“Have you had a bath today?” is not a question you expect to be asked as an adult. Especially when the bath is outside, and it’s raining. But Nick Loening, owner of Ecoyoga in the Scottish Highlands, is evangelical about the benefits of a good soak and gently insistent that his guests make the most of the various bathing options at his retreat – regardless of the weather.
And so I found myself lying in a riverside tub, looking up at the canopy of trees as rain drops plopped into water the colour of whisky. Worrying about creepy-crawlies slithering in didn’t seem very zen so I concentrated hard on relaxing.
Though Scotland is a land of lochs, it’s not known for its bathing. Nick, a man of unwavering determination, was never going to let such minor details as inclement weather and a lack of natural hot springs get in the way of his vision: a wellbeing retreat combining his passions for yoga, Japanese-style bathing, and sustainability in his favourite place, Scotland.
He spent five years transforming Inverliever Lodge, a former outdoor activities centre in Argyll and Bute, into a family home with 15 guest rooms. He also persuaded a bank to lend him the money for a hydro turbine powered by the river that runs through the site: this now produces so much electricity that powering the lodge uses just 2% of its output (the rest is sold to the National Grid). The result is extraordinary. Dotted about the grounds of the five-acre site at the southern tip of Loch Awe, are a hot tub in a glass-roofed dome; a sauna built into a hill; and two riverside baths, one by a waterfall, which braver souls than me used as a cold plunge pool between hot soaks.
The journey from Glasgow to this remote spot took us through glens, past still lochs, gloomy forests, lone stone houses and fairytale castles. But the retreat itself felt a little like a cross between an Alpine and an Asian spa, with a dash of Middle Earth: a hobbity hole leads to the sauna; a slightly precarious path winds down to the edge of a waterfall.
It’s also truly eco-friendly. Thanks to the turbine and a bank of solar panels, Ecoyoga is completely off-grid, with a never-ending supply of hot water.
“Welcome to the world of free energy,” Nick beamed as he showed me the machine – such was his enthusiasm it seemed rude not to show an interest in the workings of it. There was passion in his voice when he talked about the need to reduce our impact on the environment, but no dogma. “We are not educating; we’re sharing our liftstyle.”
His own house, on a hill above the retreat, was built entirely from recycled materials: the floorboards were once a building site hoarding; the windows are salvaged from nearby Kilmartin museum.
And then there’s the yoga. I was there, with seven other guests and assorted children, for a week-long ashtanga programme with Gingi Lee (theshalalondon.com) whose classes I attend in London. I’m no yogi – I do it once a week instead of the recommended five or six – but the setting and ethos of Ecoyoga appealed, as did the fact that I could take my two-year-old son Ossian, who would be looked after, along with three other young children, during morning yoga sessions.
Holidays with small children don’t usually fall into the relaxing category but the daily routine of asthanga in the light-filled studio, followed by a session in the hot tub while the kids splashed about in giant buckets, lunch, a siesta, more yoga, more bathing, was almost coma-inducing.
There’s a touch of the sanatorium about Ecoyoga – guests walking around in towels, Nick’s exhortations to bathe and get enough rest, the remote setting and lack of mobile reception – so I was glad of the odd escape.
One day we headed to nearby Kilmartin glen, an area so rich in history a day out becomes a lesson in Scotland’s past. Kilmartin was once the centre of Scottish civilisation, with nearby Dunadd the seat of kings who ruled Dalriada, the ancient kingdom that stretched from here to Northern Ireland. Now the only drama is in the brooding skies, the prehistoric stone mounds and the stark silhouette of 16th-century Carnasserie Castle.
On our one sunny day, we headed further south, to an empty beach where the kids pottered about collecting pebbles, and then Crinan, a fishing village on the nine-mile Crinan canal, which connects Loch Fyne with the Atlantic. Our week at Ecoyoga was booze-free, but in the whitewashed Crinan Hotel it took about two seconds for the group to agree that we needed a couple of bottles of white wine to wash down plates of seared Loch Crinan scallops, langoustines and risotto of west coast crab. After feasting we ambled along the canal, admiring the views of sea, hills and sailing boats against a brilliant blue sky.
At the lodge, Kali Hamm, a London-based chef (see her lovely recipes at kalicooking.tumblr.com) hired for the duration of Gingi’s retreat, provided wonderful veggie feasts, often with a Middle-Eastern or Latin American twist. I always piled my plate a little too high, yet still had room for puds of homemade elderflower ice-cream, peach tart or meringue roulade.
The only exception to the veggie food was smoked salmon provided by a friend of Nick’s who runs a family business from his back garden in nearby Ford. I visited Murray Smoked Products, and came home with two sides of salmon. It was delicious – and lasted about as long as my plan to do daily yoga on my return home.
• Ecoyoga (01546 810259, ecoyoga.org) reopens on 15 March, with self-catering doubles from £50pp pn (minimum two nights), with use of the kitchen, yoga studio, baths and hot tub. Retreats run on selected dates from 12 April. Gingi Lee’s next one is on 24 August, price £695pp, including all food and classes
