In our increasingly busy, hectic working lives, finding a bit of space to carve out some peace and quiet has never been more important. No wonder, then, that the wellness industry is booming, offering us everything from cryo-treatments to massages in a bid to balance out the stress of a 9 to 5.
That goes for festivals, too. Increasingly, today’s punters want more from the events they’re shelling out for. Gone are the days of slumming it in a muddy tent with roughly the dimensions of a coffin, eating chips for breakfast and trudging from stage to stage until your feet are red raw: these days, people can opt to enjoy their music along with a healthy slice of morning yoga, spa treatments and gong baths.
“We generally find that everyone is making better choices around balance,” says Pip Roberts, who heads up the wellness area Energy Garden at Lincolnshire boutique festival Lost Village. “Especially at Lost Village. Whether it’s considering what food goes into their bodies, or not going out so late at night. It means everyone gets to sleep and eat in a way conducive to feeling good.”
What, you’ve never left a festival feeling rested before? Get ready to do that, and more: here’s our selection of the best festivals offering wellness treatments across the UK right now.
1.Lost Village
Get ready to unleash your zen at one of the UK’s buzziest festivals. Located in the heart of Lincolnshire, not only does Lost Village feature a killer line-up of electronic music artists, it also ends at a sleep-friendly time (2am) and features several places in which to recharge your batteries.
Top of the list is the Energy Garden, which offers weary partygoers the chance to partake in yoga and meditation, sound baths and breath work, all with the aim of releasing stress for the day ahead. And yes, there’s also a spa, which offers massages (great for kneading away all the aches and pains of the day before), alongside hot tubs and a sauna.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then why not keep the relaxed vibes going, and pop over to the Creative Workshops for a range of soothing activities afterwards. Top of the list: candle painting, dream catcher weaving and carving.
Aug 22-25; more information here
2.Timber Festival
Hidden away in the heart of the National Forest, Timber Festival is a three-day extravaganza of music, art and ideas. Alongside the music programme, there’s a focus on wellness: along with yoa and sound baths, other options include an ecstatic dance workshop and a session on mindful movement. Plus, is there anything more soothing than listening to a panel on tree planting, right in the middle of the British countryside?
As might be expected, the ethos here is firmly eco-friendly: guests are encouraged to take public transport to the festival, and perks are offered for especially ‘green’ visitors. And though the festival has already happened this year, there’s plenty of time to book next year’s.
More information here
3.Wilderness
Wellness, but make it luxe. Not only does Wilderness offer top-notch music and food (eating well is of course an important part of the picture), but it also offers visitors the chance to check into the Sanctuary, which is billed as “a soul-nourishing paradise” for all things health.
It comprises four separate areas: The Studio, which offers barre, pilates and boxing; The Shala, which is all about breathwork and “musical journeys”; Mindful Space, which focuses on calm, and Wellbeing in the Wild, which lets people try out forest bathing and wild yoga. And that’s before all the workshops on ‘devotional dance’ and sacred rage. You’ll be leaving more relaxed than you came in.
More information here
4.The Big Retreat
Retreat from the everyday to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, for an event which bills itself as “a retreat/ bootcamp with a festival vibe.” Accordingly, there is some music, but the real focus is on reconnecting with your body.
Every day has dedicated yoga and fitness programs (including sessions on things like ‘how to reduce self-sabotage’), but there’s also a Talk Tent, which hosts discussions on how to live more productively, and a forest station where adults can connect with their inner child and craft things. All together now: ahhh.
May 23- 26 2025; more information here
5.Love Trails Festival
Wales seems to be the place to go for all things wholesome – in addition to the Big Retreat, there’s Love Trails, which must be one of the only festivals to include both music and trail running. In addition to the guided trail runs (which can be done with dedicated guides), there’s yoga, wild swimming, a ‘run to rave’ session and a pub crawl run. 2024’s music line up also featured heavy hitters Joy Anonymous and Stornoway among others; all in all, a rather lovely weekend away.
July 10-15 2025; more information here
6.Soul Circus
Relax during the day, party during the night: that’s the central theme of Soul Circus. Based in the rolling Cotswolds, the festival’s extensive list of holistic treatments will pound wellbeing into every pore of your body (there are beauty treatments, herb therapies, yoga flows and mindfulness workshops) – but when the sun goes down, the DJs come out, and guests are encouraged to rave away until dawn. And don’t forget to recharge in the spa the morning after, with a plate of locally-sourced food. Delicious.
August 15-18; more information here
7.Green Man
One of the most family-friendly music festivals out there, Green Man’s inclusive ethos makes it the perfect place to relax, regardless of whether or not you have small children. Alongside an excellent line-up that this year includes Jon Hopkins, Sampha and Ezra Collective, pop along to the Nature Nurture zone, which is hidden in a grove of oak trees, for a range of massages and health treatments, visit the Literature area to talk all things literature, and head to the Courtyard to sample a range of locally-brewed beers.
Best of all, there’s the opportunity to buy a Settler’s Pass, where you can camp out in the Green Man area for a whole week with like-minded souls to explore the area’s gorgeous surrounding mountains and fields, before tucking into communal BBQs once the sun goes down.
August 15-18; more information here
8. NEON in Nature
Come celebrate and relax at an event where 100 per cent of the profits go to charity. Set in the stunning grounds of the 13th century manor Great Ote Hall in Sussex, it combines music with a focus on activism, the environment and detoxing from the world at large. There’s a range of wellness activities - including talks from Alice Aedy from Earthrise and Robbie Lockie from Plant Based News - as well as yoga, tai chi and a swimming pool to cool off from the hot sun. This is only its second-ever year, so grab a ticket before it becomes the next place to be.
