TOUCH&PLAY UK
RAWR!
25-30 July 2026
Earth Spirit Retreat Centre
Near Glastonbury, Somerset, UK
TOUCH&PLAY UK
RAWR!
25-30 July 2026
Earth Spirit Retreat Centre
Near Glastonbury, Somerset, UK
A rallying cry for the parts of us that were civilized, silenced, or carefully curated.
RAWR! is an invitation back into the body — into aliveness, vulnerability, power, instinct and connection. Soft edges, sharp teeth for an integrated, sovereign self.
We’re here to stand together, shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart, to allow rage, grief, love, power, pain, compassion and healing to mingle, cross-fertilise and nourish our growth beyond co-existence. We’re not here to compete, compare, or perform.
We are here to say:
I see you. We need you. You belong. Let’s look at this together.
We’re here to call in, embrace and celebrate the many faces of love, romance, humanity, play, family, friendship and eros, knowing none is better or lesser than the other. This is siblinghood, not posturing. Scars welcome.
This is the place and time to say, we’ve had enough. Enough of endless scripts about who we should be, who we should side with and who we should be at war with. RAWR! burns those scripts. May we rise from the ashes and listen to understand and not to argue, may we look into each others’ eyes and see the most beautiful version of ourselves look back at us in love, compassion and well-wishing.
Yes, there is anger. And beneath it, there’s grief, disconnection, longing and a thousand small betrayals that tell us love, in its many colours, is not safe. Let’s rewrite those scripts too and feel those uncomfortable feels as an act of rebellion, of self and co-love, turning our hurt and pain into the wisdom, strength, depth and power that it is.
No more turning against each other, no more turning against ourselves. This is a raging love letter for connection, community, and values that hold strong in the face of hatred, division, bypassing, and bullshit.
RAWR! is a creative, collaborative and courageous field rooted in:
Primal courage — meeting big feelings with curiosity, guts and instinct
Vulnerability — seeing and being seen free from performative masks
Connection — meeting ourselves and each other through body, breath and earth
Play — celebrating pleasure, laughter, sexiness, rest and joy as liberation
RAWR! workshops explore:
Movement, dance, voice, joy, pleasure, rage, grief, ritual, consent, rhythm, connection, relational edges and explorations, kink, embodiment, eros, self- and co-regulation, play, empowerment, creativity and cultural shift.
Come as you are. Bring your claws. Bring your soft belly. Bring your wise heart.
Let’s RAWR!
CI, Dance & Embodiment
Eros & Creativity
Kink & Self-expression
Community Builders
Touch&Play is an exciting and growing global network of local communities that come together around a set of shared practices and a common culture.
We’ve been organizing retreats and community gatherings since 2010 and have held events in 16 different countries and 4 different continents.
Our events strike a balance between the local context and culture where a retreat takes places and the global embodied, humanistic and spiritual practices and values that underpin our work. In the end we are striving to build a deeply caring and seriously playful world where we can live authentically and in peace with ourselves and our communities.
The Venue
We are returning to Earth Spirit Retreat Center for six consecutive years. Nestled into the lush British countryside of Somerset, Earth Spirit is located just a short drive (5 miles) from famous Glastonbury. The small village where legends, history and magic was and is being made. Earth Spirit Retreat Center offers a fantastic mix of comfort, countryside, delicious food, pampering in the spa area and various areas for movement, dance and exploration.
EarthSpirit Center
You are invited to dance, play, explore, rest and recharge at a seriously high quality retreat center. The 17th century farm buildings have been beautifully restored and specially converted for use as a retreat and event venue. They are set within seven acres of green gardens and rolling fields. There are various areas and spaces to explore.
Dragon Hall and Little Earth are our two main spaces for facilitated workshops and evening offers. Dragon Hall is a converted long barn, with oak timbers, reed torching and stone walls. The feeling is medieval, but with modern comforts such as under-floor heating and a large wood stove. The high roof and skylights create a light, spacious atmosphere. Little Earth is a beautiful, little space in itself, a dance and movement area with wooden floors, underfloor heating, big windows to a garden as well as a kitchen, showers and toilets.
In addition to Dragon Hall and Little Earth, we’ve got outside areas for workshops and relaxation, such as the meadow, the sacred tree circle and the gardens. For your physical comfort and pampering, we’ve got an eating area indoors and outdoors as well as a spa with sauna and jacuzzi. The plentiful accommodation options are sprinkled across the site.
Sorroundings
Earth Spirit Retreat Center lies within the ‘temenos’ (sacred enclosure) of Avalon in the county of Somerset, situated in a beautiful landscape between two nature reserves.
A short walk away, you find an ancient yew tree more than 1,800 years old within the cemetery of St Andrew’s church and two hills that you can climb for a direct view of Glastonbury Tor.
Glastonbury has been a site of religious and spiritual interest for centuries and has plenty to offer. Glastonbury Tor is the famous hill with the tower – remains from a Christian church whilst the hill itself may be more considered a Pagan site with much older history – on the top. At the bottom of Glastonbury Tor, you can immerse yourself in the ice-cold waters of the White Spring or enjoy the gardens around Chalice Well, whose waters run red with iron in contrast to the spring’s clear water.
There are countless health, healing and crystal shops to visit as well as pubs, restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, petrol stations and so on.
The Rainbow’s end cafe is great for healthy, home-cooked lunch!
Dance, Movement, Play and Rest Spaces, Indoor and Outdoor Areas, Fields and Woodlands, Sauna, Jacuzzi, Hot Showers, Delicious Meals.
Accommodation
There are plenty of accommodation options at the venue. From sleeping in your own tent or camper van to on-site caravans, yurts, dorms, standard and en-suite rooms and a luxury suite!
All included
6 Days 5 Nights Touch&Play Gathering Festival Ticket + Access to intensive courses, workshops and evening offers + Accommodation + Nourishment
Amenities include a high quality retreat center, accommodation, three delicious meals, hot drinks and snacks, sauna, jacuzzi, workshops and evening offers (jams, cuddle club, kinky and sensual play space, grief into joy ceremony, cabaret,..) in the rich mythic landscape of Avalon.
Nourishment
Three delicious vegetarian meals per day.
Tea’s and coffee’s on tap.
If you require a special diet, please make sure to specify your needs during the registration process. If the kitchen team is able to accommodate your requirements, there will be an additional fee of £10 or £35. Thanks for your understanding.
The kitchen team tries to accommodate non-trace nut allergies but cannot garantee trace allergies of any type (as there isn’t a trace-free kitchen or prep area).
Occasionally the kitchen team can provide an area where those with very detailed diets can prepare food for themselves.
Economic contribution
We love what we do, and we continually reflect on how we can better contribute to life, and, in the process, make the self-help / woowoo / new age industry a real more conscious and thoughtful space.
By investing in T&P, you’re supporting not only your personal growth but also a family-owned, values-driven project dedicated to community, the environment, and creating meaningful experiences. A dedicated team works year-round to make this possible, with additional support during the event.
GETTING INVOLVED, STIPENDS AND ACCESSIBILITY
Assistants:
Do you want to be part of the team, learn from and with experienced facilitators and receive a stipend for your work?
We’ve got 11 assistant spots to make magic happen this year. You’ll be part of an assistant team with your own pod meetings, work meetings and creative co-creations led by one of our amazing co-organisers, Akasha.
You can get busy with a range of structural tasks such as setting up and taking down workshop spaces and creative pursuits including designing and decorating evening spaces for jams, temples, play and cabaret. Due to the nature of our assistant roles, we typically require physically fit people that are keen to sink their teeth in creative as well as muscle work.
In addition to structural and creative tasks, as an assistant, you have the opportunity to learn from and with our facilitators through shadowing their work, being available to demonstrate exercises, via close communication regarding their workshop planning, execution and evaluation and perhaps even co-facilitate a short warm-up or cool-down exercise. Each assistant can allocate themselves to one facilitator. This is an opportunity for you to learn, grow and get involved with the facilitation side of Touch&Play and is entirely voluntary.
If you’re looking for a way to support the T&P community from within, to grow together with us and if you need some financial assistance, then this is a wonderful opportunity.
You’ll arrive on site Saturday 25th July 12pm to meet and assign roles. This is where we get to bond as a team and decide if we prefer morning or afternoon shifts during the retreat. Then the next few hours we work together to transform our venue into a colourful playground. This first part is important so we need assistants to arrive no later than 1pm.
Each day you’ll work with your team for around 2.5 hours, which still leaves plenty of time to enjoy the retreat in full. Duties shouldn’t interfere with doing any of the classes. You are expected to stay until Thursday 30th July, 3pm. The final day is pack-down, which again is an important part. To return the venue back to its original state. We offer a £200 for returning T&P UK team/assistants/helpers/work exchangers and a £150 stipend for new assistants.
Accessibility:
T&P includes people with varying personal economies by providing a limited number of subsidised tickets. You can apply for one of our accessibility tickets that are especially available for persons with disability, BIPOC backgrounds and low income (less than £18k/year). We are aware that even with our accessibility stipent, T&P may still be situated beyond some peoples means.
Donations:
When registering, you have the option to make a donation. Those extra contributions go into the T&P Equity and Access Fund, which provides reduced tickets for those in financial need. Priority for these subsidized tickets is given to individuals from marginalized groups and local community members. By contributing, you help expand access to this transformative experience.
We aim to make this event accessible while also valuing our dedication to the project.
We are grateful for your economic contribution and beyond.
Practicalities
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
Touch&Play UK welcomes 75 amazing beings who are committed to co-creating a 6 day, 5 night experience together. Please ensure that you can arrive on time for the beginning of the event and that you can stay until the end of the event. We create community, safety and a shared understanding of consent, boundaries, dance and play together, hence, honouring T&P UK as an all-in experience from opening ceremony to closing circle and participating in the first day of consent practice is paramount.
Participant check-in is between 5pm and 6pm on the first day, 25th of July 2026. Dinner is served at 7pm.
Assistants arrive earlier on the same day – you will receive all the information you need as an assistant once you have applied and been accepted for the role.
HOW TO GET TO THE VENUE
Earth Spirit Retreat Center
Lockyers Farm, Peak Ln, Compton Dundon, Somerton TA11 6PE
The closest train stations are Castle Cary and Wells, both are approx. 2h from London and Bristol. It is best to book a mini cab in advance to collect you from Castle Cary or Wells as Ubers can be rare or with a longer wait. Please be kind to our drivers, they are locals! Once you register for T&P UK, you will also receive a document to self-organize shared rides. Glastonbury itself does not have a train station. There is, however, a charming bus called the Mendip Explorer going between Bristol and Glastonbury for less than £2 in under 1.5h.
WHAT TO BRING
Once registered, we will send you detailed information to prepare you for the adventure ahead. Think: Comfy clothes, warm clothes, light clothes, fancy-sexy-kinky clothes, sunscreen, massage oil, perhaps kneepads for CI, up-to-date health check-ups, sufficient gear if you are camping (it gets cold at night!), a water bottle, and so on : )
Testimonials
★★★★★
Expectations
Self-regulation is a key aspect of the Touch&Play experience, which can be wonderfully intense.
At Touch&Play, we, collectively, create a supportive environment for intense and transformative experiences. While the container offers structures and a culture of support, we do expect participants to bring the gift of self-regulation.
In order to come it’s essential that you can handle your own emotions and triggers. In other words, you should be able to regulate yourself and deal with what comes up during the explorations.
Touchandplay is a transformative space, often with therapeutic qualities, but it’s important to clarify that it is not therapy or it is not a substitute for professional therapy.
To attend Touch&Play, it’s essential that you can self-regulate physically and emotionally.
Touch&Play is an experience of inquiry, liberation, and self-discovery for people who want to grow within a community of like-minded individuals, while improving their relationships.
Is this an event for me?
This is an intimate body event. It is suitable for those who have the ability to self regulate their emotions and are comfortable with and have some understanding of sexy environments.
If you are dealing with significant levels of trauma (specifically sexual or relational) or PTSD this may not be the event for you.
At the same time, while diverse expressions are welcome, this is not an event cantered on sex. This is not a swingers event and If what you’re looking for sex with no strings attached this is likely not your place.
Community Care
Offer and Receive Support
Touch&Play can be an intense and introspective experience. While it is not a therapeutic space and we kindly request all participants to arrive prepared to manage their own triggers, there are ample opportunities within this pulsating environment to connect, feel supported, and extend your support to others.
It takes all of us stepping-in to co-create a safer space. This event is also more enriched and enlivened by what we all weave into it.
SOOTHE&CARE TEAM
Intrapersonal
When you register you will be asked if you want to be part of the Soothe & Care team.
The Soothe&Care Team is a group of volunteers who are available throughout the event for inner-personal support. The intention is to cultivate a community of co-regulation. Volunteers choose when they have the capacity to be of support which can look like deep listening, breathing together, offering validation, or taking a walk.
Learn more
In order to create a safer container we invite volunteers (participants, teachers) to form part of the Sooth&Care team. This means contributing a little of your time supporting participants in processing their experiences (e.g. co-regulation, deep listening, being present, finding a container for emotional release).
As part of the Sooth & Care team you will need to attend a short pre-festival briefing online and/or onsite by the Soothe & Care Team Lead(s) usuallt in the afternoon the festival starts.
During the festival you will meet once or twice as a team to share your observations and experience of the group.
The commitment to the role doesn’t require much times and it is flexible so it aligns with your own needs and boundaries. Within the team you’re mutually supporting each other and it’s a lovely way to bring your contribution.
PEACE COUNCIL
Interpersonal
We come with such diverse backgrounds and we go deep into interpersonal exploration that eventually consent and conflict more broadly can arise.
In case some interpersonal support is needed during the event we have conflict support and mediation.
Learn more
MEDICAL & EMERGENCY SUPPORT TEAM
Unexpected
When you register please let us know if you are a medical doctor/counselor/therapist/first aid trained or crisis intervention specialist and are open to being contacted by an organizer during the festival in case of an emergency.
TOUCH&PLAY UK
RAWR!
25-30 July 2026
Earth Spirit Retreat Centre
Near Glastonbury, Somerset, UK