Short days, cold nights – we feel like booking a break that will benefit mind, body and soul. Spa journalist, author & founder of www.queenofretreats.com Caroline Sylger Jones shares six of her favourite luxury health breaks in the UK

The Detox Break – ila spa emotional detox, various venues

Run by the founder of organic ila skincare Denise Leicester, this is a wonderful retreat where you learn to focus on what is ‘right’ with you rather than what is wrong. Learn how to use chakra yoga, meditation, Nordic walking, journaling and chanting to truly relax. Add delicious daily ila spa treatments and long private baths with Himalayan salts and you won’t want to leave. The next five-day retreat runs at Chewton Glen in Hampshire from 10 March 2013.

The Yoga Weekend – Yeotown, North Devon

Yeotown is an unexpectedly contemporary haven in a lush, rural setting, which offers fresh and fun long weekends mixing yoga with earthly pleasures – come for yoga sessions with cooking, surfing, belly dancing, raw chocolate or live music and learn how the practice can permeate all aspects of life. You can expect power showers, underfloor heating, decent beds, great treatments with local therapists – the next fresh and fun weekend is over near year from 29 Dec to 2 Jan 2013, a yoga and wine break called Vinyasas & Vino.

The Spa Break – Limewood spa hotel, Hampshire

This country house hotel in the heart of the New Forest National Park is a genuinely delightful mix of the chic and traditional. The Herb House spa in the grounds is elegant and beautifully equipped, and offers day spa packages as well as health and fitness retreats. Lovely long walks, cycle rides and horse-riding through the forest are on your doorstep, and the food everywhere is divine.

The Healthy Holiday – Revive week at Hotel Tresanton, Cornwall

Hosted each year at the elegant Hotel Tresanton at St Mawes in Cornwall, ‘Revive week’ is a spa holiday that combines expert nutritional advice, healthy eating, body work and treatments with plenty of time to relax in the surroundings of this elegant, boutique hotel and enjoy the sea air. The week features talks by Dr Mariano Spiezia, the Italian medical doctor, homeopath and herbalist who founded Spiezia and Inlight organic skincare. The next week runs from 24 Feb-3 March 2013.

The Life Coaching Break – The Retreat at Witherdens Hall, Kent

You’ll be the only guest at this tranquil retreat just an hour from London, where you stay in a sweetly converted contemporary barn. Go for local walks, relax and pad about in your PJs, and arrange a schedule of treatments with carefully picked local therapists – the signature facial with Marilyn and the life coaching sessions with Louise come especially recommended.

The Ayurvedic Break – Wellbeing Escapes at The Scarlet, Cornwall

The Scarlet is a refreshingly different, rather fun and totally unpretentious place to relax that offers dedicated three night, four day wellbeing escapes throughout the year featuring Ayurvedic rituals and treatments. Set above the romantic, wind-swept beach at Mawgan Porth, it has contemporary interiors, impeccable eco-credentials, upmarket comfort food and laid-back, friendly staff.

Ask for more information or book any of these health breaks at www.queenofretreats.com

About Caroline Sylger Jones

Author and journalist Caroline Sylger Jones is the founder and editor of www.queenofretreats.com, which offers independent reviews and advice on spa breaks, retreats and healthy holidays. Caroline writes regularly about spas, retreats, and healthy holidays for national newspapers and glossy magazines, and is the author of Body & Soul Escapes and Body & Soul Escapes: Britain & Ireland (Footprint Books).