Cumberland Lodge Residential 2023

May 4, 2023 5 min read
Image credit: Elinor Lim

The Cumberland Lodge Residential is an annual trip sponsored by the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP) and hosted at—you guessed it—Cumberland Lodge. This year we were at the Lodge between 2–4 May. We spent two days on these beautiful grounds, learning from each other and reflecting on our research. It was a wonderful change of pace and scenery from everyday PhD life.

Day 1

For me, the trip started at King Henry Building in Portsmouth. A taxi picked me and a few Portsmouth colleagues up and drove us to the Lodge. We ended up being the first ones there and settled into one of the many lounge areas as we waited for everyone else to arrive.

The residential formally commenced with a welcome from the SCDTP staff (and of course, a health and safety briefing from the Cumberland Lodge team). Then we had a round of 30-second elevator pitches where we shared our research topics with one another. By this time it was 1pm, so we took a lunch break.

A white plate of spaghetti with red and yellow vegetables, tomato sauce, grated cheese on top, and a slice of garlic bread on the rim. Next to this is a small white casserole dish of salad and a small white plate with brie and crackers.
Spaghetti with roasted vegetables and tomato sauce, garlic bread, mixed salad, cheese and crackers. (Image credit: Elinor Lim)

After lunch, we had a session on decolonising social science. This started with talks by our two speakers, Dr. Leon Moosavi and Dr. Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa after which we chatted in small groups about how we could apply a decolonial lens to our PhD research. This made for very interesting conversation given the diversity of attendees and our varied experiences of colonialism. As a Singaporean, I knew about my country’s history as a British colony, and the subsequent Japanese Occupation of Singapore during World War II. I wasn’t alive then, but my grandparents were, and we learned about this history in school. There were, unsurprisingly, numerous British students at the retreat, and discussing the experiences of our ancestors and how they have shaped our own research journeys was really thought-provoking. Also, Cumberland Lodge was previously a royal residence, so that added another layer to the conversation. The irony of us sitting in a grand room of a small palace as students indirectly funded by the UK Government while discussing the decolonisation of research was certainly not lost on us.

After those deep reflections, we headed outside for a group walk. Cumberland Lodge is situated within Windsor Great Park, which is home to wild Red Deer.

A deer lying in the grass below some trees.
Don’t worry, we kept a safe distance! (Image credit: Elinor Lim)

As we strolled through the forest, I got the chance to chat with Leon. He had lived in Singapore for 9 years while he was the Director of the University of Liverpool in Singapore, so naturally I had to ask him about local foods he missed since returning to the UK. That turned out to be a bad idea, because I ended up seriously craving all sorts of hawker fare with absolutely no way to get my hands on any!

After that, I decided to walk with a different group and talk about anything other than food, for the sake of my own wellbeing. Before I knew it, we arrived at the statue of King George III and his horse.

Group of 29 people in front of a copper statue of a man on a horse. The statue has a green tinge and is on top of a pile of stone.
SCDTP students and staff, and Dr. Leon Moosavi. (Image credit: SCDTP)
Group of 8 people in front of a copper statue of a man on a horse. The statue has a green tinge and is on top of a pile of stone.
Portsmouth Psychology Peeps (and Mark, our honorary psychologist)
(Image credit: Juan Badariotti)

The statue sits atop a small hill, overlooking a path connecting it to Windsor Castle. At over 4km long, this path is pretty aptly named The Long Walk.

A long narrow path heading into the background, surrounded by grass and trees.
The Long Walk. (Image credit: Elinor Lim)

At this point, we turned around and headed back to the Lodge for dinner.

Day 2

After breakfast, we had a session on innovation. First we heard from fellow PhD students who shared how they incorporate innovation into their research. Then we broke out into small groups to reflect on how we could incorporate innovation into our own research. Afterwards, we regrouped to hear about innovation in research methods from academic staff.

6 people at a picnic table talking. Most are looking to a man sitting on a low brick wall behind one of the table benches. More people talking at a similar table in the background.
I joined the group discussing innovation in autism/disability research. (Image credit: SCDTP)

We had some free time after this. Some people headed off to do walking interviews together. A few friends and I headed back out into the Park to do some exploring, and then it was time for lunch.

After lunch we had our final session on transitions, where SCDTP post-doctoral fellows joined us for a panel discussion on transitioning out of the PhD. As a second-year PhD student, this thankfully still felt some distance away, but I know it won’t be for long 🫣

Next on the schedule was a coffee break and an optional session on meditation, followed by some free time before dinner. Since a couple of my friends had driven to Cumberland Lodge, we had cars available and so we headed into Windsor!

Black gates with lampposts and a high castle wall on the left behind the gates.
Windsor Castle gates. (Image credit: Elinor Lim)
River running across the width of the photo. Grassy foreground and blue sky with an airplane overhead. Windsor Castle in the left background.
Thames Riverside. (Image credit: Elinor Lim)

After wandering the town for a couple of hours, we headed back to the Lodge for dinner.

A white plate with a slice of bread and two round fishcakes on a bed of green beans, peas, and pickled white onions. Also a bowl of soup with croutons and a small white plate holding a small pudding with sauce.
Butternut and celeriac soup, salmon fishcakes with glazed vegetables, and warm toffee pudding. (Image credit: Elinor Lim)

Day 3

We parted ways after breakfast, and my taxi-mates and I headed back to Portsmouth.

The last two days were full of great conversations and insightful reflections. It’s always nice to see my fellow MSc cohort-mates again, and to meet new people from the other SCDTP institutions. We also really lucked out with the weather, allowing us to do lots of enjoyable exploring around Windsor Great Park. And it was lovely to hear people speak about their research with passion 😌

Thanks to the team at Cumberland Lodge for making our stay so relaxing; our SCDTP staff for organising this retreat; and the SCDTP for sponsoring it!

Elinor Lim
Elinor Lim
PhD Candidate in Psychology

The future is inclusive.