There are places that look impressive in photographs and places that feel different once you arrive. The Manor is the second sort: a private manor in Hampshire’s New Forest, surrounded by woodland, open countryside, peaceful gardens and enough outdoor space to lose track of your phone without making a formal announcement about it.

This is where I host a small-group wellness retreat, with yoga, meditation, good food and plenty of time to do very little. The setting matters because the weekend is not only about what happens on a yoga mat. It is about the spaces between sessions: the chair you disappear into with a book, the walk that takes longer than expected, the meal that turns into an evening of conversation.

Dates and prices

Here is the useful bit — clear, confirmed and easy to scan.

• Dates 4-6 Dec, 8-10 Dec 2026, 15-17 Jan, 19-21 Jan, Feb 26-28, Mar 2-4, Nov 19-21, 23-25 Nov, Dec 3-5, 7-9 2027
• Shared twin room: from £650 per person
• Private room: from £950 per person
• Deposit: £250 secures your place

To book, email info@novamilesko.com.

Booking directly is preferred because it avoids extra third-party charges and keeps the refund process simpler. Glamorous? No. Useful? Very.

A private estate in the New Forest

The Manor sits on an expansive private estate in Hampshire’s New Forest, close to Lymington and the nearby coast. You have woodland and heathland nearby, open lawns, formal gardens, terraces and long stretches of countryside that make ordinary city noise seem faintly unnecessary.

The estate is generous without feeling showy. There is room to walk, sit outside, talk, be quiet and avoid group activities with the calm confidence of someone who has understood the brief.

Nearby, you can explore:

• New Forest woodland and heathland
• Coastal walks, harbour views and nature reserves
• Lymington’s high street, cafés and marina
• Beaches and open countryside
• Free-roaming New Forest ponies
• Optional sea swimming, weather permitting

The coast is close enough to offer salty air and changing skies, while the estate itself gives you a quieter place to return to afterwards.

The Den: where the practice happens

The Den is the dedicated yoga and group space at The Manor. This is where the retreat’s movement, meditation and group sessions take place, away from the distractions of the main house and with enough room for everyone to settle properly.

A typical retreat includes around ten yoga, workshop and meditation sessions across the weekend. That may sound like a lot, because it is a lot. It is also entirely optional.

You might join a morning Vinyasa practice to build warmth and energy, then return later for Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, breathwork, meditation or a sound bath. There may be an aerial workshop, creative practice, guided journaling or time for reflection.

There is no prize for attending everything. There is certainly no prize for being the most flexible person in the room. Beginners are welcome, experienced practitioners are welcome, and anyone who needs to rest is doing exactly the right thing.

Rooms that encourage you to stop rushing

The Manor’s shared rooms give the weekend a different rhythm from a hotel stay. You are not funnelled from reception to breakfast to a conference room while someone silently judges your lanyard.

The bedrooms are spacious, calm and properly comfortable, with a mix of shared twin rooms, private rooms and larger rooms with garden views. You have somewhere to land between sessions — somewhere to read, nap, stare out of the window or avoid being terribly available for a while.

The table is the centre of the weekend

Food is not an afterthought at my retreats. It is part of the structure of the weekend and, frankly, one of the reasons people are willing to leave their homes, where the snacks are usually less interesting.

Meals are generous, seasonal and prepared with care. The food is vegetarian and vegan, with dietary requirements discussed in advance so you are not left interrogating a sauce like a food detective.

Across the retreat, you can expect:

• A nourishing farmhouse breakfast
• Morning tea, fresh fruit and juices
• A light seasonal lunch
• A welcoming vegetarian feast
• An evening dinner
• Retreat-style treats
• A farewell brunch

The kitchen and dining area is bright, comfortable and designed for shared meals. The table becomes the natural centre of the weekend. Somewhere to eat, talk, laugh, pause and reach for another helping without pretending you are only having it for the protein.

Grounds, water and a few ways to avoid sitting still

The grounds give you plenty to do without requiring an itinerary laminated in triplicate.

There are gardens, terraces, lawns, outdoor lounge areas and woodland walks. The grounds are generous without being fussy, and the terrace is the sort of place where one cup of tea quietly turns into an entire hour.

The estate facilities include:

• A heated swimming pool
• A hot tub
• An eight-person sauna
• A fully equipped gym
• A private tennis court
• A billiard room
• Outdoor seating and lounge areas

You can swim, use the sauna, play tennis, walk through the grounds or sit in the hot tub under the stars. You can also do none of those things and remain perfectly respectable.

The nearby New Forest ponies are free to roam and are not included in the retreat programme. They have their own schedules, priorities and apparently very little interest in personal transformation.

What a day at The Manor feels like

A day might begin with morning Vinyasa in The Den, followed by farmhouse breakfast and a slower start to the morning. Later, you could join an aerial workshop or head out for a walk through the estate and surrounding woodland.

Lunch is seasonal and light, leaving room for an afternoon of swimming, tennis, sauna time or simply disappearing into a chair with a book. There may be creative art, journaling or a guided meditation later in the day, followed by dinner around the shared table.

By evening, the pace has usually softened. You might find yourself in the hot tub, looking up at the sky, talking to someone you met that morning, or choosing silence, which is also a perfectly good social contribution.

The schedule has shape, but it is not rigid. Weather, energy levels and the needs of the group all matter. Rest counts as participation. This is a restorative yoga retreat, not an endurance event with better cushions.

Guided by experience, not performance

I run a private Yoga Therapy practice and bespoke teacher training in London. I have taught yoga and meditation to the Canadian Armed Forces, the Olympic Swimming Team, and at retreats and studios internationally.

My approach combines expert tuition with warmth, humour and room for people to make the experience their own. You will be guided clearly, offered options and encouraged to work with your body rather than compete with somebody else’s.

That includes the meditation side of the retreat. You do not need to arrive knowing how to empty your mind. Minds are not kettles. You will not be tested.

You can learn more about the wider approach through my guide to a New Forest yoga retreat, or read about how my retreats were featured by The Guardian among the best yoga retreats in the UK and Europe.

A place to come back to yourself

The Manor works because it gives you enough structure to feel held and enough freedom not to feel managed.

You can move, meditate, eat well, walk, swim, write, sleep, talk or sit quietly beside a fire. You can join every session or choose carefully. You can arrive alone. You can be new to yoga. You can be experienced and tired of pretending every class needs to be the most meaningful hour of your life.

The point is not to become a completely different person by Sunday afternoon. That sounds exhausting.

The point is to give your body and mind a proper change of pace: in a beautiful place, with good food, thoughtful teaching and space to notice what has been drowned out by the usual noise.

The next confirmed retreat dates are 9–11 October 2026, 27–29 November 2026, 10–12 December 2026, 15–17 January 2027 and 26–28 February 2027. Prices start from £650 per person for a shared twin room or £950 for a private room, and a £250 deposit secures your place.

To book, email info@novamilesko.com. Booking directly is preferred because it avoids extra third-party charges and keeps the refund process simpler.