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Dive into a year of health and happiness with 'blue space wellness' on the coast

Whether it’s a gentle stroll on the beach or an immersive plunge in the waves, even a couple of hours of fresh sea air, or blue space wellness, can lower stress and improve mood by raising serotonin levels.

By contributor Olivia Ebeling
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A stroll by the sea is soothing for mind, body and soul.
A stroll by the sea is soothing for mind, body and soul.

This year, ditch unrealistic resolutions and plan regular breaks to the coast. Enjoy fun water sports, great new beach saunas and the healthiest freshest seafood. The coast is a spa like no other and best of all, it’s completely free. Check out our round-up of hot destinations and book through the one-stop tool at England’s Coast.

The Saltwater Sauna on Sandbanks Beach, Dorset has been a popular wellness destination since opening three years ago. Following its success, it has now opened The Saltwater Sauna at Avon Beach in Christchurch offering two contemporary Nordic saunas, changing room and an optional sea plunge. Saunas by the sea are known to enhance relaxation, improve circulation, and boost overall wellbeing. The founders say the ‘response has been overwhelming’. 

New this year will be a third Saltwater Sauna at Lulworth Cove, one of the Jurassic Coast’s most iconic settings and world-famous for its unique geology and crystal-clear waters. Bookings are set to open in March 2025, so get in early to avoid disappointment.

Rebels Dover is a unique workshop and coffee shop with dawn-to-dusk saunas, making it ideal for early morning walks or saunas before switching on the laptop. Premium membership gives anytime and unlimited sauna sessions, walk-in sessions are available 8am to 6pm.

Seascrub Saunas Margate offer traditional Nordic Barrel saunas and Electric Steam Sauna, boasting the first commercial Saunumt Cube Sauna in the UK, which provides a more comfortable heat compared to the intense heat of a barrel sauna. Set on Margate’s sands, the sauna offers a changing room and four cold plunge whisky barrels as well as wellness events. 

In Brighton, Beach Box offers a year-round wood-fired sauna spa right on the beach. Two converted horsebox trailers can accommodate up to 12 people, providing panoramic ocean views. Facilities include outdoor seating, a picnic table, changing rooms, freshwater showers, a chilled steel tub, a plunge pool and a slipper bath for cooling off with upgrades to in-sauna body treatments and a separate spa menu.

While sea saunas are a great start, there's much more to explore beyond spas to chase away the winter blues by enjoying the stunning blue hues of the British Coast. To stop, reset and refocus at the start of the year, head to Durham’s coast for breathtaking scenery and accessible walking routes. Explore part of the 11-mile Durham Heritage Coastal footpath from Seaham to Crimdon featuring dramatic coastal views to the North Sea. Don’t forget to stop off at Blast Beach for fossil hunting.

Clear the mind by taking part in a Drum Circle, Sound bath or Mindful Morning at Dalton Moor Farm. This vegan fruit farm and School of Sustainable Living and Wellbeing offers a wide range of health and healing events near the coast.

Few stretches of coastline are better for pulling on the walking boots and striking out than the North York Moors National Park, with 26 miles of stunning coastline with accessible walks for mobility scooters, pushchairs and wheelchairs. 

Press the pause button and escape with Adventures for the Soul based in the Park, gaze at star-studded Dark Skies, take mindful walks in pine-filled woods, decompress with a yoga retreat, toast marshmallows around a campfire and soothe the soul.

Stay in a cosy log cabin near Whitby at Yoga and Spice, a mini-retreat centre, where guests can soak up their own personal area of woodland on the edge of the National Park, and join in meditation and plant-based cooking sessions. Or head to the Tree Relaxation Retreat in the peaceful village of Rosedale Abbey in the heart of the Park, immerse in yoga, meditation, delicious vegetarian food and holistic treatments.

On a crisp winter’s day there is nothing more enjoyable than packing up a warming flask of soup and wraps and heading outdoors at Morecambe Bay. Grange-over-Sands is a wonderfully unspoilt spot with easy walks, benches and the first shoots of flowers from mid- January. For energetic family members, there’s a park filled with attractions at the end of the promenade.

While one may not immediately associate Essex with the sea, it boasts 350 miles of coastline and an abundance of nature reserves. Take the kids to Mersea Island’s Cudmore Grove for a great sandy beach and impressive display of winter wading birds including wildfowl, flocks and brent geese. Packed with historic features like WWII pillboxes, the cliffs here have produced 300,000-year-old fossils of monkey, bear and bison. There’s also a play area for little ones. Mersea Island offers plenty of seafood shacks where families can dine al fresco.

For aficionados of forest bathing, the Isle of Wight offers the perfect escape. Forest bathing, known to reduce stress, boost the immune system, improve concentration and a sense of calm, can be enjoyed in several spots across the island. Experts recommend Firestone Copse with paths winding down to Old Mill Pond and Wootton Creek, Quarr Wood in Ryde with the backdrop of Quarr Abbey or Brighstone Forest, the largest forest on the island, laced with paths and bridleways and boasting dramatic views of the cliffs.

Even 20 minutes walking in a forest is known to have positive health effects such as lowering blood pressure, and best of all it’s free! So, whether seeking the therapeutic benefits of the sea or the tranquillity of the forest, England's coast offers a wealth of wellness opportunities to help reset and rejuvenate.                 

For more information on England’s Coast visit englandscoast.com.

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