A festival promising everything from yoga and wild swimming to live music, inspiring talks, cookery demonstrations and creative workshops is heading to Cambridgeshire for the first time this September.
The Big Retreat Cambridgeshire takes place at Abbots Ripton Estate from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September 2026, offering visitors a three-day programme designed around wellbeing, entertainment, food and simply switching off from the pressures of everyday life.
Rather than being a conventional music festival or a traditional wellness retreat, organisers say guests are free to create their own experience, dipping in and out of activities including yoga, Pilates, fitness, meditation, breathwork, gong baths, wild swimming, arts and crafts, singing and dancing, with live music taking over in the evenings.
Among the best-known names appearing on the festival's talks programme are comedian and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax, broadcaster Gail Porter, author and campaigner Anna Whitehouse, psychologist Anna Mathur, nutritionist Dr Joshua Wolrich and UCL academic Professor Joyce Harper.
Foodies will also be well catered for, with chef Kwoklyn Wan, Dale Pinnock – The Medicinal Chef, Martyn Odell and Sarah Ann Mackin appearing for live demonstrations and "Kitchen Conversations".
The evening line-up includes live sets and entertainment from Youngr, ABBA Revival, DJ Mother Pukka, Hang Massive, Modern Biology, Blaine and Namiri.
The Cambridgeshire event follows The Big Retreat's established festival in Pembrokeshire, which attracted more than 4,000 people earlier this year.
Organisers also point to independent research led by Professor Harper, which found that more than 80% of attendees reported an improvement in their mental wellbeing after attending the festival, while almost 80% said they felt happier afterwards.
Festival founder Amber Lort-Phillips describes The Big Retreat as neither simply a wellness festival nor a music festival, but somewhere people can "press pause", try something different and hopefully leave feeling happier than when they arrived.
Event details
The Big Retreat Cambridgeshire
When: 11–13 September 2026
Where: Abbots Ripton Estate, Cambridgeshire
Tickets: Weekend tickets from £269; day tickets from £79
More information: bigretreatcambridgeshire.com
