Feel-good festivals that’ll leave you gorgeous not grotty

Festival season is well and truly upon us — but if the thought of tramping around a field full of mud and millennials fills you with horror, don’t fret.

summer 2017 is all about the fitness festival — a glorious concept designed for grown-ups who want to return from a weekend away feeling energised and restored, not wrung out and exhausted.

Wellness festivals are a whirl of health, fitness and fun. Morning yoga party, anyone? expect Pilates, spa treatments and luxury accommodation — and, yes, there is still booze, but balance and a natural high are the order of the day.

as Carl Faure, co-founder of the exhale Festival, says: ‘Our event is for those who once enjoyed more hedonistic times but, these days, want to do yoga before getting to the bar.’ Here is our pick of the festivals that will leave you feeling truly fabulous . . .

WOODLAND WORKOUT

WHERE: lovefit, st Clere estate, Kemsing, sevenoaks, Kent (July 28-31).

WHAT: enjoy hot yoga in a wood-fired yurt or visit the forest gym for circuit training and spinning. there is also wild swimming and a forest spa with hot tubs and hammocks. Or wind down with woodland meditation, yoga and skinny prosecco.

LISTEN TO: soul, rhythm and blues, house and hip-hop.

TUCK IN: Posh burgers or falafel wraps and frozen coconut yoghurt.

CHEERS! sip a cocktail made with fresh fruit and berries, or there’s gluten-free beer or freshly made smoothies.

CAMPING OR GLAMPING? You can bring your own tent: camping is included in the ticket price. Happily, those past roughing it can upgrade to ready-prepared bell tents or deluxe junior tent-houses at the Pop-up Hotel (£495 for two adults, three nights).

COST: tickets cost from £80-£140.

PIMMS AND PILATES

WHERE: Wilderness, Cornbury Park, Charlbury, Oxfordshire (august 3-6).

WHAT: expect every type of yoga you can think of, plus Pilates, t’ai chi and well-being workshops on how to boost your happiness. therapists from Neal’s Yard Remedies will be offering facials and aromatherapy massages.

take part in ‘ wild medicine walks’, wander the woods with guided foraging or experience flyfishing and archery. there is an art studio, forest theatre, cabaret, comedy, talks and debates.

LISTEN TO: Grace Jones is headlining on sunday. if, unaccountably, you need more, there is an orchestral tribute to Nina simone, too.

TUCK IN: Oh my. luxurious, longtable banquets with a superb chef at the helm each night: Yotam Ottolenghi, Nuno Mendes of posh london restaurant the Chiltern Firehouse, thomasina Miers.

Deliciously ella will host a supper club (spelt pizza with aubergine, mushroom and broccoli, lemon tart) and you can book restaurants, including angela Hartnett’s italian-style Cafe Murano.

CHEERS! there’s a veuve Clicquot champagne bar, Pimm’s Croquet Club, sipsmith Gin shop, Rum Bar and Rioja terrace. No one’s going thirsty.

CAMPING OR GLAMPING? Of course you can glamp! sleep in an awardwinning yurt, bell tent, pretty traditional- style caravan or summer lodge in the woods for two. Buy a wristband for access to luxury loos (£30 adult; £5 child).

COST: tickets from £178.

GLASTONBURY FOR GROWN-UPS

WHERE: Yoga Connects, Garslade Farm, Glastonbury, somerset (July 7-9)

WHAT: Perfect if you fancy a bop in a shamanic disco (where you dance blindfolded to tunes mixed by a shaman DJ), or simply a spot of sunrise meditation.

Wind down with an indian head massage, raindrop therapy (no, not a metaphor for the english summer, but aromatherapy and reflexology combined in a massage), ayurvedic treatments and Chinese medicine.

You can also avail yourself of a tarot reading from a psychic, or consult a past-life regressionist.

LISTEN TO: indian classical, soul and reggae and, no doubt, several round-the-fire guitar sessions. TUCK IN: vegetarian treats galore. CHEERS! sip prosecco, cocktails, acai juice and margarita slushies.

CAMPING OR GLAMPING? Campervans or tents (£15 camping ticket per person per night), or there are glamping options (£230 per tent). there are shuttle buses to Glastonbury town for those who wish to play it safe in an airbnb.

COST: From £135 for a weekend ticket / £99 for locals (camping is not included).

SUNRISE YOGA AND SPA TREATMENTS

WHERE: soul Circus, the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire (august 18-20) WHAT: start the day with sunrise yoga, or try hot or blindfold yoga. a lakeside spa provides massages, hot tubs and a sauna. Cookery, nutrition and body image workshops as well as dream-mapping classes are also on offer.

LISTEN TO: Reggae, rhumba, soul. TUCK IN: vegetarian sushi, juice and fruit, and sri lankan jungle curry.

CHEERS: Fresh juice or locally produced cider, gin, craft beers or organic wine, and cocktails from a resident mixologist. CAMPING OR GLAMPING? it’s £25 to pitch your own tent, or glamping opions start at £695. there is also a VIP retreat — ‘a space to unwind, relax and recompose’ — with hot drinks and champagne cocktails, and on-demand dining service.

COST: From £69 (Friday, day ticket) to £199 (weekend ticket). VIP weekend ticket, £399.

RAVES AND REIKI

WHERE: exhale, Fairoaks Farm, West sussex (august 25-28)

WHAT: there’s a yoga party in the 16th- century barn, meditation, callisthenics, or try biodynamics (another exercise system), breathwork, reiki or a massage.

LISTEN TO: House, jazz and soul. TUCK IN: Banana and maple syrup crepes, smoothies and cake.

CHEERS! there’s craft beers and exhale’s own-brand cider.

CAMPING OR GLAMPING? Camping is included in the ticket price. Boutique camping is available: hire bell tents with roll-out beds, rugs, a wind-up light and chandelier (£270 for the full weekend).

COST: saturday or sunday adult day tickets cost £60, weekend tickets are £150.