The excitement of Glasto can mean only one thing: festival season has officially kicked off. If your vibe is more ‘deep exhale’ than deep house (or a healthy mix of both), then you’re in luck. Across the UK, spa and wellness festivals are popping up in forests, meadows and even beside the sea, offering everything from ice baths and cacao ceremonies to wood-fired saunas, wild swims and sound baths beneath the stars. Scarlet Spy rounds up the best spa fests for 2025.
When: 18 - 20 July 2025
Unplug this summer at Wellness in the Wild - a family-friendly fest set in an idyllic Suffolk woodland. Choose from over 150 workshops and sessions across 10 areas, from sunrise yoga and forest bathing to herbal medicine classes and dance meditations. With a wildflower-strewn lake at its heart, it’s the kind of festival where you can kick off your flip-flops and dip your toes in nature.
Little wanderers will love the Kids Zone, while community feasts, starlit sound journeys and conversations with inspiring change-makers keep the grown-ups stimulated. When you’re done ‘people-ing’, make a beeline for the Therapy Field for reflexology, Reiki, shiatsu or holistic facials, or book a two-hour session at The Woodland Spa where you can wallow in wood-fired hot tubs, toast in the sauna or kick back at the Woodland Spa Bar. Cheers.
When: 19- 20 July 2025
Set on the manicured lawns of the original spa resort, Champney’s Tring, Wellness Fest brings two days of relaxation without the hefty price tag (just a donation to Mind charity, please). Festivalgoers can improve their posture with Pilates on the lawn, join sunrise yoga sessions, guided breathwork or talks on mental wellness, sleep science and nutrition; the Champneys Team will be on hand to offer mini facials and massages, too.
Refuel at the wellness pop-ups serving kombucha on tap, vegan street food and plant-powered smoothies. The best bit? You can leave the tent at home and stay on site in a plush room at the Champneys resort. Take advantage of VIP access to the spa, with its 25-metre heated pool, bubble hydro pool and thermal rooms, in between festival happenings.
When: 24 – 27 July
Set in sleepy Suffolk, the central lake at multi-award-winning Latitude isn’t just ornamental: it hosts guided morning and twilight swims with SwimTrek, stand‑up paddleboarding and paddleboard-yoga sessions. But it’s the pastel-hued sheep and enchanted woods that really charm, with little huts selling Adman’s cider (the brewery is down the road), makeshift stages for those yet-to-be-discovered folksie bands, and trees adorned with festoon lights and lampshades.
It’s not just about the music at Latitude either (although headliners this year include Sting, Fatboy Slim, Elbow and Kaiser Chiefs) there’s as much comedy and literary stuff here as there is performance art. Families are de rigueur, too, with an entire field dedicated to kids, recognisable by a stripy helter-skelter that they will whiz down with glee.
When festival fatigue kicks in, head to Mind, Body & Zen, run by The Zen Project. Here you’ll find The Retreat, Latitude’s luxury spa with reception area, several treatment rooms in beautifully-decorated bell tents, a wood-fired sauna and an ice plunge pool. Treatments include myofascial release, holistic and deep tissue massages, as well as On-the-body Himalayan Bowl massage. There’s crystal healing, reflexology or Reiki session, plus treatments specifically for festival-weary teens.
When: 31 July – 3 August
Spend four sun-drenched days in Cornbury Park, a 5,000‑acre Deer Park brimming with ancient woodland and sparkling lakes. This midsummer escape is as boujee
as they come: think pop‑up Michelin‑style restaurants, lakeside Champagne bars and morning cricket— alongside an eclectic wellness programme and a stellar music line‑up: Basement Jaxx, Supergrass, Wet Leg, Aurora, Air, and Orbital are all on the bill this year.
Tucked away from the Wilderness festival buzz, you’ll find The Sanctuary, spanning four beautifully curated areas: The Studio, The Shala, Mindful Space, and Wellbeing in the Wild. Start your day with a spot of wild swimming or SUP Yoga on the lake, followed by restorative morning flow, disco‑yoga, or immersive gong baths in The Studio. Find quiet in The Shala with candlelit sound meditations and breathwork or delve into creative rituals with therapist‑led workshops in Mindful.
Located in a hidden glade, beside the crystal-clear Lake Superior, you’ll find the Lakeside Spa; book two hours of bliss and bubble away in one of the wood-fired hot tubs; sweat out impurities in Wandering Wild's wood-fired Sauna before an invigorating dip in a cold plunge tank, or simply sit and watch the sun set between the trees, glass of Champagne in hand. Now that’s what we’re talking about.
When: 31 July – 3 August
Glitter-encrusted families will once again descend on Lulworth Castle along Dorset’s Jurassic Coast for Camp Bestival—where quirky Glastonbury‑style zones, an eclectic music lineup - including headliners Basement Jaxx, Sugababes and Sir Tom Jones - plus a heap of activities (Cosmic Kids Yoga to the inaugural family roller disco) keep the whole family entertained.
Amid the madness, spa-lovers and wellness-seekers can retreat to Slow Motion. With its own secluded entrance not far from the main stage, this peaceful woodland enclave really shifts the tempo. What’s more, this year it has been expanded into a full-fledged wellbeing micro-festival Slomo Wellbeing Festival, featuring sauna and ice‑bath areas with everything from Aufguss Sauna Masters to Wim Hof Fundamentals. Breathwork, sound healing, meditation, Kirtan chanting, astrology sessions are all on the spa menu, too —there’s even a micro-retreat led by a shamanic healer. Whether you’re after a restorative massage, a crystal-chakra rebalancing, or simply some mediated “me time” before diving back into the festival mayhem, Slomo has you – and your unregulated nervous system - covered.
When: 22 - 24 August 2025
CarFest is the UK’s largest family fundraising festival, created by Radio DJ and presenter Chris Evans. Pitch your picnic blanket and pop-up chairs overlooking the Main Stage and head off to explore the festival, before returning for the big-name acts: Rita Ora, Travis, and Madness.
It's not just for petrolheads either; CarFest is, in fact, five festivals in one: KidsFest, FoodFest, RetroFest, StarFest and (our favourite) SpaFest. The latter offers an impressive line-up of wellness experts and motivational speakers, including Dr Rangan Chatterjee, gut-health guru Dr Megan Rossi and Sunday Times bestselling author Kirsty Gallagher. The Inspiration Hub – a collab’ with Nirvana Spa - hosts empowering talks from the likes of Sally Gunnell, The Happy Pear and British adventurer Jordan Wylie MBE.
If the rev of car engines gets too much, the Recharge Hub offers Deep Tissue Massages and Reflexology by Soul Stretch. Elsewhere you’ll find Nordic woodland wellness walks, meditation, Chromotherapy, crystal healing and an immersive 360° Sensory Pod.
Scarlet Spy
3rd July 2025
Spy Likes:
Nature-inspired spas, cold water plunges, sound baths, deep tissue massage, delicious food.
Spy Dislikes:
Thin walls in treatment rooms, lounger hoggers, soggy robes, bright lights.
