Scotswood Retreat

General information

“Our Granny Nora lived in a lovely old house called “Scotswood” from 1955-2004 in a pretty village in Surrey, England called Shamley Green. It had a huge Scotswood tree in the garden. We only ever knew Granny to be in this house, and this place to be like home. Granny Nora loved her family fiercely and lived her life fully and actively until the ripe old age of 103!

We emigrated from the UK to Cape Town in 1972 with our parents, and believe that we brought with us a tenacity from Granny Nora; and over the years we learnt a ‘Go for It’ attitude from our mother who sadly we lost to cancer in 1990 when we were both very young”.

Louisa tested the very boundaries of life and lived fully, trying all things illegal & frowned upon as well as running businesses and always landing on her feet. Julia watched with a mixture of despair and admiration, but what always rooted these two was their ability to see the funny side, and their love for a home and creating which they got from their mother. And when they laughed, they always cried.

Louisa had always had a dream of starting a sober living home. Of creating a safe space that she couldn’t find for herself when she came out of treatment. A real home. A loving environment which was not only beautiful, but fun, light and supportive. In 2016 she approached Julia – as they shared the idea of wanting to make a difference and together they decided to ‘Go for It’. Scotswood Retreat was born.