The Guide to Spas, Escapes and Breaks In England (and One or Two In Wales) from Pearl Escapes 2016

The Guide to Spas, Escapes and Breaks In England (and One or Two In Wales) from Pearl Escapes 2016

By Pearl Howie

Copyright © Pearl Howie 2016

All rights reserved

ISBN 978-1-326-74046-7

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Introduction

Hi there, I'm Pearl Howie (aka Pearl Escapes) and this is my guide to UK escapes.  This is kind of a mixed guide as some of these spas and escapes I've been able to visit from home or while staying with family so there may not be a hotel option whereas normally my guides always include a hotel, spa, sight and restaurant (but only when I've found one up to my standards!)  This is because I used to get extremely burned out in my old job and so, when I did take time off I couldn't even handle finding and booking a hotel and flight or finding what to do.  So, I thought wouldn't it be awesome if someone would write a guide that just gave you one perfect escape; the perfect hotel, spa, flight and restaurant.  So that's what I did.

I also realised, as I dipped my toe into spas, that there was so much confusing information online about massages and treatments.  I started writing my own guide, researching each experience personally, travelling around the world.  I can now say that I am one of the world's top spa experts and my book The Guide to Massage, Spa Treatments and Healing from Pearl Escapes 2016 is the most accurate resource in the world to my knowledge. 

This year (2016) I experienced such a profound healing in a native American spa that I had to come home and write a self-help book free – Feeling Real Emotions Everyday - a full colour photographic book which is being published very soon.  I'll soon be touring; talking about the book as well as researching more incredible experiences around the world.

So many times I talk to people about spas and travel, often they are called to a particular area, and I say Oh yes, I've got all the details of the hotel, spa, restaurant and everything in my massive books about escapes and spas… but they really want just the bullet – just the retreat or escape in a box that I started creating in 2010.  So I'll be releasing all of these guides just as fast as I can (the older ones will be free ebooks!) so I hope you'll check to see if there's a guide for your next trip too.  (For the regions and escapes included in my full guide please look through the list at the end of this book.)

I have been so blessed to visit so many incredible places around the world and experience healing masters at work and I'd very much like to share that wisdom with you.

Escape – Buddhapadipa Temple – Wimbledon, London, England

If you’ve ever felt like temple hopping in Thailand but the airfare, time or vaccinations have held you back, you’ll be delighted to know that there’s an authentic Buddhist temple right in London (across the road from Wimbledon Common) that you can visit.

But it’s important to remember that this isn’t just a temple, or a monument like the Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park where you might be disturbed by personal trainers running their clients around it (! why would you do that?), no, if you plan on visiting this temple please remember that it is in fact part of a Buddhist monastery, with the orange robed monks to show for it.

The energy of the place is incredible, but for me it’s not the gold and ornate temple (which you will have to take your shoes off to enter) but the small garden, with stream and bridges behind it that I find is the best place to meditate.

Many people who meditate believe that the energy or vibrations of other people meditating nearby help in the search for peace, which may be why I have been able to find the answer to my more difficult problems, or let go of strong emotions when meditating here.  It is also why, from time to time, the temple is closed to the public, to allow the monks to retreat and not have those energies sapped by people like me, I guess!

The temple website has some wonderful resources, and you can also find information on when to visit, as well as courses, many of which are free, on meditation and Buddhism - so a really wonderful resource, even if you can only visit online.

Free to visit and many courses are also free (or have nominal fees) to attend. 

www.buddhapadipa.org

14 Calonne Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 5HJ

The opening time is from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm: weekdays for the temple grounds and weekend for the main temple.

Escape – Cannizaro Park – Wimbledon, London, England

A sunken Italian garden, a hidden Roman folly, a trickling water garden, a heavenly rose garden, a cottage herb garden, a rolling lawn in sight of a classic country house, and, of course, a duck pond, are some of the many features of Cannizaro Park.

And, even though Cannizaro House is a very posh hotel, bar and restaurant, the gardens are public, which means they are free to enjoy year round.

There are even some public loos (dismal but generally useable – if they are not locked!) tucked well away, although you can always choose to stump up for a pot of tea and use the hotel’s sumptuous facilities or pop down to Wimbledon Village to one of the delis, coffee shops (or even Tesco Express) or bring your own picnic. 

Escape – Mayfield Lavender Farm – Surrey, England

If you've ever seen the photos of the lavender fields in Provence, you'll be very pleased to know that it's an escape you can enjoy in England, and for free.

Mayfield Lavender is situated in Banstead, once the heart of the international lavender industry and is open from 25 April every Friday 11am – 3pm, and then seven days a week from 30 May to 27 July from 10am to 7pm (although the lavender can flower early or late so you may find seasons slightly altered.)

It has fantastic views and is a great place for a walk, a little rest stop and a browse of all things lavender.

Overall, smaller than you would expect from their excellent website http://www.mayfieldlavender.com/contact-us/directions/ the shop is more of a stand (and the nearest toilets are in the neighbouring park), but it is still a wonderful place to be.

There's a small picnic area underneath a tree, so you could even bring your own lunch.

I took my niece there in July 2010 and we enjoyed some lovely lavender shortbread and a nice cup of tea.  Apparently lavender essential oil is very good for treating insect bites, so one of the very helpful ladies there dotted some on my niece's bug bites - I am still waiting for the verdict!

http://www.mayfieldlavender.com/

Spa – Spa London – Bethnal Green, London, England

Lie back on the spacious cream and turquoise surfaces of the main hammam and you’ll understand why so many people are in here.  The gentle warming from beneath is so inviting that I very nearly fell asleep (and this was not the only room where it would be easy to doze off).

There are the three marble Turkish Baths, each of a slightly increasing heat, which are lovely places to lie back and succumb to the relaxing music playing gently in the background.

Two dimly lit intense aromatic steam rooms beckon, (although I didn’t notice any particular fragrances) where you can soak up the heat, until the ice plunge pool, ice crystals and even the refreshing bucket of cold water on a rope or Kouble Douche (which you pull over your head!) seem like a very good idea.

Step into the monsoon shower if you can’t make up your mind, and press either hot or cold to suit your mood... and you can always dry off, if you like, in the searing heat of the sauna.

When you need to relax from all the relaxing, step into the lounge area, where you can lie back on a cushioned lounger in your towelling robe and sip a glass of lemon or apple scented water, and get ready to take the plunge again.

With towels, plastic flip-flops, towelling robe, water and occasional light refreshments on hand, all you need is your swimwear (compulsory for all).

On a women only day (when I went) the atmosphere is giggly and very friendly.  Every little group of women wanted to adopt me and make sure I was okay.  People here are so down to earth, perhaps because it’s in the East End?  If you really want quiet you can either move to a different room (there’s a lot of choice) or go to a mixed session; apparently the guys are a lot quieter.

With uniformed attendants on hand and very well kept decor, this really is a luxurious spa break for a bargain price.

Although you can’t use products in the spa, which is a shame, you can use them in the changing room showers afterwards, so I went for The Sanctuary Warming Charcoal Body Mask, followed by my own extra virgin olive oil all over to get the full spa experience.

Unfortunately once you leave the spa the surrounding area isn’t so great, so it was straight back on the tube afterwards, and I did just about manage to stay awake all the way home.

Booking is recommended.  The reception is very helpful and, although they normally charge if you cancel less than 24 hours in advance, they reorganised my visit for free because the Northern Line was down one weekend.

Don’t worry if you mix up your dressing gown and towel, everyone does it.  Although, as it was their 3rd birthday party when I visited, and there were special birthday refreshments, I soon solved the problem; my dressing gown was the one with chocolate cake on the sleeve!

As at Summer 2010: see end of review for pricing

August 2012 Update

Visiting the spa on a weekday morning is a little quieter.  Once again my friend and I left it too late to book massages, but one treatment we could indulge in was dry flotation as this doesn't require an attendant, apart from tucking you in.  The dry flotation room is opposite the steam rooms with a hospital style curtain to protect your privacy.  You lie on a flat bed and are tucked in with a heated blanket, plugged into headphones with relaxing music and left to float.  The best bit is when the water surges in, lifting you up and giving that great weightless feeling.  My friend who had lower back problems had half an hour and didn't feel it was enough.  I had booked an hour and, although it felt good, I wasn't enjoying it as much as I had enjoyed lying in the hammam, so after 50 minutes I squeezed the release button, unlocked my treatment room and headed back out into the spa.  On this occasion the ice pool wasn't very cold (which some people complained about) but it was just about the perfect temperature for me to enjoy a quick float in.

March 2013 Update

I organised a spa day for a group of ladies here on a Tuesday (one of the ladies only days) and finally got to try out their massage treatments (which are nearly always booked up in advance). 

The good news is that all of the massages were exceptional and I couldn't believe how much more relaxed I was after just a 15 minute back massage - truly world class!  The wrap treatments had a slightly less positive response from the ladies but it was wonderful to see everyone leaving with a new air of relaxation - and these ladies deserve every second of pampering as they all do so much for everyone else!

The bad news is that the spa has stopped serving food and you're lucky to even be able to order a coffee or tea (herbal tea is always on hand for free).  When fruit is put out it is snapped up immediately and we were relieved we had smuggled in snack bars.  (Sitting eating them in our dressing gowns we felt like naughty ladies at an old school health farm.)  Some other guests were blatantly eating crisps in the hammam, which is not really the vibe we were looking for.

The other negative is that although the reception team are efficient at dealing with email requests and were fab with our bookings, it proved impossible to contact them by phone, which would be a major problem for most of my ladies as many of them do not use email.  On the upside some of the ladies have already been back to the spa, opting to use the heat treatment rooms, but they would have loved to have been able to book treatments in advance too.

Also there were some discrepancies between the online menu and the printed massage menu and they also had additional treatments that I found out about via email - which makes it hard for anyone not online to make the most of this spa.

2010 Professional Beauty Awards Day Spa of the Year

3 hour entry £24 (this is plenty of time and you may be allowed to stay for longer if it’s not busy) includes robe, towel and flip-flops, or £23.50 for an annual card £3.50 and cardholder's entry £20.  As at March 2013.

Dry flotation is £20 for half an hour and £35 for an hour.

Discounts are available with membership only, which is £3.50 standard, £1.80 concessionary and rates go swiftly down to as little as £8.00 - but only until 4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 2.30pm Friday/Saturday

For more details visit http://www.spa-london.org/subpage.asp?id=208&mainid=63

Escape – Welsh Waterfalls, South Wales

I am a sucker for waterfalls, perhaps because they are few and far between in England, but Wales has no shortage of stunning cascades.  What there seems to be in Wales is a shortage of good information about where to find them, and you may find yourself having to study an actual printed map or follow signs through a deserted old mining town to a car park and then trek for a bit to find these magical spots.

In short I think the waterfalls in Wales are criminally overlooked but you know, as I said, I do love a waterfall. 

A few of my favourites are;

Sgwd Henrhyd, the highest waterfall in South Wales with a very steep walk down and a small space behind the waterfall where you're not really supposed to go (apparently this also doubled as the entrance to the Batcave in a recent Batman film).

Melincourt is also a beautiful fall to visit and a much easier walk.

All wonderfully free

Visited on or before 2010

Escape – Rhossili Beach – Rhossili, South Wales

Very often I run scared from things that are reputed to be… Britain's most beautiful beach or Wales' most beautiful park because I am more often than not disappointed. I also happen to think that it's hard for any beach not to be beautiful, so I remember as I was driving around exploring the Gower area of Wales sitting at the junction… shall I go back and get some dinner and an early night or head down to take a look at this so called stunningly beautiful beach… yawn.  Oh, alright.

It may be that this is Britain's most beautiful beach (it is certainly part of the first area of the UK to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) but on the evening that I visited I was blessed with also one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, and a display of paragliding from the nearby cliffs that made my heart skip a beat.

As I looked out across the bay it was like watching angels in heaven.

I can't guarantee that the sun will shine or you will experience anything as stunning as this, but if you are in the area (maybe visiting waterfalls) consider taking a left to Rhossili and forgetting about the early night.

Visited August 2010

Free aside from parking fees

Spa – Thermae Bath Spa – Bath, England

Although I had been thinking about coming to the Thermae Bath Spa for some time, I finally went because I was passing by and I was feeling really emotionally drained after a friend's memorial service.  What better time to come to a healing spa? 

Apparently Thermae Bath Spa has been voted 2010 Best Spa in the World by readers of the Daily Telegraph’s Ultra Travel Magazine for the second time running.  Did you know that you could enjoy the Best Spa in the World for only £14? 

You can’t book sessions to use the spa's hydrotherapy facilities unless you also book a treatment or you’re in a big group, so