In recent years the health and fitness trends have evolved along with the addition of emotional well-being aspects. And from this, is where Wellness Festivals were born. Typically when you think of a festival, you think of muddy fields and obscenely loud music until the early hours. However, Wellness Festivals are the exact opposite of this and help you become one with your body through allowing yourself to escape from everyday life.
Therefore, if you have not come across the concept of Wellness Festivals before, we have put together a list of six events held here in the UK which might peak your interest. Along with this we are going to look into what a Wellness Festival actually is and how you can benefit from attending. So if you want to find out more about this health trend on the rise, then keep on reading.
What is a Wellness Festival?
A Wellness Festival is usually a day or weekend event that takes place yearly to help promote a healthier lifestyle amongst its attendees. From mindfulness techniques, low impact fitness and high impact classes, the options are endless for your next festival adventure. Below are the six different festivals taking place in the UK this year which we are going to look into more in this article:
- Balance - 10th to 12th May 2019, The Old Truman Brewery, London
- SweatLife - 22nd to 23rd June 2019, Tobacco Dock, London
- LoveFit – 19th to 21st July 2019, The Heritage Pinetum, Kent
- Wanderlust Festival - 27th July 2019, Battersea Park, London
- Boardmasters – 7th to 11th August 2019, Trebelsue Farm, Newquay
- Soul Circus - 16th to 18th August 2019, Elmore, The Cotswolds
Balance
Balance is a fitness festival held in the Old Truman Brewery in London. This event takes place this year from the 10th to 12th May with tickets coming in at £22.50. This festival gives avid exercise fanatics the choice to experience a range of different classes all under one roof. And from there you can also sign up to a new class if you wish. There are roughly over 150 classes covered in this festival, some of these are Strong30 by Zumba, EQUINOX’s Firestarter and BLOK’s BLOKstrength.
Along with getting the opportunity to try out new exercise classes during the festival, you will also get the chance to sample new foods and accessories from a range of brands. Some products you will come into contact with will be raw chocolate, experimental alt milks and alcohol as well as wearable technology and sportswear.
So whether you are after a taste of joining a new fitness class, or updating your workout gear and food, then this festival is exactly what you need. Some of the big names attending this event are Kelsey Wells, Zanna Van Dijk, Alice Liveing, Jamie Ray and Health Chef Steph. You can also benefit from hosted talks by leading wellness experts.
Sweatlife
For Sweatlife Lululemon has partnered with Psycle, Third Space, Triyoga and Barry’s Bootcamp to create an intensive fitness festival for all. This event takes place in the Tobacco Dock, London on the 22nd and 23rd June. Covering two days, this festival is designed to induce sweat as well as promoting a relaxing environment depending on which classes in the venue you choose to take part in. As Lululemon has partnered with a range of exercise brands to create this festival you can choose to try boot camp workouts, spinning classes, fighting or a slow paced Yoga routine with uplifting and nourishing practices.
At previous events they have also sold Sweatlife branded clothing and accessories so that you can look the part when you are training with others. So we expect this to be available again this year for both men and women.
LoveFit
LoveFit is held in the Heritage Pinetum, St Clere Estate, Sevenoaks, Kent on the 19th to 21st July. Tickets for the entire weekend are available to book online starting from £114pp. This festival focuses on outdoor fitness events to get you closer to nature while training your body.
Within this retreat you will be able to take part in yoga, spin, trail runs and strength training exercises. Just some of these additional activities you can take part in over the weekend are a dance festival under the stars, stand up paddle boarding and boxing along with a music festival. You can also take advantage of the wood-fired hot rubs and organic treatments to recover your body after a day of intensive exercise.
Wanderlust Festival
The Wanderlust Festival takes place in the Battersea Park, London on the 27th July and adult tickets start from £26. This festival focuses on mindful techniques along with fitness activities to create an effective 1 day escape.
During your time there you can join in with a 5km run, outdoor Yoga session with an outdoor DJ and a guided meditation class.
In addition to this excellent festival, Adidas has actually partnered up with Wanderlust to create an exclusive collection of sportswear and trainers which have been produced from recycled fabrics.
Boardmasters
Held in Tebelsue Farm, Watergate Bay, Newquay, the Boardmasters festival is scheduled for the 7th to 11th August this year. Tickets can be purchased online for the weekend including camping from £187pp.
Boardmasters is similar to a typical music festival with big name head liners, but they also have mindful and fitness activities available to try at the venue. As it takes place near the beach, you can learn to surf with Roxy and Quicksilver Surf School. You can also join in with a Yoga class on the beach or try a gong bath which releases your chakras.
Soul Circus
The Soul Circus event takes place on the 16th to 18th August at Elmore, The Cotswolds and tickets for the weekend start at £175pp. This festival focuses more on the flexibility of the mind and body rather than inducing sweat through vigorous physical activity, therefore if you find Yoga more appealing, then you will most certainly enjoy this event.
A few exercises that this festival has for offer is blindfolded Yoga, aerial classes, gong baths and reggae meditation. There is also a party at the night time in the woods where bands, buskers and DJs come to collaborate in an evening of dance and enjoyment after a day of relaxation.
FloVibe
Expected to take place this year at the beautiful Stansted Park, Rowlands Castle, Hampshire, the FloVibe event for 16th to 18th August 2019 has been cancelled. However this festival has previously taken place in the UK and we hope to see it return soon.. The FloVibe festival is a fantastic mixture between the wellness festival atmosphere and the music scene.
At this event you have the option to choose from over 150 classes, workshops, talks and spa treatments over your stay. For the younger attendees there are also crafts and games set up for your children to enjoy while you sweat it out at an exercise class. And at the evening they host a party with music and alcohol – just like your typical festival.
Have You Attended a Wellness Festival?
Within this article we have opened your minds to the wonderful world of wellness festivals and how they could be just what you need to have some time to yourself and get away from day to day life. Throughout this blog we have explored a variety of events held in the UK during 2019, have any of these appealed to you? Or are you already planning on or have attended a festival mentioned in this post or another one? Let us know over on our social media pages where we would love to chat about all things health and well-being.
Also, if you are after a new gym kit to take with you to the festival or just want a gym wardrobe refresh, check out our online store – Sports Fitness. There you will find an abundance of high quality exercise clothing and equipment to suit your needs in a variety of sizes.
This article was written exclusively for Sports Fitness by Loren Astbury
