How to Book a Place on a Retreat

Essential pre-reading

Prior to booking, be sure to read our Pre-booking information and advice on retreats, so that you understand the nature of our retreats and venues.

Our retreats are open to all members of the public aged 18 and over. You do not need to be Buddhist nor be a member of the Western Chan Fellowship.

Applying for a retreat place

The quickest way to book is to book online, paying by credit or debit card. Visit the retreats page and next to any retreat click link to "Book Online". If you book online you will be able to use stored details so completion of the booking will be easier.

If you wish to book by post, please complete the application form below in full, and post with payment to the address on the form. Payment is possible by cheque or by Bank Transfer (UK or International) - banking details are on the application form.

• retreat application form as pdf
• retreat application form as Word doc (editable)

Avoid your booking being marked as spam

We send confirmation messages and retreat information by email. Please check your spam folder.

Please add the following email addresses to your address book and/or use some other method to whitelist these addresses, to lessen the risk of the messages going into your spam folder

• admin@westernchanfellowship.org
• contact@westernchanfellowship.onmicrosoft.com

Book Early!

Although we try to accommodate late bookings if places are available, please book retreat places well in advance (preferably more than two weeks before the start date), so as to be sure of securing a place on a popular event, and to help us with the planning and organisation of the retreat and catering.

The website retreat calendar is linked to our live database and shows whether places on each retreat are still available, and whether supported places are still available. There is no need to contact our admin to ask such questions since they can only respond to you with the same information as is on the website retreat calendar.

If you require a supported place (concession) make your booking as soon as you know your plans. There is no need to ‘apply’ for supported place, simply select the supported fee option when making your booking.

Terms, Conditions, and Policies

Our terms, conditions and policies are available in the documents section of this website.

Booking terms and conditions

• Please note that retreats are not open to anyone under the age of 18 years
• Event fees must be paid in full at the time of booking. Applications without full payment will not be accepted.
• Bookings are not transferable
• When booking to attend a retreat we require you to commit to participate fully in the whole event from start to finish, arriving in time for the start and staying until the end. It is disruptive to others if someone arrives late, leaves early, or is not participating fully. Committing and participating fully and wholeheartedly supports your fellow participants and respects the event teachers who are volunteers offering their time freely. If you do not arrive by the specified last arrival time at the beginning of the event (typically 7:00pm on the first evening of a retreat) this will be treated as a no-show and so as a late cancellation, i.e. your booking is cancelled with no refund of fee payable. You may not be admitted to the event even if you arrive subsequently.

Cancellation terms and conditions

Cancellation by you

• If you cancel at least four weeks before the start of your event we will refund the fees paid by you less an administration charge of £20.
• If you cancel between four and two weeks before the start of your event we shall refund you 50% of your event fee, unless we take a replacement booking in which case we shall refund your fee after deducting the administration charge of £20.
• If you cancel within two weeks of the start of your event your full event fee will be forfeited, unless we take a replacement booking in which case we shall refund your fee after deducting the administration charge of £20.
• For cancellations more than four weeks before the start of your event we usually, subject to our volunteer staff availability, make your refund within ten working days of your cancellation. Processing of refunds for cancellations within four weeks of the start of your event will be deferred while we determine whether we can replace your booking, and so may not be paid until ten working days after the start date of the event.
• If there are exceptional compassionate grounds for a late cancellation, let us know as soon as possible by writing to the WCF secretary enclosing independent evidence such as an appropriate medical certificate. In such cases we may consider refunding part of your event fee. Please note though that this is entirely at our discretion.
• If you fail to attend without giving any notice the full event fee will be forfeited.
• A £20 administration fee is applied to all cancellations and the remaining balance is transferred to the Support Fund

If you wish more protection against loss of fees due to inability to attend then you may be able to take out travel insurance to cover this risk.

Cancellation by us

In the rare event that we have to cancel your booking for any reason, we will notify you of this as soon as possible and refund any fees paid by you. We will endeavour to make this refund as soon as possible and in any event within 30 days from the last day of the cancelled event. In this situation our liability to you is limited to refund of our fees already paid by you, and does not include reimbursement for any consequential losses which may be incurred by you such as non-refundable travel tickets. If this is a concern for you then you may wish to take out appropriate holiday insurance which includes cover for cancellation.

Fees for our retreats and other events

On most of our events we offer three fee options:

• Standard fee: this fee covers our costs in providing the event, kept low because of the voluntary work contributed by our leaders and members
• Supported fee: a reduced fee (see below)
• Supporting fee: an optional higher fee for those who wish to contribute to our Support fund

Supported places (concessions)

Concessions, for students and low or unwaged applicants

We are registered as a charity and have a support fund provided by donations. We know that financial pressures can make it difficult to pay for a retreat and so through this fund we offer a number of supported places on each retreat at reductions of 50% of standard fee.

Supported places must be booked in advance of the retreat, by selecting that option at the time of booking, but are not guaranteed to be available since the number available for that retreat may already have been allocated.

How to obtain a supported place

• If you wish to book a supported place to attend a WCF retreat there is no application procedure, you simply select that fee option when making your booking.
• The booking page for each retreat indicates whether there are any supported places still available for that retreat. View the retreat details by by following the 'details and booking' link for that event from the Events listing, the go to the event booking page (you will need to login).

Occasionally a further reduction to bring the fee down to 25% of full fee may be possible. To apply, contact our admin by filling out the details on our contact form.

Donations to the supported place fund

Please contact the treasurer or refer to the donations page if you would like to make a donation to the fund or to other WCF projects. This would be very helpful in assisting us to maintain and hopefully expand the number of supported retreat places.

Covid precautions for retreat

Please read our Covid plan which will apply to your booking (unless we update it in the meantime). It requires some commitments from you, and some actions by you before the retreat, so please read and consider it before making your retreat booking.