The question arrives more often than any other. It almost never arrives directly. It comes dressed as a question about rooms, or about dinner, or about whether there is a schedule. Underneath it is always the same thing: will I be the odd one out.
Most women here come alone
Here is the plain answer. The majority of the women who come here travel alone. Not a handful of brave ones among a group of friends, the majority. A lot of them have never been on a retreat before either, so if you are picturing a room full of women who all know how this works, that is not the room.
Why a group of fifteen makes it easy
It helps that the group is small. Fifteen women is few enough that by Tuesday you know everybody's name and roughly what they do. It is also few enough that nobody can quietly disappear at the edge of a group without somebody noticing and going over.
Dinner, every night, at one table
Dinner is the other half of it. Everyone eats at one long table, every night. There is no working out who to sit with, because there is only one table. There is no arriving at a restaurant on your own and being shown to a corner. Jo is at that table too, all week, which is the part she takes most seriously.
The days are the opposite of that, on purpose. Nothing is compulsory. If you want to walk with people, there is a group. If you want to walk on your own, that is completely normal here and nobody will chase after you to check you are all right. You can spend an afternoon in the spa and speak to nobody and come down to dinner and speak to everybody.
What surprises women most is not the first night. It is the last one and the group chat that carries on for months afterwards without anybody setting it up.
Your own room, not a stranger's
One practical note, because it is the other half of coming alone. The twin price is for two women who arrive together. Jo does not put two strangers in a room to make the numbers work. She is firm about it. If you are coming on your own, you have your own room.
Questions women ask about this
Can I come on my own?
Most of Jo's guests come on their own. A lot of them have never been on a retreat before. You will arrive not knowing anybody and very quickly feel like you know everybody. There is no awkward sitting on your own at dinner.
Will I be the only one on my own?
Not at all. The majority of guests travel alone. It is the normal way to come, not the exception.
Do you match solo travellers up to share?
No. Jo finds it a bit too risky and would rather not put two strangers together in a room for a week.
What age are the other guests? Will I be the oldest?
Most of the women are around Jo's own age, mid fifties. There have been guests up to their late sixties and seventy. Jo's own read is that forty five and above works. Fifty and above is really where the retreat sits.