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The Best Mindfulness and Meditation Retreats in the UK

Kate Peebles
Kate Peebles | | © Culture Trip

From an ecofriendly yoga retreat in Cornwall to a back-to-nature Lake District adventure, these meditation holidays across the UK will ease you into a daily mindfulness practice.

A soul-soothing, creativity-boosting retreat is just the thing to calm our minds, nourish our bodies and help us reconnect with nature. Staycations are here to stay in the UK, and where better to perfect your downward dog than an invigorating close-to-home wellness escape? Here are our recommendations of the best meditation and mindfulness retreats in the UK.

Wild swimming, meditation and SUP yoga in Berkshire

Natural Feature

Woman Using A Stand-up Paddleboard
© Boris Jovanovic / Stocksy

Escape to the Berkshire-Oxfordshire border on this go-slow, four-day beginner meditation retreat organised by Culture Trip. The beautifully located Swan at Streatley – a chicly reimagined 17th-century hotel – is your base, set among mulberry-shaded gardens overlooking the Thames. The schedule combines morning yoga, meditation and breathwork (all in a peaceful riverview studio) with country walks, wild swimming, canoeing, stand-up paddleboard yoga and even a cider-tasting session.

Ashtanga and yin yoga in Yorkshire

Farm

Courtesy of BookYogaRetreats

With sessions running throughout the year, this three-day programme in pretty rural Yorkshire weaves together meditation, yin yoga and yoga nidra, as well as vinyasa and ashtanga yoga workshops. The setting is delightful country-chic farmhouse Deighton Lodge, which feels worlds from everything but sits only 4mi (6km) outside central York (some rooms have roll-top baths for relaxing in your spare moments). Retreat leader Debbie Jenkins is also a nutritionist, so you’ll be spoilt with plant-based communal meals. All levels of experience are catered to.

Hiking, paddleboarding and vinyasa yoga in the Lake District

Cottages

Nab Cottage and a cormorant reflected in Rydal water, Cumbria, England, UK
© Washington Imaging / Alamy Stock Photo

It’s all about embracing the wild outdoors on this three-day, all-levels-welcome escape in one of the most magical destinations in the UK – the glittering Lake District. On the shores of Rydal Water, you’ll join guided meditations and vinyasa and yin yoga classes in a dedicated yoga barn with Wild Times founder Jenny Clark. But there’s also a healthy splash of adventure, with stand-up paddleboard yoga, lake swimming, a mountain hike and more. The 16th-century Nab Cottage, where you’ll be based, was once the home of Romantic writer Thomas de Quincey.

Meditation walks, sound baths and qigong in Kent

Guesthouse

Yoga Retreat Holidays
Courtesy of Yoga Retreat Holidays

A sunny barn-conversion home in the secluded Syndale Valley in the Kent Downs hosts these regular weekend retreats focused on boosting mind and body. Mornings start with pranayama, vinyasa yoga or qigong, before a meditative woodland walk, a journaling session or a switch-right-off massage, while evenings bring in yin, sound baths and yoga nidra. A raw-food workshop complements the home-cooked vegetarian and vegan meals. When the weather behaves, sun salutations move outdoors.

Ashtanga, yoga nidra and sauna sessions in Devon

Lodge

Eden Rise Retreat Center
Courtesy of Eden Rise Retreat Center

Recharge on a three-day dreamy Devon escape for beginners and intermediate yogis and meditators, organised at a duo of cosily revamped barns just outside Totnes. Ashtanga and yin sessions, guided meditations, yoga nidra and sound healing fill the schedule, and river swimming and moorland walks await on the doorstep. There are also massages, holistic therapies and an on-site sauna, plus lovely home-style vegetarian cooking.

Hot yoga retreat in the Scottish Highlands

Yoga Studio

Black Wood of Rannoch ancient Caledonian Forest Perthshire Scotland March 2017
© Mike Read / Alamy Stock Photo

An action-packed, four-day hot yoga retreat awaits in the pine-scented Black Wood of Rannoch, in the soul-stirringly beautiful Scottish Highlands. You’ll be practising yoga twice a day (yin, gentle flow, yoga nidra, Bikram), as well as walking the woodland trails, cycling around and boating across Loch Rannoch, or even braving a dip – though if you prefer to switch off with a good book that’s actively encouraged too. The small group sessions are sprinkled throughout the year and include home-cooked vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free meals.

Ayurvedic eco-retreat in Cornwall with optional surfing

Yoga Studio

Eco Retreats
Courtesy of Eco Retreats

You’ll be slumbering in a solar-powered glamping geodome on this five-day ayurveda-focused programme on the Rame Peninsula in southeast Cornwall. It’s the perfect recipe for resetting your body and mind while exploring the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty-protected environment. The ayurvedic workshops build on self-massage and home remedies, complemented by restorative and flow yoga and a sound-healing session. Dazzling beaches, coastal walks, reiki, surfing, kayaking and a dolphin-spotting boat trip add to the fun.

Plant-based food, waterfall hikes and dru yoga in Snowdonia National Park

Yoga Studio

Trigonos Centre
Courtesy of Trigonos Centre

What better way to recalibrate than a five-day summer retreat rooted in the spectacular landscapes of Snowdonia? Hosted at the lakeside Trigonos Estate in the Nantlle Valley, North Wales, this adventure-filled escape balances dru yoga classes, gong baths and meditation sessions around wild lake swims, plant-based cookathons and guided hikes to waterfalls and national park mountains. The vegetarian and vegan meals are fuelled by organic homegrown produce. Rooms are cosy and calming, and you’re free to wander the leafy 18-acre (7ha) grounds.

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