To complement our recent blog on Rural Retreats in the UK here we are specifically focusing on retreats in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty or ANOB, to use the acronym. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are designated to protect these areas of particular natural beauty including conserving both the rural landscape and the lives of those who live and work in them.

In these spaces characterised by peaceful pathways, sweeping downs, wild meadows and ancient woodlands we can find a sense of tranquillity and be at one with nature. Lovely at any time of the year, our ancient countryside comes alive in summer with trees and flowers in full bloom.

Here at Neal’s Yard Holidays, we love to indulge our senses in one of our relaxing retreats in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where the surroundings and the restorative treatments, food and environment provide the perfect combination to help you fully unwind. These retreats in truly outstanding and sensory-rich destinations offer meditation, yoga, earthing (*see below), all with delicious locally-sourced food to nourish us inside and out.

Here’s our selection of wonderful retreats in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty:

Ayurveda and Yoga Retreats in south Wales

The secluded retreat on the Gower Peninsula is surrounded by acres of private land and ancient forest not far from the unspoilt coast where seals can be spotted. This peninsula is a haven of rich and varied wildlife, castles, medieval churches set against an awe-inspiring, natural backdrop of hills, valleys, beaches and woodland. (See also photo at top of blog, copyright USp/Neal’s Yard Holidays.)

The combination of yoga and Ayurveda allows you to completely unwind and relax with optional detox and juice-fasting. In between treatments and yoga sessions you can go for walks in the forest of dwarf oaks on the private grounds, filled with bluebells in May, or bliss out in the infra-red sauna and outdoor hot tub (ideal for star-gazing).

Three nights from £570 for a single ensuite room, full board including Ayurveda treatments and yoga. Available anytime, choose midweek or weekend.

Wellbeing Retreats in Surrey

Claridge House is a Victorian mansion in Lingfield close to the Surrey Hills with a long-standing reputation as a healing centre. The midweek or weekend retreats offer either yoga, mindfulness, meditation, Tai Chi or creative arts. Well-known sites include Box Hill, Leith Hill and the Devil’s Punch Bowl and landscapes with open commons, sunken lanes and picture-perfect villages.

Two-night retreats from £220pp sharing room, full board, including retreat activities. Massage treatments are available for a separate fee. Open year-round, choose from selected retreat dates and themes.

Detox Cleanse Yoga Retreats, Cotswolds

Holycombe retreat is set in a wooded valley on the edge of the Cotswold village of Whichford, surrounded by fairytale villages lined with honey-coloured stone cottages, rare limestone grassland habitat and ancient beechwoods with rich flora. Important grasslands such as Cleeve Hill have survived due to their status as ancient common and a National Nature Reserve protects the finest ancient beech complex. Idyllic natural features include a stream rising from a holy well in the nearby wood.
Practice morning breath work, yoga and meditation with Rina Golan, followed by a silent walk, soaking up the serenity of this wonderful part of the UK. Holistic treatments are also available.

Two nights from £295 twin share in the Lodge; or £345 in the main house, single supplement of £100. The price includes daily yoga sessions, guided meditations, woodland walks, organic food, healthy shakes, and lifestyle and nutritional advice. Treatments extra. Select dates through the year include 15-17 June.

Lakeside Wellbeing Retreats, Somerset

Within easy reach of one of the original Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Exmoor National Park and the Dark Sky Reserve, Holworthy Farm sits on the edge of Wimbleball Lake where ‘True Nature’ hosts wellbeing retreats close to spectacular coastal views, deep wooded valleys, high sea cliffs and famous sites such as the Quantock Hills. Stay in refurbished cottages and practice daily yoga. Wellbeing workshops include singing bowl baths and shibashi (Tai Chi / Qigong), plus *earthing (sometimes called grounding and explained in this article by the Chopra Centre), which harnesses the age-old old power of the earth to improve health.

Two nights from £249 twin share; single room supplement £10. The price includes full board with vegetarian food and retreat activities. Treatments extra. Next dates: 27-29 July 2018. There are also selected day-retreats throughout summer and autumn.

For more retreats set in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty see the collection on our website.

We hope you found these destinations inspiring and helped you to choose your next retreat!

Jo Fernandez is a leading UK travel journalist, with much of her career spent working for the London Evening Standard where she was Travel Editor until 2015. Now a freelance travel journalist and copywriter, she lives in Essex and has one daughter. As a travel expert, she still enjoys jetting off to write travel pieces, with favourite destinations including Mexico, Croatia and, of course, Essex.

Updated 20 June 2018.

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Some of our cherished Neal’s Yard Holidays devotees recently told us they’d like to browse our new wellbeing holidays without too much fuss.

And why not? If you’ve been on a few of our retreats already, or if you’re simply pushed for time and want to know the latest destinations on offer, being able to see our new wellbeing holidays at a glance sounds like a pretty good idea. Of course, we couldn’t help but listen.

So, here are our latest worldwide retreats. Could one of these new wellbeing holidays be your next getaway?

From sunny Croatia to the jungle in Costa Rica, and from sub-tropical gardens in south Spain to a peaceful country retreat in Surrey – what appeals to you?

Costa Rica

Yoga and Soul Wellness Retreat near Montezuma
Stay at a peaceful jungle lodge set in beautiful flowering gardens within a private reserve next to Cabo Blanco National Park on the pacific coast with its wonderful beaches. This oasis has a swimming pool, jacuzzi, and hammocks to relax in.
Selected dates between 1 March and 6 December
From £890 per person for 6 nights. Single rooms available

Spain

Yoga Retreats in Almeria
“It’s location to the airport, beaches and walking distance to the local village all add to the sense of ease and let go.” Week-long yoga retreats for all levels organised by Huzur Vadisi.
Year round – in Almeria in South Spain
From £775 pp pwk in twin/double shared room. Single rooms available

Sri Lanka

Seaside Ayurveda Yoga retreat, Bentota
Newly built, nestled between the river and the Indian ocean, with lush green surrounds. Stay in individual cabanas, swim in the sea or pool. Personalised Ayurveda treatments, yoga, river cruises and Sri Lankan hospitality at its best.
Open year round – near Bentota at Sri Lanka’s west coast, 100km from airport.
From EUR1190, approx £1067 pp pwk in single room.

England, UK

Wellbeing Retreats in Surrey
Come for Yoga, mindfulness and meditation, Tai Chi and/or creative arts, weekends or midweek. Their massage therapist is offering a variety of treatments onsite. Find rest and renewal at Claridge House.
Year round – near Lingfield in Surrey
From £189pp for 2 nights, or £365 for 4 nights hb single ensuite room

Detox Yoga Weekends in the Cotswolds
Rest and rejuvenate on this idyllic English countryside retreat. Learn to prepare both raw and cooked food. Rina Golan teaches powerful yoga and breathing techniques, and offers nutritional and lifestyle advice to rediscover your wellbeing.
Selected dates throughout the year at idyllic country house near Stratford-upon-Avon.
From £295pp for 2-night weekend, shared room. Single rooms available

Remember – these are just some of our new wellbeing holidays. For more activities, retreat destinations, offers and old favourites, take a look at our website.

The post New wellbeing holidays: is one of these your next escape? appeared first on Neals Yard Holidays Blog.

Within minutes of sitting down to start writing this blog about meditation and mindfulness I was distracted by a pop-up ad for a furniture brand I must have searched for on the internet earlier. Naturally, I switched my attention from meditation and mindfulness to sofas in a matter of seconds.

I’m currently dealing with bereavement and multiple freelance projects which combine to mean sleepless nights and a struggle to focus. Meditation and mindfulness are the recommended solutions but for me, there is some confusion over two terms which are often used interchangeably.

There’s meditation, mindfulness and, yes even, mindful meditation. So are they the same or different? Let’s start by defining each term separately.

Meditation
Most of the major religions have incorporated various forms of meditation in one way or another; it has been firmly entwined with Buddhist and Hindu religions, as well as Judaism and Islam. Originally the sole purpose of meditation was to increase spiritual understanding and awareness but as an understanding of the role of the mind in good health developed, meditation became commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction in the West. Meditation is a physical and mental practice which can lead to long-term health and wellness benefits.

It may be obvious to those in the know, but meditation isn’t all about sitting still, although it can be practised in this way. Meditation comes in many different forms such as walks, guided visualisation or imagery, focused meditation (such as chanting a mantra) and yoga, Tai Chi or qigong. One of the best-known types of meditation is also known as mindfulness meditation, and this may be where the confusion lies.

Mindfulness
Meditation is part of mindfulness which is broadly speaking being aware, whether this is mindful eating, mindful relationships, mindful speech and so on. Effectively, it’s an awareness of the moment or, bringing your mind to just one thing that is happening in the present moment. Mindfulness can be something we practice informally or formally, which is mindfulness meditation. Meditation and mindfulness overlap in mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is a form of meditation.

Mindfulness meditation involves paying attention to thoughts, sounds, the sensations of breathing or parts of the body, bringing your attention back whenever the mind starts to wander (as opposed to transcendental meditation which involves a mantra, for example). It’s easy to see how practising mindfulness can lead to developing a meditation practice. The two complement each other, and they can nourish both your life and your self-understanding. Those that practice yoga and tai chi will know that they can also help with developing awareness of breathing and posture. It’s become so popular over the last few years that large organisations have even included mindfulness as part of their employee packages.

You can study and practice the various forms of meditation or simply learn how to be more mindful in your everyday life as a way to reduce stress. The health benefits of both have been well-documented. Whatever you do, it is likely that you will be more focused and less distracted and I know that’s what I’m in need of. All it takes is 10 mindful minutes, for inspiration watch the TED talk video by the same title:

You can also find retreats where meditation, mindfulness, yoga or Tai Chi are offered.
If you would like to know more about the difference and similarity of Tai Chi and qigong, see our blog.

Jo Fernandez is a leading UK travel journalist, with much of her career spent working for the London Evening Standard where she was Travel Editor until 2015.
Now a freelance travel journalist and copywriter, she lives in Essex and has one daughter. As a travel expert, she still enjoys jetting off to write travel pieces, with favourite destinations including Mexico, Croatia and, of course, Essex.

The post Meditation and mindfulness: the same or different? appeared first on Neals Yard Holidays Blog.

Many of us are looking for rejuvenating UK wellness retreats this summer. Whether it’s due to uncertainty over Brexit or for environmental reasons, there are many benefits to staying on home soil.

Choosing wellness retreats in the UK certainly fits in with the new Make Holidays Greener campaign from ABTA, the leading association of travel agents and tour operators. Aiming to encourage us to be more environmentally aware this summer, participants can select from 15 pledges, including carbon offsetting and eating and drinking locally, with the chance to win a GoPro camera. Here’s our pick of the best UK wellness retreats for summer 2017:

Four nights from £889pp twin share, £1139 single room including juice detox programme, all classes and workshops. 14-18 August and 18-24 September 2017.

Chillout Retreats at Champneys, Liphook, Hampshire
Set in a former hunting lodge surrounded by enchanting woodland and a peaceful lake, Chillout Retreats experts have teamed up with Champneys’ luxurious Hampshire retreat to offer yoga, Pilates, meditation, life coaching and workshops as part of an exclusive spa retreat package.

£425pp twin share with ensuite bathroom; £497pp single ensuite room full board including classes, workshops and use of spa and relaxation facilities. Excludes spa treatments. Available from 18-20 August and 8-10 December 2017.

Aluna Healing Retreats, Dartmoor, Devon
From the tranquility of a manor house surrounded by forest and ancient rocks and sacred sites, these highly spiritual retreats are centred around cleansing and transforming through yoga, meditation, detoxification and spiritual practice. Find renewed energy and strength also from reconnecting with nature.

£820pp twin share or double, £920 single, including juices, classes and activities. Excludes optional detox kits, massage and transfers. Available from 1-7 September 2017 or private booking for your own tailored solo-retreat.

Yoga and Raw Food in Yorkshire
Raw Horizons offer women-only retreats at Split Farthing Hall, an 18th-century refuge close to the Yorkshire Dales. Led by Dr Claire Maguire, PhD whose holistic approach combines wellbeing coaching, yoga, meditation and delicious raw food using recipes from her book ‘Fresh and Sophisticated – The Art of Radiant Eating’. Expect possible life changing results. Also enjoy the hot tub, views and walks.

Three nights cost £575pp twin share, £695 single, full board including yoga, energy rebalancing workshops and transfers. Come to Thirsk, near York, just over two hours by train from London, Manchester or Edinburgh. Juice Detox Retreats from 1-4 and 15-18 August, or Healthily Happy Retreats from 20-25 August and 17-22 September, or Yoga and Relaxation 22-24 September 2017.

Now you have all you need to book one of the best UK wellness retreats this summer that not only helps you but the environment too. Please read our Top Ten Green Travel Tips for more information.

Happy holidays!

Jo Fernandez is a leading UK travel journalist, with much of her career spent working for the London Evening Standard where she was Travel Editor until 2015.
Now a freelance travel journalist and copywriter, she lives in Essex and has one daughter. As a travel expert, she still enjoys jetting off to write travel pieces, with favourite destinations including Mexico, Croatia and, of course, Essex.

Lead photo courtesy of Raw Horizons in Yorkshire, UK.

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