The Fisher King Centre
Glastonbury, Somerset
(01458-831182; ploughshares.co.uk)

From £950 per person per week in a single room

This is a warm, homely place to detox that only takes a maximum of four people each week, so you will be assured of one to one attention. Colleagues Michael, a nutritionist, iridologist, bodyworker and dedicated vegan, and Fiona, a colon hydrotherapist and reflexologist, have been running detoxes here for more than ten years. They are calm and compassionate, with an expert knowledge of nutrition. There’s just one, well-tested six-day juice detox on offer, when you’ll get a session of colonic hydrotherapy with Fiona every other day, and daily treatments.

The house is set off a quiet residential road, a 20-minute walk from Glastonbury Tor, with circular walks from the door. Bedrooms are comfortable and light, but share a bathroom. For couples with children, or people seeking more privacy, there’s a two-bedroom flat a short walk from the house. Fiona also offers workshops in your home on how to prepare healthy, raw, wheat-free or gluten-free diets (from £100 a day).

Top 10 breaks to get you out of a rut

Tired of listless beach holidays? From a soulful retreat in a Californian canyon to Wildfitness in Kenya, we select the best holidays to reboot your life

10 classic lifestyle holidays

We've sifted through our archive to dig out the most spiritually uplifting breaks to help you feel good

• The Good Spa Guide: Budget

Related Links

• England's Top 10 budget spas

• Top five spas for under £100

Sura Detox
Nr Dolton, North Devon
(0845-6343895; suradetox.com)

From £700 per person per week in a shared room

Sura Detox is an effective week-long programme for detoxing in a caring and non-judgmental environment. Held once a month, every month, it’s run by a team of Totnes-based therapists who are passionate about empowering their clients to understand and look after their own health. You’ll detox with a programme of organic juices, supplements and twice-daily colonics, though you’re encouraged to listen to your body and only have as many colonics as you feel comfortable with.

Expect morning meditation, afternoon yoga and thoroughly-researched nutrition talks with Dao, co-founder of Sura Detox. Your base is Ham Farm, a set of comfortable, traditional cottages set in peaceful grounds. Included in the price is an hour "enquiring into being human" with homeopath and allergy therapist Kate (07970-491475, katemaryon.com). For each client, Sura donates half an acre of primary rainforest in Brazil to a charity underwritten by David Attenborough.

Homefield Grange
Rushton, Northamptonshire
(01536-712219; homefieldgrangeretreat.co.uk)

From £395 per person for 2 nights

This homely retreat is set in a converted farm and offers two, five and seven-night detox programmes led by colonic hydrotherapist and naturopath Suzanne Peck, who embraces the healthy life she encourages others to live and inspires regular repeat guests. Suzanne is on hand every day apart from Sundays, and offers her time, knowledge and expertise generously.

On each programme you can choose to cleanse with only organic fruit and vegetable juices, or to eat light cleansing raw foods as well. A colonic is included on the weekend and five-day detoxes, two colonics on the seven-day detoxes - any extras cost £70 each. Treatments such as a lymphatic drainage massage are included – others cost from £25. On longer detoxes you’ll have access to pilates, yoga and relaxation classes, and there are country walks to be had nearby. You sleep in one of just eight comfy rooms, and there’s a gym with an infra-red sauna outside the main house – bring flip flops to get there easily.

The Harmonology Centre
Culbokie, Invernesshire, Scotland
(01349-877828; harmonology.eu)

from £880 per person per week

Set in a few acres of gardens on the Black Isle with invigorating panoramic views over the sea at Cromarty Firth, the Harmonology Centre is the family home of Berliner, Horst Vallant, and his Scottish wife, Guthrie, who have been offering detox and fasting breaks here for more than 20 years. Comforting and knowledgable, Guthrie trained with a Swiss German scientist in quantum physics and bio-energy medicine, and offers flexible, specially tailored programmes to treat people from all walks of life, from tired parents to business high fliers who, as she says, have "forgotten their bodies".

Detox programmes could include the basics of meditation, healthy cooking advice, exercises for suppleness, nutrition consultations, tonics, herbs and wheat grass and a clysmatic (mini colonic). Guthrie’s own "Swiss formula" therapeutic massage is tailored to the individual. Only six people can stay at any one time, so you are assured of one to one attention. Accommodation is in three comfortable ensuite rooms.

Cloona Health Centre
Nr Westport, County Mayo, Ireland
(+ 353 (0) 98 25251; cloona.ie)

From €490 (£410) per person for three nights

Cloona is a converted 200-year-old corn mill set just off a quiet road, with a private woodland walk opposite the property. Detox programmes have been on offer here since 1971, long before the concept became so fashionable, and it’s one of few programmes that doesn’t include colonics as part of the process. The watchword is simplicity, from the crisp white sheets on the single beds to the structured regime of yoga, massage, walks and light vegan diet.

Owner and course director Dhara Kelly lays down the law with humour and charm. The regime includes wheat grass on rising, a breakfast of citrus fruit, followed by two hours of gentle Satyananda yoga. Lunch is hearty vegan soup and plentiful raw salads, mostly organic, and appetising if light on protein. A bracing three to five mile guided walk follows – a different route every day through winding lanes, woodland trails or along windswept beaches.

There is no television or radio, mobile phones are banned inside the house and guests are encouraged to keep contact with home to a minimum. This sounds draconian, but it’s actually strangely luxurious – a cast-iron excuse to switch off completely.

Body & Soul Escapes: Britain and Ireland by Caroline Sylger Jones is published by Footprint books and features breaks and places to stay for those, including parents, who want time out to relax as well as spa fans, yoga enthusiasts, spiritual seekers and the restless who want to rethink careers or relationships. For more information visit www.carolinesylgerjones.co.uk

Times recommends

• Oasis of the Seas: the Times review
• The 20 best new year party places to stay
• Green Spaces 2009: are you the winning writer?