The Zest Life, Menai Bridge (Porthaethwy) (2026)

25/10/2026

You spend all year being the woman who gets things done.

The one who remembers, organises, delivers, decides and somehow holds everything together.

And then December arrives.

More demands. More decisions. More expectations. More of you being needed by everyone else.

But what if this year, you did something differently?

What if, before the festive rush begins, you gave yourself two nights to step away from it all?

🌿 Walk through the beautiful Welsh countryside.
🧘‍♀️ Move, stretch and breathe with daily yoga.
🍂 Enjoy nourishing seasonal food.
✨ Connect with like-minded women.
🤍 Remember what it feels like to have nothing you need to organise.

Yoga & Walking Retreat in North Wales, 20–22 November, is your invitation to pause before the pace of December takes over.

Because the ultimate festive preparation isn’t doing more.

It’s making sure you have something left to give — including to yourself.

Ready to make space for you?

Book your last-minute place today

14/10/2026

The space, the season, the feeling. Zest Life, North Wales.

Yoga with Leo Oppenheim, winter walks, cold water for the brave, good food by the fire, and time to breathe.

If you’re looking to recharge before Christmas, this could be your retreat.

Share this with that someone, who you know needs this just as much as you do.....

Yoga & Cold Water · 13-15 November · Link in bio to book.

13/10/2026

LAST TWO PLACES: Yoga & Walking in North Wales,
20–22 November.

Picture a weekend in the hills of the Vale of Clwyd, with daily yoga, long walks on the Clwydian Range, good food by the fire and time that’s entirely your own.

Sound good? Then our Yoga & Walking weekend at Plas Ashpool is made for you.

What’s included:

-2 nights at The Barn, Plas Ashpool, a beautifully converted barn on the farm where I grew up
-Daily yoga in the studio, with floor-to-ceiling windows over the valley
-Guided walks on the Clwydian Range with Mel
-Restorative evening practice by the wood burner
-All meals, cooked by Kimberly and shared at one long table
-Private woodland and a wild swimming pond, for anyone brave enough for a November dip
-A small group of like-minded women
Time for yourself, with every detail taken care of

Looking for a proper pause before December, a weekend outdoors, and the chance to come home feeling clearer and more like yourself?

Then this is your weekend.

20–22 November 2026
Plas Ashpool, North Wales,
from £745 full board, nothing to do except turn up.

Reserve your place through the link in bio.

Laura x

13/10/2026

Yoga & Walking in North Wales, 20–22 November.

A small-group weekend retreat at Plas Ashpool in the Vale of Clwyd, with a few places left.

This is the farm I grew up on. I’ve walked these hills since I was a child, and November is when I love them most: bracken turned copper, frost along the Clwydian Range, and that clear, cold light that makes you want to keep going. We walk straight from the door each day, guided by me.

Mornings begin with yoga in the studio and evenings are slower, with the wood burner lit and Kimberly’s plant-based meals enjoyed at one long table.

Two nights, every detail taken care of. A proper pause before December arrives.

Reserve your place from just £745 pp.

08/10/2026

The Christmas adverts have started, and the leaves haven't even finished falling. Let Autumn be Autumn is waht I want to shout!

Every shop window and every scroll is telling us we need more. This week, I'm stepping off that train.

Picture yourself on the platform. The train of more stuff, more spending and more must-haves rattles past, and you simply let it go. Then you turn around and find a tree full of autumn colour, stand in awe!

The simple things is where the good stuff lies. Coffee drunk while it's still hot. The flicker of the fire on a dark evening. The long way home, crunching through the leaves.

What's the simple thing that makes your heart feel light? Tell me below, I'd love to know. 👇🏼

Ps - This tree caught my eye the other day, does anyone know what it is called?

07/10/2026

The day I couldn't get on the bus to college, I made jam instead.

I was in my early twenties, living with crippling anxiety and feeling like a complete failure. So I did the one thing that always helped and went for a walk. Picking blackberries along the lanes, I felt a strong pull to go home and cook. I filled my pinny with apples from Mum's orchard and spent the whole afternoon making blackberry and apple jam, right down to the little cloth caps on the lids.

For the first time in weeks, my heart felt light and safe. That afternoon has stayed with me for over 25 years. It's when I learned that the simple things are the ones that matter most.

This week in my founder journal, I've written about wanting more, finding joy in less, and stepping off the consumer train before the Christmas rush begins. Link in bio. 🔗

07/10/2026

Four days of lake dips, sauna, yoga and fireside rest on the shores of Windermere.

January asks a lot of us. The light is short, the to-do list is long, and Christmas has usually taken more than it gave. This is the pause that comes after.

We'll be based in a grand but homely house with private Windermere frontage. Mornings begin with yoga to wake the body, followed by guided cold water dips in the lake. Every dip is taken at your own pace, and complete beginners are very welcome. Afternoons are for frosty walks, sauna, naps and books by the fire. Evenings soften into restorative yoga, breath work and warm, seasonal plant-based food.

It's a small group of 12 with everything taken care of, so all you need to do is arrive.

Wild Winter Retreat,
Lake District | 15–18 January 2027
with Leo Oppenheim
5 places left · From £995 pp · Full board.
Reserve your place through the link in bio.

02/10/2026

Sanctuary travel is on the rise, and more and more women over 50 are choosing deep rest over busy itineraries. We've been doing this at Zest Life for over a decade and simply called it retreating.

This week in the Lake District we swam every day, sometimes three times a day. We sat in the sauna and dipped in the lake, napped in the afternoons, had massages and turned our phones off.

Rest comes in more forms than sleep. There are seven kinds, from physical and mental to sensory, creative and spiritual, and on retreat you find all seven at once, along with the connection so many of us are missing.

Which kind of rest do you need most right now? Tell us in the comments.

The full story is on the blog, link in bio.🔗

Swim guiding
Plant Based Food
Accommodation

02/10/2026

Sanctuary travel is on the rise, and more and more women over 50 are choosing deep rest over busy itineraries. We've been doing this at Zest Life for over a decade and simply called it retreating.

I've just come home from our retreat in the Lake District. We swam every day, sometimes three times a day. We sat in the sauna and dipped in the lake, napped in the afternoons, had massages, listened to beautiful music and turned our phones off.

Rest comes in more forms than sleep. Physician Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith describes seven kinds: physical, mental, emotional, social, sensory, creative and spiritual. The beauty of a retreat is that you find all seven at once. Spiritual rest found us by the water, in a part of the world so unspoilt that its beauty beats in your heart.

What I see most on retreat, though, is women in need of connection. So many of us are natural nurturers, and by midlife we've often run a little low. Stepping away from everyday responsibilities gives you time to reflect, and to focus on yourself for once.

Which kind of rest do you need most right now? Tell us in the comments.

The full story is on the blog, link in bio.

Swim guide
Plant Based Chef
Accommodation

The Zest Life

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