Elmley’s Nutrition in Nature Retreat: The Ultimate Rest and Reset

Our Nutrition in Nature Retreat is self-guided, which means it’s tailored to the individual and available on any date, with no pressure to commit to a group retreat. The Retreat allows our guests the space and expert guidance to think about their nutrition and health, while enjoying a relaxing overnight stay on the Reserve, whether they are staying alone or with a friend or partner.

Created in collaboration with Hills & Newton, who are nutritionist Virginia Hills and real food coach Katy Newton, each Nutrition in Nature Retreat is tailored to the individual guest, shaped to allow the ultimate rest and reset.

“The Retreat is a chance to slow down, relax and think about yourself for once” explains Virginia.

“The benefit of being out in nature makes a retreat at Elmley an ideal jumping off point for improving your health.

As Hills & Newton, Katy and I offer easy, practical and accessible advice around subjects such as gut health and hormone balance. A lot of what we do is about removing barriers. The idea is not to overwhelm, to provide easy takeaways to start you on that journey, to slowly unpeel the layers of past habits and reset.

Ahead of their stay, Retreat guests will fill in a short questionnaire, recording what they eat and where, how their average day looks and highlighting areas they are struggling with, like sleep, stress and energy.

We’ll then do a one hour video consultation, which can be done before or during their stay, looking in more detail at their answers and giving them tips to start to start thinking about, or implementing, while they are at Elmley.

A lot of people don’t know about what they can do, there's a worry factor and there’s so much info out there which can be really confusing. We want to take the stress out of it and make it easier for them. It’s about shifting the focus from “what am I eating?” to “how can I enjoy my life and eat well for that” in an easy practical way.

For example, most women are depleted in magnesium, which is really hard to get enough purely from food. For this, we might include adding a side of green leaves to their meals but also work in the use of epsom salts during their stay, essentially a form of magnesium you absorb into your skin as you soak in one of Elmley’s amazing baths with a view.

Being out in nature is an important part of the Retreat and for all guests we’ll be talking about the benefit to getting out for a walk in the morning light before 10am. People often don’t list sleep as their main problem, but when we dig deeper it’s a common theme. It’s not just sleep, but the whole circadian rhythm. Immersing yourself in nature can help with resetting the circadian rhythm thus improving sleep and reducing stress, which in turn can improve some of the common menopausal symptoms.

The Retreat offers an opportunity to totally reset, simply by going out for a walk on the Reserve, relaxing, having a bath, going to bed on time. We’ll talk about “rest and digest”, how your digestion works better when you are relaxed and not trying to do something else at the same time.

It’s also why we’d recommend adding on a treatment during the stay, anything that relaxes the individual and brings them down to that level is great.

We want people to have a wonderful time, but also use the opportunity to rethink and reevaluate - to make those small changes on a daily basis, rather than drastic changes that won’t last.”

The Nutrition in Nature Retreat includes an overnight stay, a personalised walking map of Elmley, a consultation with BANT registered nutritionist Virginia Hills, a journal and a nutrition advice pack including simple food ideas you can apply at home, developed with real food coach Katy Newton to tackle specific health concerns.

To book your Retreat, choose the stay of your choice at Elmley here and add the Retreat on as an option during the booking process, or get in touch at stay@elmleynaturereserve.co.uk 07930 847520 if you have any questions.