A WILD WELLNESS RETREAT

T3’ s Ruth Hamilton heads on a Thera-Sea retreat to see if getting back to nature really is the best medicine

Thera-Sea is a wellness retreat, but not the pampering kind. Founded and run by mental health nurse and ocean-lover Katy

Griffin, these retreats are designed to diffuse the stresses of modern life via a

mixture of wild living, adventurous activities and lifestyle medicine workshops. I joined a group on one of the two-night stays at 7th Rise, a remote location on the banks of the River Fal in Cornwall, to see if getting back to nature could provide the wellness boost we’re all looking for.

With outdoor showers and toilets, limited electricity and even more limited phone signal, this was a strictly back-tobasics trip. While screens are allowed,

Griffin’s suggestion that we take a break from them was embraced with almost indecent enthusiasm. Thera-Sea retreats run all year round, and although my retreat took place in May, the glorious sunshine was interspersed with bouts of absolutely biblical wind and driving rain, so you can rest assured I got ‘ the full experience’. Thankfully, the catering, which came courtesy of The Aussie Smoker, was far from basic, and several large leaps above your average camping grub.

As T3’ s Outdoors Editor, I didn’t need selling on the restorative power of getting out in nature. The activities, which ranged from cold water swimming to axe throwing to paddle boarding, were the rewarding kind of challenging, even if not all my efforts were wholly successful (campfire building: trickier than it looks, folks). “The activities get you focused and motivated and help you to push through some barriers,” says Griffin. “It’s great to remind yourself you’re capable of these things.”

Also on the agenda were daily wellness workshops, during which we explored things like how to manage stress, sort out your sleep, and improve your relationships. For me, these sessions were less appealing even than taking a dip in a freezing river. Sure, talking about your fears and anxieties with strangers can be cathartic, but what if one of your fears is talking about your anxieties with strangers? Despite that awkwardness – that apparently only I felt – we covered a lot of things that I’ve found myself implementing in the weeks since the retreat, so I’ll concede it’s probably been good for me in the long run. “It’s about preventative work and what you can do in everyday life that just keeps you a little bit better,” explains Griffin.

To find out more or book a Thera-Sea retreat, head to thera-sea.co.uk.