Getting up at 6.30am for yoga followed by hiking or biking in Ireland without
a pint of Guinness or a plate of chips in sight might not sound like fun,
but people are queuing up to do it.
The Body and Soul Experience was conceived by Aidan Boyle who until recently
ran “bikini boot camps” in Brazil attracting celebrity clients such as
Davina McCall, Mariella Frostrup and even Jade Goody. Boyle describes the
experience as a “life transforming active spa vacation designed to tone the
body and clear the mind” embracing a healthy low-calorie diet free from
alcohol, caffeine and sugar.
Boyle has now returned to his native Donegal to run the same course from
Harvey’s Point – a comfortable four-star hotel on the edge of the beautiful
Lough Eske.
Being a bit nervous of all this activity and abstemiousness I signed up to a
three-night “Renew-U” weekend – Aidan also offers a week-long course for the
more hardcore. After arriving and settling into my absolutely enormous room
with the hugest TV I had ever seen I joined my fellow detoxers for our first
healthy snack - a beautifully made salad and fantastic pulpy juices.
Following a gently-paced yoga class and a soak in a huge lavender-scented bath
(run for me by housekeeping staff – I felt very spoilt) we all gathered in
the reading room to hear a little about what was to come – just 1,200
calories a day, no alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar, no excess. And a lot of
exercise.
Dinner was doll-sized but exquisite – a tiny salad leaf filled with crab salad
followed by vegetable soup and then monkfish wrapped in spinach. While not
exactly full, I did feel sated.
Next morning the real work began. An alarm call at 6.30am summoned us to an
hour of yoga at 7am – slightly more dynamic than the evening before but not
too difficult as some of the group were total beginners. After a small bowl
of perfectly-cooked porridge with prunes we assembled for our first hike –
an 11-mile trek along the Blue Stack Way.
Before we left Aidan handed out lunch – a small flask of soup, a banana and a
plum – and we set off in high spirits. The scenery was breathtaking and we
were even lucky with the weather – apart from the odd shower, the sun was
out allowing us to enjoy the spectacular views.
The group of 12 (11 women and one man) was very mixed – some were keen hikers
and some (including me) had not done much hiking at all. Aidan stressed that
we would go at the pace of the slowest and I didn’t find the walk as
physically hard as I had expected to.
What I did find difficult was trekking after so little food. By lunchtime I
had a pounding headache which stayed with me for at least 24 hours and I was
also feeling slightly sick. The soup and fruit buoyed me up just enough to
get through to the end of the walk and when Aidan produced a box of trail
mix at about the halfway point we all fell on it like vultures.
My legs ached so much by the time we arrived back I thought there was no way I
would be able to complete another hike the next day. But after a bowl of
broccoli soup, a yoga class, a hot lavender bath, a blissful massage and
another tiny but beautifully cooked and presented dinner, I actually felt in
pretty good shape.
When the alarm call rang at 6.30am the next morning I was disheartened to
discover that my headache had worsened. I dragged myself to the yoga class
feeling slightly tearful at the prospect of another hike – this one up
Slieve League – at nearly 600 metres the highest sea cliff in Europe. But
after breakfast of a poached egg with spinach and several painkillers, once
I had my hiking gear on and was out in the fresh air I didn’t feel quite so
bad.
The walk was much steeper but shorter that the previous day’s hike and I was
surprised to find it easier on my legs. Again just before lunchtime I felt
myself seriously flagging and although the weather was again mainly good,
“lunch time” involved standing in a hailstorm hurriedly gulping down soup.
The view at the top made it all worthwhile and we returned to the hotel for
yoga, baths, massages and dinner. That night I went to bed very early – head
still pounding.
The next morning was to be our last day and we were treated to a lie-in – our
alarms didn’t ring until 7am. After yoga and breakfast we were due to go on
a bike ride around the lake. The weather had changed and it was now very
windy and rainy and Boyle warned that it might not be a good idea for people
who weren’t used to bike riding.
While not used to riding a bike outside of the gym, I thought I would give it
a go but only managed part of the circuit. I had finally got rid of my
headache but this had been replaced with a nauseous feeling – I had never
realised detoxing would be such hard work. I was feeling so rough I couldn’t
eat my final goodbye lunch and was devastated – it was three courses, looked
beautiful and for the first time all weekend there was even a dessert –
apple strudel.
So was it all worth it? Definitely. Now I am home my skin looks great, I am
eating smaller portions, drinking less alcohol and sleeping better having
totally given up caffeine. I enjoyed the challenge of the exercise, the yoga
was perfectly paced, massages fantastic and the setting beautiful. It’s
certainly a very different way to spend a weekend, but it’s not for the
faint-hearted.
Need To Know Renew U Weekends - prices start from €950 (£600) per
person and include 3 nights’ accommodation at the Harvey’s Point Country
Hotel, all meals, juices and daily snacks, 2 full body massages, 24 hours
supervised activities, 5-6 yoga classes, 3 lavender salt baths, mountain
hiking, biking and all taxes. Flights and transfers are not included in the
price (UK travellers can fly to Belfast or Derry). Dates: Upcoming dates
April 12-15, May 31-June 3. Regenerate and Rejuvenate Weeks - prices start
€1,950 from per person. Dates: April 9-14 and May 31-June 6. For more
information and bookings visit www.bodyandsoulexperience.com
or call 00 353 87 9397821
Flights from Gatwick to Belfast with Flybe start at £24.29 each way. www.flybe.com
There is an altenative to flying into Dublin or Belfast, there are direct flights from London to Knock (Ireland West Airport), East Midlands to Knock, and Manchester to Knock. There are also direct flights from Manchester to Sligo, one hours south of Donegal town, location of Harveys Point.
gerri o braoin, sligo, ireland
I loved your article on Perfumes! Please could you solve a query for me? I can no longer find Femme by Rochas but have recently discovered Gucci, Rush which smells almost the same (I still have an old bottle). Are the two companies connected or is the latter just a copy. It costs very little compared to the original!
Anne Goodman, Leicester, LEICS