Days at Sunnycote start gently. Mornings typically open with yoga or qi gong, sometimes outdoors among the horses, led by Minker Chang, who has practised yoga and meditation for over 30,000 hours and studied yoga philosophy and Tibetan Buddhism in India. Meditation with the horses follows — Katherine Beaumont guides small groups through gentle, ground-based interaction with the rescue horses, with no riding involved. The work is about calm and emotional awareness rather than technique.

Meals are cooked in the house from organic, largely home-grown produce, with foraging in the forest behind the property feeding into the menu. The cooking draws on Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. An Ayurvedic diet seminar runs during the week, and there is a session on gut health and energy-enhancing nutrition.

Afternoons and evenings hold the ceremonies and treatments: a Chinese tea ceremony, a cacao ceremony held outdoors by the sea or in the forest when weather allows, a candlelit mantra evening led by Katherine, and a two-hour introduction to tarot with Minker. A 60-minute Lomi Lomi massage with Bertalan Fodor is included; further treatments are extra.

What separates this from a standard UK wellness weekend is the optional medical strand. Dr David Morris has been an NHS GP since 2000, working in Cumbria since 2010, and holds a postgraduate diploma in the Study of Integrative Medicine. Guests who pay the £250 supplement get a pre-retreat questionnaire, an in-depth interview, appropriate testing, and a written plan covering nutrition, supplements, homeopathy and natural pain relief, plus acupuncture.

The setting does a lot of the work. Arnside sits on the Kent estuary where it meets Morecambe Bay, with a historic promenade, tidal bore, and walks up Arnside Knott for views over the bay and the Lake District fells. The forest behind the house is full of footpaths, edible plants and mushrooms. The house itself is detached, with a walled meditation garden, a large lounge and a library.

What's included

- 5 nights accommodation at Sunnycote - 3 daily meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) plus snacks - Water, tea and coffee throughout the day - Daily meditation classes - 1 hour treatment (Lomi Lomi massage) - Meditation with the horses - Yoga and qi gong sessions - Specialised workshops, including Ayurvedic diet and gut health - Two-hour tarot workshop - Chinese tea ceremony - Cacao ceremony - Group excursions and activities - Nature hikes with a trusted guide - Course manual - Pre and post retreat support from the team - Wifi connection

What's not included

- Airport transfers - Flights - Travel insurance - Additional treatments - Optional GP health consultation (£250) - Optional private tarot reading (£65) - Optional additional Lomi Lomi massages (£90 per 60 minutes)

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