WITH the summer festival programme well underway, have you ever longed for a peaceful weekend, entirely dedicated to healthy hedonism in beautiful rural surroundings?

That’s exactly what South Wiltshire neighbours Anna Hayward and Charlotte Cummings did before deciding to set up VERVE, a stylish new wellness festival taking place next month, which aims to bring together nature, health, wellbeing, fitness and the ‘great outdoors’ in the picturesque rolling hills of the Chalke Valley.

Ahead of the festival, I went along to meet the dynamic pair and to try out 'yoga in the woods' and 'gong bathing' at the festival site in Ebbesbourne Wake.

The class was conducted in a small wooded area where a dozen mats were laid out in front of a huge gong and the welcoming smell of a wood fire, warming herbal tea, greeted guests on arrival.

Determined not to let the dark clouds overhead dampen our spirits, instructor Megan Romilly led us through a 30-minute slow-flow programme of Vinyasa yoga. With 30 years of experience teaching yoga, Megan expertly guided our mixed-ability group through the various poses ensuring we paid particular attention to our breathing during the session.

Leaving us in the Savasana relaxation pose, Megan handed over to Joanie Solaini, whose challenge was to take us to a state of complete relaxation with the aid of a trio of gongs. This practice is known as sound bathing.

A bit of research before my trip told me that the vibration of a gong is a powerful method of aiding relaxation and reducing stress. I’ve always found it quite difficult to completely empty my mind during meditation – the tasks of the day occupy my head too much – so I was keen to give this a go.

As we lay like corpses under the canopy of trees, the gentle rustling of leaves and sweet singing of birds overhead gave way to the initial soft and gentle vibration of a gong. Gradually, an ocean of sound washed over our dormant bodies as Joanie built the sound into a crescendo, before picking her way around us with a smaller, hand-held gong, finally leaving us with a tiny higher pitched tinkling.

It was an unusual and surprisingly relaxing experience. I found the harmonic frequencies to be, not such the headache that I was expecting, but actually rather calming.

It was a while before I realised the gong had completely stopped and I just lay there for a few minutes reabsorbing the sounds of nature that surrounded us.

Feeling pretty chilled out, I sipped on a cup of rosemary and sage tea before chatting to festival founders Anna and Charlotte about their inspiration for a wellness festival.

I discovered the concept of VERVE was born after the pair, both fed up with their stressful jobs, got chatting at Megan's yoga class in the village about how amazing it would be if they could organise a festival purely about wellness.

One year on and their dream is about to be realised.

Anna, who had a successful career in the luxury hotel business, says the aim of the two-day event is to ensure every visitor can experience something different, with like-minded people in a new setting.

Charlotte has a background in banking and management consultancy and, like Anna, shares a passion for health and wellness.

Anna says: “After 22 years of working for other people, I wanted to do something for myself, encapsulating all the things I’m passionate about, in the green and calm of Wiltshire.

“According to the Global Wellness Summit 2019, one of the biggest wellness trends of 2019 is prescribing nature. This is the cornerstone of VERVE festival. All classes and activities will centre on nature for health, for example; farm runs, workouts in the woods, meditation and tree talks in the ancient woodlands. We’re also big fans of using local materials and are working with local suppliers and partners throughout the festival. The vast majority of our food, drink and boutique stall-holders come from the West Country.”

The good news for the environment is that the festival has teamed up with the Good Plate Company to create a zero waste policy.

The VERVE Wellness Festival is taking place on Saturday, September 7 and Sunday 8 at Manor Farm, Ebbesbourne Wake. Verve offers an exciting programme of yoga and Pilates, meditation, breath work, sound bathing and woodland exercise classes as well as a ‘wild’ spa. There will be an on-site bar and DJ and visitors can learn from a carefully curated panel of speakers who will discuss topics relating to physical and mental health, sleep, nutrition and more.

For tickets and more information visit: feeltheverve.com