Verve held its third wellness festival on Saturday 17 September, in the beautiful grounds of Hatch House, Tisbury
by Katrina Ffiske.

There was a buzz of energy and happiness throughout this glorious sunny day. Everyone was incredibly relaxed, wandering around, sitting on hay bales, listening to live music, and meeting and chatting with like-minded people.
There was a programme of yoga, fitness classes, meditation workshops, nature walks, talks, pop-ups and live music. Extra classes included gong baths, breathwork and Vinyasa flow, and African dance.
Those who wanted to shop were treated to stalls from Bramley (bath and products created locally near Hatch House), Ebo (skincare and well-being products), Angie B (yoga mats and bolsters), NEST (a private early-years consultancy), and Glow Yoga Studios. Lifestyle medicine physicians Dr Helen Pickup and Dr Toby Williams were on hand to offer individually tailored programmes to achieve health goals or needs.
Throughout the day there were talks including statistician Nic Marks on happiness and Belinda Kirk on the connection between adventure and wellbeing. Festival-goers wandered in and out of tents, including Harriet Combes’s The Red Tent, which had a steady flow of women popping in for informal talks on menstrual cycles and fertility issues.

Lucy from NEST (left), and Aimee Strongman (right) from Glow Yoga Studios

There mutterings that everyone would like next year’s event to be a two-day festival, as camping is also included, it seems a pity not to stretch it out to two days.
Congratulations to Anna Hayward for organising a fantastic festival. As I left they were preparing for an evening of music with DJ sets from Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Radio 6), Will Streetwise (Shindig Festival, Ghetto Funk) and DJ Emma (BBC Radio Wiltshire, 1BTN).
www.feeltheverve.com