Charlotte Church's Welsh wellness retreat The Dreaming to pause work from December 2026
The Dreaming, the wellness retreat Charlotte Church opened in 2023 at Rhydoldog House in Wales, says it will go into "hibernation" from December 2026. Its statement cites a changed world and "complexifying crises", and the two outlets differ in tone and in how long they say it has operated.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2The Dreaming, a wellness retreat founded by singer Charlotte Church, 40, at Rhydoldog House in Wales, has announced it is going into "hibernation" to "reassess what it is we should be offering". The IndependentLC “after four years in operation, The Dreaming will be going into “hibernation” to “reassess what it is we should be offering”.” Read at The Independent ↗ Daily MailR “Now, however, a spokesman says it will close in December because it is 'a different world today than the one we started off in'” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2A statement shared on social media said the retreat would be "pausing its work at Rhydoldog from December 2026", and that the team could not say when it would return, only that "return we shall". Daily MailR “The Dreaming will be pausing its work at Rhydoldog from December 2026” Read at Daily Mail ↗ The IndependentLC “We cannot say when exactly we will be returning from the dream realm, but return we shall.”” Read at The Independent ↗ Mixed · 2The statement said "it is a different world today than the one we started off in just a short half decade ago" and referred to "exponentially complexifying crises that have been spreading out ahead of us all like cracking ice". The IndependentLC ““As we stare clear-eyed at the exponentially complexifying crises that have been spreading out ahead of us all like cracking ice” Read at The Independent ↗ Daily MailR “'it is a different world today than the one we started off in just a short half decade ago.'” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Mixed · 2The Daily Mail reported that the team said it had welcomed 3,000 guests over five years and highlighted a pay-what-you-can scheme, with stays from £1 a night, and free retreats for NHS workers. The Independent also mentioned free retreats for NHS workers and activists. Daily MailR “3,000 guests over the past five years, singling out their pay-what-you-can scheme, meaning visitors could stay for as little as £1 per night.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ The IndependentLC “including those at free-to-attend retreats for NHS workers and activists” Read at The Independent ↗ Mixed · 2Both outlets say Church bought Rhydoldog House, once the home of designer Laura Ashley, in 2021, and that its renovation was the subject of a Discovery Channel documentary series. The Independent says the retreat opened in April 2023. The IndependentLC “opened The Dreaming at Rhydoldog House, Wales – the former home of designer Laura Ashley – in April 2023.” Read at The Independent ↗ Daily MailR “The property's makeover was turned into a documentary series on the Discovery Channel.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2The outlets differ on how long the retreat operated: the Daily Mail's headline says "just three years" while its text quotes the statement's "five years", and the Independent says "four years in operation". The Independent says some spaces remain on retreats before the end of the year. Daily MailR “Singer puts her wacky Welsh wellness centre 'into hibernation' after just three years” Read at Daily Mail ↗ The IndependentLC “there are some spaces left on retreats taking place before the end of the year.” Read at The Independent ↗
Mixed · 2The Daily Mail wrote that "the business model has failed in the current economic climate", which is its own reading; the retreat's statement, as quoted by both outlets, gives no financial reason. Daily MailR “Ultimately though the business model has failed in the current economic climate” Read at Daily Mail ↗ The IndependentLC “it is a different world today than the one we started off in just a short half decade ago”” Read at The Independent ↗ Right · 1The Daily Mail gave details of the property: breaks from £450 for three days, a top room price of £900 per person, a "womb room" and a shower Church likened to a vagina. It also recalled the planning disputes, including council concerns over sewage treatment and road safety, and noted that Church had called Ed Sheeran a greedy capitalist last month. Daily MailR “Breaks started from £450 for three days”“Charlotte Church, who called Ed Sheeran a greedy capitalist last month”“the retreat plans were also opposed by her local council – who feared it could cause 'unacceptable risk' to drivers.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Left · 1The Independent linked the news to a separate setback: the Awen Project, a forest school founded by Church's charity in Wenvoe near Cardiff, had to move after Vale of Glamorgan Council rejected a retrospective change-of-use application over transport safety and noise concerns. It also quoted Church earlier this year describing The Dreaming as a response to the pressures of a society built on "capitalist values and ideologies". The IndependentLC “A retrospective application submitted by Church's charity for a change of use was rejected by Vale of Glamorgan Council”“the excesses in which society is so much based around capitalist values and ideologies” Read at The Independent ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- A fairly straight news report that leads with the retreat's own statement and "complexifying crises", links it to the Awen Project planning dispute, and quotes Church's earlier criticism of capitalist values.
- Emphasis
- The statement's wording, the Awen Project forest school setback, and Church's stated rationale for the retreat.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Leaves out prices, the guest numbers and the retreat's own planning disputes, and does not give the Ed Sheeran remark.
- Charged language
- “forced to close”
- For example
-
“Charlotte Church has announced the closure of her The Dreaming wellness retreat amid “exponentially complexifying crises” — The Independent
“It comes after a “forest school” founded by Church in her native Wales was forced to move to a new premises amid a dispute over planning permission.” — The Independent
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- A mocking, personal tone: it opens with Church's Ed Sheeran remark and presents the closure as a failure of a "wacky" venture.
- Emphasis
- The retreat's cost, its quirky features such as the "womb room", the lavish property and the earlier planning battles, with the economic climate as the cause.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the Awen Project dispute or give the statement's wording on the closing season as fully as the Independent does.
- Charged language
- “wacky”“forced to close”“the business model has failed”
- For example
-
“Charlotte Church, who called Ed Sheeran a greedy capitalist last month, has had to put her own business into 'hibernation'.” — Daily Mail
“added a 'womb room' and vagina-shaped showers” — Daily Mail
What every side reports
- The Dreaming, at Rhydoldog House in Wales, is going into "hibernation" and will pause work from December 2026.
- Church bought the former Laura Ashley home in 2021 and its renovation was the subject of a Discovery Channel series.
- The retreat's statement blames a changed world and "exponentially complexifying crises" and says it will return at an unspecified time.
- Free retreats were offered to NHS workers.
Where accounts differ
-
How long the retreat operated
- Left
- The Independent says it opened in April 2023 and was in operation for four years.
- Right
- The Daily Mail's headline says "just three years", while its text quotes the statement's "five years" and says it opened in 2023.
-
Whether the closure is a business failure
- Left
- The Independent reports the stated reasons without calling the venture a failure.
- Right
- The Daily Mail says Church was "forced to close" and that the "business model has failed in the current economic climate".
Charlotte Church person
Through the retreat's statement, Church's team presents the pause as a deliberate fallow period to "dream" new offerings, not a collapse, and thanks supporters. Church has described the retreat as a response to excesses of capitalist values.
“We need the chance to compost, mulch, go fallow, listen deeply to the earth, so that we can germinate new dreams for the future.” — The Independent
“This is also due to the excesses in which society is so much based around capitalist values and ideologies” — The Independent
Left1 article
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Neutral Reports the closure largely through the retreat's statement, adding context from the Awen Project dispute and Church's own words.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right1 article
-
Dismissive Treats the closure as a failure of a quirky, expensive venture, tying it to Church's Ed Sheeran comment.
- 13 Oct 09:40 First Daily MailR Charlotte Church forced to close her healing retreat: Singer puts her wacky Welsh wellness centre 'into hibernation' after just three years
- 14 Oct 13:33 +27h 53m The IndependentLC Celebrity Traitors star Charlotte Church forced to close wellness retreat after ‘complexifying crises’
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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