Herts &amp; Beds


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-where"><strong>WHAT? WHERE?</strong></h2>



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<p>Fancy communing with nature alongside assorted F1 drivers and the like? This is where you need to be. Nestled at the outer edges of Silverstone Circuit just a stone&#8217;s throw from the world famous Stowe Corner and Hangar Straight in one direction and the resplendent Stowe Landscape Gardens in the other, <a href="https://www.thealfrescospa.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Alfresco Spa</a> occupies a peaceful slice of Blackpit Farm, part of the 430 acre Grade 1 listed Stowe Estate, where you&#8217;ll also find the fabulous and eponymously named Blackpit Brewery &#8211; not just a brewery but also a bar, cool stable yard café, comedy and supper club venue and the site of a renowned annual bonfire and fireworks display and August&#8217;s spectacular Stowaway Festival. In fact, the idea of the outdoor spa, with its wood fired hot tubs and sauna, initially sprang to life after owner Dan Wedge had spent a number of years setting them up at various festivals across the UK, Stowaway included. </p>



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<p>The Alfresco Spa is the icing on an already rather delicious cake, making use of its location beside the perfectly positioned lake, to create a holistic outdoor wellness space where guests can be immersed in nature and feel pampered, whilst clocking up a bit of Wim Hof kudos at the same time. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-vibe"><strong>THE VIBE</strong></h2>



<p><em>Au naturel</em> is what it&#8217;s all about here. I mean, don&#8217;t panic, you will be allowed nay, required, to wear swimmers, it&#8217;s not <em>that</em> kind of place. But finding peace in nature and taking the time to allow yourself to switch off from the daily grind is the order of the day. </p>



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<p>Situated as it is on a bustling farm, there&#8217;s a sense that The Alfresco Spa is a real place, by which I mean that it doesn&#8217;t feel like an ersatz simulacrum of something else that&#8217;s been overly sanitised and packaged up as a &#8216;product&#8217;, it&#8217;s a genuine experience in nature, so you can expect to encounter the odd fish swimming past your leg and, no, there is no temperature control on the lake water. You&#8217;re surrounded by fields and trees, of course, but don&#8217;t forget you&#8217;re also a few hundred metres from an F1 race track, so you might even hear the odd engine zooming past, punctuating the birdsong.  </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-spa"><strong>THE SPA</strong></h2>



<p>A long driveway leads to the old stables, where you&#8217;ll find plenty of parking (with EV charging points &#8211; big bonus), Blackpit Café and the spa reception and changing area, where you can get kitted up for a dip (we brought wetsuits with us but decided against wearing them out of sheer bravado) and toast yourself with a warming pre-swim herbal tea. Then it&#8217;s robes on (woolly hats on too if it&#8217;s chilly) and tow floats in hand to head down to the lake</p>



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<p>Seasoned outdoor swimmers will be all over it, but if you&#8217;re a newbie, my advice is to get straight in without too much thought, get swimming immediately and remember to breathe and enjoy it. The water was ten degrees on the day I visited and within no more than a minute I felt like I was in a warm bath. One lap of the designated swimming area was quite enough for me, but there were plenty of Diane Nyad-esque swimmers staying in much longer before heading to the sauna to warm up. </p>



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<p>I bounced out of the lake feeling energised and invigorated and had a quick shower in the warm lakeside showers, using the lovely smelling Alfresco Spa body wash, before relaxing my muscles in the Scandi-style wooden sauna for fifteen minutes or so and indulging in a long soak in one of the four wood fired hot tubs nestled at the edge of the lake, sipping on herbal tea and relaxing into it, switching off from the daily grind with no connection to the outside world. At first, I wondered what I would actually &#8216;do&#8217; for several hours sitting in a hot tub, but that is literally the point. After a little while you start to forget the lure of the phone or laptop, you tune in to the rustling of leaves in the trees, the smell of woodsmoke and the occasional splash of someone slipping into the lake. I felt as though I was floating in a little bubble of post lake swim smug bliss. Until, that is, Dan appeared and asked &#8220;are you planning on trying out the cold plunge?&#8221; Errrm. Gulp. </p>



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<p>Never let it be said that I don&#8217;t make the occasional sacrifice for my art. Although, to be honest, I did rather enjoy it and, at a spritely ten degrees, the water&#8217;s not nearly as cold as the North Sea, which I&#8217;ve splashed about in many times. It&#8217;s not exactly an ice bath then, but it&#8217;s still a bit on the frigid side and I only endured a couple of minutes at time before retreating to the hot tub. Another guest I got chatting to persuaded me that once is not enough and that, to really crack it, you have to try it at least twice, so I enthusiastically obliged, feeling somewhat hysterical. Am I quite mad? I&#8217;ll let you decide once you tried it out for yourselves. </p>



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<p>I visited on a pretty cool April day, but it was still fairly busy, with a stream of guests coming and going to swim in the lake or soak in the tubs, or both. A good eighty percent of the guests during my visit were groups of women of my sort of age (youthful middle age, ahem) and that&#8217;s definitely a trend that&#8217;s supported by research. According <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/jan/cold-water-swimming-improves-menopause-symptoms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">to a study carried out at UCL</a>, menopausal women who swim regularly in cold water notice a significant improvement in both physical and mental symptoms, including anxiety, low mood, hot flushes and aches and pains. Not everyone feels comfortable with jumping into waterways (see this year&#8217;s Boat Race for an example as to why), but here you can reap the health benefits of cold water swimming in unpolluted splendour and relative safety. </p>



<p>Dan has lots of plans for the coming months at The Alfresco Spa, including yoga workshops, sound baths and massage therapy as well as foraging and outdoor cooking classes, so stay tuned. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eat-drink"><strong>EAT! DRINK!</strong></h2>



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<p>After all that bobbing about in hot and cold water, you&#8217;ll have worked up quite an appetite. A mezze lunch box (packed with pitta bread, hummus, falafel, tomatoes, olives, pea shoots, grapes and nuts) or cream tea served on vintage china is included when you book a spa session. If you&#8217;re just here for the swim then Blackpit Café, is wondrous too (though it&#8217;s not open at weekends), serving up fantastic cooked breakfasts and brunch, salads, speciality sandwiches and sweet treats. If you come for a Friday afternoon session, the Blackpit Brewery Tap Room will be open when you emerge, serving craft beer, local gins and tasty snacks. </p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-out-and-about"><strong>OUT AND ABOUT</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/northantsleicsrutland/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2024/04/ESCAPADE-SILVERSTONE.jpeg" alt="Escapade Silverstone Circuit Northants" class="wp-image-45884" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Escapade at Silverstone Circuit</figcaption></figure>



<p><a href="https://www.silverstone.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Silverstone Circuit</a>, obvs, where, if you&#8217;re not lucky enough to be booked in for VIP hospitality overlooking the track at <a href="https://escapade.silverstone.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Escapade,</a> you can visit <a href="https://www.silverstonemuseum.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Silverstone Museum</a>, which is fantastic for anyone interested in motorsports. There&#8217;s also <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/stowe-gardens" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Trust Stowe</a>, with miles of glorious walking in stately surrounds. And if you fancy hitting the shops, it&#8217;s a quick 30 minute zoom down the M40 to Bicester Village or Milton Keynes. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict"><strong>THE MUDDY VERDICT</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Good for:</strong> Anyone wanting to dip their toe into outdoor swimming in a safe environment, couples wanting somewhere slightly different for a romantic date, groups of friends and regular swimmers. </p>



<p><strong>Not for:</strong> I&#8217;d say you have to be a wee bit outdoorsy for this one, so if you&#8217;re firmly a heels and handbags kinda girl then this might push your limits. It&#8217;s also over 18s only, so no kids for this one, I&#8217;m afraid. </p>



<p><strong>The damage:</strong> A 4hr spa session, which includes access to the swimming lake, sauna, cold plunge and hot tubs, plus a mezze box or cream tea, costs £75 per person. 1hr open water swimming with sauna is £12 per person. </p>



<p><em><a href="https://www.thealfrescospa.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TThe Alfresco Spa</a>, Blackpit Farm, Silverstone Road, MK18 5LJ</em></p>


Review: The Alfresco Spa, Silverstone

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