A day of meditation practice and reflection with River Wolton

Saturday 24th October 2026, 10.00am - 5.00pm UK time, in person and online

We are very happy to welcome River Wolton to lead this one day retreat for Oxford Insight Meditatation. The day will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, meditation instructions and dharma teachings. The day will be primarily in silence, but will include time for sharing our experience. The retreat is suitable for beginners as well as those with experience of meditation practice. We ask that you commit to staying for the full day.

River Wolton teaches at Gaia House and other retreat centres in the UK and Europe. She helped to establish Sheffield Insight Meditation, and has completed Dharma Teacher training with Bodhi College. A former Derbyshire Poet Laureate, she has led writing and arts projects for many years, and is an activist in the LGBTQI+ community. Her latest book is The Subtle Art of Caring: A Guide to Sustaining Compassion (Windhorse 2023).

Listen to River's talks on Dharma Seed

Dana: In the spirit of generosity, our teachers offer their teaching freely. We invite you to make a 'dana' donation to support River in continuing to offer the teachings in this way. There will be an opportunity to offer dana on the day if you are participating in person. You can also make donations to River via this Paypal link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/riverwolton

Please note we are unable to process donations for our teachers through Eventbrite.

Booking fee: The fee for online participation is £5/£3/£0 (freely given) and for in person participation £15/£5/£0 (freely given). The fee covers general running costs of the online and in person retreats, including Zoom costs, Eventbrite fees, hall hire and teachers’ travel + accommodation expenses. Our teachers receive no payment from the booking fee, instead you will be invited to offer a donation to the teacher in the ancient tradition of dana.

We invite you to pay the full rate if you are reasonably able to do so, as this supports the continuation of our retreats. We also offer lower rate tickets to those who are unemployed, full-time students, on a low income, or are otherwise finding it difficult to meet the full cost. To ensure that these days are accessible to everyone. we also offer freely given tickets for which there is no fee.

Cancellation and refunds: Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel your place on a retreat – otherwise, someone else may be turned away unnecessarily. Please contact oxfordinsightmeditation@gmail.com to let us know that you can't be there. We offer refunds up to 24 hours before the retreat. Please see instructions for how to claim a refund here

For those participating online:

Zoom link: This will be emailed to those who have registered, shortly after registration. It will be emailed again one week before the retreat, 24hrs before the retreat and 1 hour before the retreat begins. Please check your junk mail if you have not received these emails.

For those participating in person:

Please arrive for registration between 9.15 and 9.45am.

Venue: St Margarets Institute, 30 Polstead Rd, Oxford OX2 6TN

The hall is wheelchair accessible and has an accessible toilet. There are two disabled parking bays directly outside the venue. Please contact us if you need any support on the day to enable you to attend.

See here for a map of the location and for public transport travel information. Please allow plenty of time to travel so that you can arrive at the hall between 9.15 and 9.45 for registration.

Parking: there is no street parking in the area without a permit, except for two disabled parking bays, which are immediately outside the venue. We have made an arrangement for use of the car park at Makespace, a short walk from the venue. Makespace is at 1 Aristotle Lane, Oxford OX2 6TP. There will be space for 4 cars. Please note: the Makespace car park can only be accessed via Frenchay Road and Hayfield Road, and not via Polstead Road. If you park at Makespace, we ask that you make a donation equivalent to the cost of parking for a day in Oxford, which we will pass on to Makespace.

What to bring: The hall is heated, but uncarpeted, and some windows will be open for ventilation, so please bring warm clothing and blankets, and a mat or rug, plus meditation stool or cushions if you wish to sit on the floor. We will ask you to remove your outdoor shoes when in the hall, so you may also wish to bring slippers or warm socks. There are chairs available, you may wish to bring a cushion or two for padding.

Lunch: will be held in silence. We invite you to bring your own vegan or vegetarian packed lunch. A selection of teas, herbal drinks and plant milk will be provided. There is also a fridge where you can store your lunch.

All are welcome: We are committed to creating an inclusive retreat space. We welcome people irrespective of religious or political beliefs, ethnicity, class, sexuality, ge

Description supplied by the event organiser.