The best yoga retreats in the UK and Ireland for 2023
If there was anything the pandemic taught us, it was to remain agile and open-minded. As plans were scrapped, flights were cancelled and the world closed up shop, we learnt to travel within to find peace during an unprecedented time. Now that things are normalising, we've not forgotten the joy that simple pleasures gave us during lockdown, from at home yoga classes to walks in the park to bedroom stretches and morning breathing exercises. But the world of wellness has opened up once more, and, boy, are we thrilled to get together and release our inner yogis. Whatever wellness now means for you, we’ve chosen these yoga retreats in the UK and Ireland for catering to all. Here are our top picks.
March Yoga at Fritton Lake, Norfolk: 3-5 March 2023
Yoga teacher Sarah Malcolm is running her next retreat at this thousand-acre rewilding project. Hosted in a 16th-century Clubhouse turned luxury hotel, expect roaring fires and country-chic interiors. Guests will stay moments from the two-mile-long Fritton Lake, which has its own floating sauna – try a sweat-to-swim dip to get the circulation pumping. Beyond uplifting vinyasa and slow soothing practices, there’s a heated outdoor pool, tennis courts and SUP boards. Seasonal food is cooked by Chris Barlett – former chef at The Fat Duck – who dreams up bespoke menus daily.
Price: £715 pp based on a sharing room.
Website: sarahmalcolm.co.uk
Explore your Doshas, Cornwall: 2-5 March 2023
Angie Tiwari leads a retreat that explores yoga and ayurveda. For those who want to delve deeper into the origins of yoga, Angie’s work involves honouring Eastern rituals and decolonising yoga. 'South Asian representation in the world of yoga is hugely important to me, as is educating people with kindness on the cultural appropriation of the practice, how to culturally appreciate it, and also debunking the many myths that surround it,’ she says. On a hill farm amongst oak woodland, there’s a temperate rainforest, wildflower meadows and ancient rivers. It’s a place for healing, self-reflection and connecting with yourself. Includes ceremonial fires to burn what you want to release. The retreat is open to all levels. All meals are vegan.
Price: From £499 pp. If you identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA or Dalit, Angie offers discount codes.
Website: tiwariyoga.com
Yoga and surf with Swell Yoga, North Devon: dates TBC from May to September 2023
Sometimes stripped-back is best. Nothing beats fresh air, healing sea swims and sleeping in the wild. Mixing surf and yoga, Swell gets the balance right with this compact weekend away – the day starts with energising vinyasa, followed by a lesson with Croyde Surf Academy and finishes with yoga and meditation before sunset by the fire. Vegan chef Nikita Leys draws from Ayurveda, naturopaths, macrobiotics and herbal medicine for her meals – and the result is nothing short of extraordinary.
Price: Private bell tent for one person costs £430 for two nights.
Website: swellyoga.net
See in Spring Equinox at Tresco, Isles of Scilly: 17–21 March 2023
Yoga on a remote island doesn’t have to mean a long-haul flight. A trip to Tresco, the second-biggest island of the Isles of Scilly, could hit the spot. See in the new season with this Spring Equinox retreat led by local yoga teacher Gem Hansen, whose family have lived on the island for 60 years. Mere metres from the water's edge, guests stay in self-catering apartments with views of the chalk-white Round Island Lighthouse. As well as six yoga sessions, the retreat includes a three-course supper, access to the Tresco Island Spa and bike hire. Helicopters can be booked from Penzance.
Price: £620 pp based on two people sharing. Non-participating partners are welcome at a cost of £500 pp
Website: tresco.co.uk
SINNIS MOTORCYCLESForaged Illustrations x Wild Yoga Retreat, Brighton, Sussex: 14–16 April, 2023
In ancient Sussex woodland, only 15 minutes from Brighton, this two-night yoga and creative foraging adventure will enable you to reconnect with nature. Nurturing yoga flows, somatic movement sessions and mindful forest running sessions are run by pocket powerhouse Nala, so named because of her lioness energy (and incredible mane of hair). Sleeping in magical woodland bell tents, heated by wood burners, spring opens the forest floor for you to breathe in. The vegetarian menu features plenty of foraged, organic and bio-dynamic ingredients. The woodland SPA is a spring-fed creek, so pack your swimmers for cold water dipping, before plunging into the traditional wood-fired barrel sauna, healing mineral bath or – for the very brave – ice barrel. Unleash your inner wild woman with a foraged illustration session with wild Italian artist Sylvia Bertolotti. You’ll leave feeling as strong and connected as the trees after this re-wilding weekend.
Price: £429 thereafter. Tents shared between 3-4 people.
Website: wildmovementcollective.com
Polly BaldwinGlow Fforest: 15-18 June 2023
Beginning life as a farm, Fforest has been transformed by two art school graduates, and now the company has spread across Wales with an array of rustic accommodation clusters. Their biannual Glow retreat is an intimate gathering hosted at their small, coastal camp – a short walk from Penbryn beach, Cardigan Bay. The all-women itinerary includes local forager Jade Mellor leading a wild food and medicine walk; and Polly Mossman a holistic facial therapist, yoga facilitator and meditation guide. Lolo Lam leads an empowered and embodied yoga practice. Slow hand stitching with Lizzie Everad, tops off a soothing weekend by the sea.
Price: A single bed in a shared twin bedroom with shared bathroom from £639 pp
Website: coldatnight.co.uk
Wilderness Yoga Weekend, Bath: 21-24 July 2023
For the eco-conscious, this retreat is hosted in an off-grid, low-impact ‘village’ in a woodland valley near Bath. Carbon offsetting is available, too. Guests will lay their yoga-weary heads in handcrafted yurts or log cabins, and campfire meals are cooked by the retreat chef in his outdoor kitchen. To fill in the time between savasana, book a guided foraging expedition or massage as an extra, swim in the nearby lake, sizzle in the wood-fired sauna or head out for country walks. Teacher Adam Husler is a member of the global Boys of Yoga community and his style focuses on precision and alignment – with plenty of jokes thrown in.
Price: From £395 for 3 nights.
Website: reclaimyourself.co.uk
Scotland Wilderness Weekend, Cairngorms National Park: 8-11 September 2023
Hosting sublime escapes across the world, founder Jools Sampson matches out-of-this-world venues with stellar teachers – and they never disappoint. Teacher Jean Hall – a longstanding London favourite – is back. Expect twice-daily yoga, loch swimming, mountain biking and hiking through Abernethy forest and up mountain paths in the Highlands. And, for those who want to keep their carbon footprint low, you can travel to this retreat by train.
Price: From £675 for three nights.
Website: reclaimyourself.co.uk
Release into Joy at Cliffs of Moher, Ireland: permanent retreat
Set on Europe’s western frontier, nothing says “behold Mother Nature” like the precipice at the Cliffs of Moher. Warning: concentrating may be hard with views like these – the retreat’s yoga studio has floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the Atlantic Ocean and Aran Islands. The organic vegetarian menu is sourced from the land – but no alcohol (unless you visit the local pub). There’s a gorgeous wood-burning sauna and hot tub with sea views, too. Michelle Moroney runs a Release into Joy retreat April 21-23 2023 including harmony singing, breathwork and an Ecstatic Dance party.
Price: Prices from around €520 for a weekend in a shared room Website: cliffsofmoherretreat.com