitment, just a way to hear when dates and pricing are confirmed.