The Big Retreat Festival Cambridgeshire Review: A Weekend of Wellbeing and Trying New Things

The Big Retreat Festival

Next year I’m turning 45 – a milestone birthday. To celebrate I’ve started putting together a bucket list of 45 things I want to experience.

My bucket list includes going to a retreat and going to a festival – both things I’ve long wanted to do but hadn’t done before.

So when I was offered the opportunity to go to The Big Retreat Festival in Cambridgeshire, I grabbed it with both hands.

What to expect at The Big Retreat Festival Cambridgeshire

Best summarised as part festival, part wellbeing escape and part foodie weekend, The Big Retreat offers an impressive array of wellbeing experiences including breathwork sessions, meditation, yoga and wild swimming. There are creative workshops including singing, drumming, pottery and floristry as well as mindful arts and crafts and nature walks. There are also live cookery demonstrations, talks and music performances.

With so much on offer I really was spoilt for choice – I found it hard choosing what to prioritise as there was so much I wanted to see and do.

Determined to immerse myself in as many experiences as possible, before arriving I printed off a schedule and highlighted the things I most wanted to experience.

Honest conversations about motherhood

I kicked off my experience by attending talks by two incredible women I have long followed on social media and admired. I listened to speaker, author and campaigner Anna Whitehouse aka Mother Pukka talk about parenting and motherhood, followed by psychotherapist Anna Mathur who talked about why so many mothers get angry and how maternal anger is often a sign of emotional overwhelm, not failure and the importance of listening to your emotions.

Saying yes to singing, drumming and something unexpected

I was delighted to rediscover my musical side when I headed to the experience tent where I sang my heart out in a joyful harmony singing workshop ( yes joining a choir is also on birthday bucketlist!) and later joined a sacred drumming workshop where I sat in a drum circle and was amazed to discover the healing power of drumming. This felt really freeing.

Speaking of the experience tent – when I learnt an energy orgasm workshop would be held there I had to say YES. Intrigued, as I had no idea what an energy orgasm was, I found myself in a packed tent listening to a tantric expert, learning how to engage with your body’s energy field and taking part in a heart meditation. (Heart meditation is a mindfulness practice that cultivates emotional balance and inner calm.)

I also got to experience a laughter yoga workshop. Again, I had no idea what to expect but I’d been wanting to find out what laughter yoga is for a while and I definitely wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass me by. Instructor Cat Googe defines laughter yoga as laughter exercises combined with deep body breathing and her aim is to activate joy/help people find their inner joy, Laughter of course is infectious and it turns out it’s pretty impossible not to laugh when everyone around you is due to the ripple effect. There really is something magical about being in a giant tent, surrounded by nearly 100 women all belly laughing at the same time. I loved it!

I got creative making a floral crown in a floristry workshop with floribunda ( a non profit organisation which runs free small group floristry sessions for women who have experienced sexual violence.) Their tagline is turning shitty into pretty. I was able to hand pick flowers from a huge selection of stunning blooms and I was surprised to find how therapeutic and relaxing making a floral crown can be.

A chance to switch off

As a mum of four with a demanding job my life is fast paced and my mind is always racing. I find it virtually impossible to switch off and stop the constant noise in my head. But I really did truly ‘switch off’ with Big Soul Breath  – a breathwork workshop in the om yoga tent – which was so powerful and left me feeling profoundly moved.

My other highlights included:

Disco flow yoga – an uplifting yoga class set to disco tracks (I usually feel self-conscious dancing so this wasn’t originally on my list but it looked like so much fun that I absolutely had to join in!).

A Cookery demonstration by menopause nutritionist Karen Newby about what to eat for energy during menopause. I will definitely be trying out her recipes.

Learning about the importance of getting out into nature when you feel overwhelmed when listening to Jo Moseley’s talk – from Overwhelmed to Outdoors, and as day turned to night, I loved taking part in an evening epic group sing-a-long that even included doing the conga!

This was the first time The Big Retreat Festival has run in Cambridgeshire, Located in Abbots Ripton in the most beautiful surroundings there was such a relaxed, feel-good vibe and atmosphere and I loved the little details such as hammocks hanging from woodland trees, cosy sofas and armchairs to sit in when listening to live talks and the strings of fairy tales by the lake (where you could go wild swimming or even enjoy a floating sound bath – sadly this was fully booked or I definitely would have tried this!)

There were many other things on offer that I would have loved to experience – women’s sharing circles, ecstatic dance, pottery lessons, weaving, EDT tapping to name but a few – but I was really pleased with everything I did experience and really feel that my selection gave me a true flavour and sense of what was on offer.

My verdict: would I go again?

It was amazing to be at such a fantastic event surrounded by so many inspirational people and learning about wellbeing, joy, meditation and self care.

The weekend was the perfect resit and I left feeling inspired and motivated but also relaxed, re-energised and reinvigorated.

-The Big Retreat Festival Cambridgeshire runs for three days but day tickets are available. Tickets cost £120 for a single day entry or £199 for a two-day weekend pass option. Accommodation is extra and includes camping and glamping options.

-For information on tickets, parking and accommodation visit https://www.thebigretreatfestival.com/

-Thanks to the Big Retreat Cambridgeshire for inviting me along to review

By Kate Skelton

Images – Kate Skelton & Owen Howells