From roots to renewal – Combe Grove’s life-changing health reset for modern living

By Fiona Sanderson

Tucked discreetly on the outskirts of Bath, in the southwest of the UK, Combe Grove is a sanctuary where history and health converge. This is no ordinary country estate but a revolution in holistic wellbeing – a place rooted in vision, balance, and deep connection to the land.

In late 2022, Combe Grove – a stunning Grade II listed Georgian Manor house set in 70 acres of woodland, orchards and meadows – reopened as the home of the UK’s first Metabolic Health Programme, a pioneering and life-changing initiative that blends scientific insight with the restorative power of the outdoors. Here, guests are invited to recalibrate their health amid therapeutic gardens, heartfelt holistic treatments, and evidence-led workshops. In light of this week’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) announcement of draft plans for the biggest overhaul of type 2 diabetes care in the UK in a decade, its message has never felt more timely or relevant.

What struck me most was how Combe Grove demonstrates that prevention and lifestyle can be as powerful as prescription. Where NICE’s changes may save lives through more personalised treatment, this retreat shows that the foundation of health can be rebuilt from within, based on the idea of the “Five Roots of Metabolic Health” – namely nutrition, movement, sleep, mindset and environmental stimulus. Having visited several health retreats over the years, I must say that Combe Grove offers you something different – a way to change your life around, and set you on a new path of life-changing wellness and health benefits. After a five-night stay on their Metabolic Retreat programme, I can honestly say that armed full of knowledge and holistic treatments, I feel lighter, calmer, more energetic and, most importantly, more empowered to improve my health and ultimately, the way I feel about my body.

Over the course of my time at Combe Grove, I was given medical assessments, expert consultations, meditation sessions, and a diet built on nutrient-rich seasonal produce, all with daily support from practitioners. You have a choice of an indoor and outdoor pool, a wander through 70 acres of woodland, and can have a number of treatments including naturopathy, acupuncture, reflexology, massage and many more. I chose kinesiology to find out what reactions I had to certain foods, and emotional freedom technique (EFT), which gives you tools to deal with stress. Both fascinating insights into alternative therapy, to ensure that change isn’t fleeting but woven into daily life.

This is a retreat designed for your personal renewal. Each day, I was given an individualised plan which incorporated early morning mindful walks into the woodlands followed by a series of workshops which were carefully designed to assess, educate, and inspire. Whether you were addressing diabetes, weight gain, stress or lack of sleep, the workshops were all focussed on nutrition, movement, metabolic health, sleep and the environment. At first, my head was spinning with information but as the week progressed, all the dots seemed to join, it all began to make sense, and I realised the simplicity of it all. By the end of my stay, the message was abundantly clear: if you take control of the basics – how you eat, move, rest, and think – you can be healthy without relying on pills and medication.

The food here was one of the highlights of my stay.  The program emphasises balanced nutrition, including plenty of protein and non-starchy vegetables, with a focus on real, whole foods. I was also put on time-restricted eating, following the 16:8 method (eating within an 8-hour window and fasting for 16 hours). Meals were served in the Map Room and were all really delicious and bursting with flavour, as well as being high in protein and low in carbohydrates. It proves that food can be both medicine and pleasure.

The meals were more than I could eat, and I never once felt deprived. I would start with a 10.45 am brunch of meals such as smoked haddock and cauliflower kedgeree, or Greek yoghurt, berries and nuts, followed by a supper at 5.45 pm with mains such as rump of lamb with edamame, mint and pea purée, or lemon and monkfish with courgette fettucine and crème fraîche.

Following the philosophy that food is medicine, most of the fresh produce comes from Combe Grove itself.  The estate’s Kitchen Garden – once a driving range – is now a mass of vegetables, fruits, and pollinator-friendly plants. Rescue chickens roam freely, keeping pests in check and eggs on the table.

One of the team, Farrel, even gave us a tour of the vegetable gardens, with a passion for the soil and dedication to the future of sustainable farming that was truly infectious.

As if I was not busy in the day time, every evening, the team at Combe Grove organised entertainment to happily send to us all off to bed, including walking and mindful movement, belly dancing with Waffa, the history of Combe Grove with Jon and, on our last night, beautiful guitar played by Ben Powell.

The vision for Combe Grove is one steeped in wellness and woodland, but behind the vision are philanthropist Helen Aylward Smith, who established the Elmhurst Foundation to transform the estate into a not-for-profit hub of holistic health, and Dr. Campbell Murdoch, a GP and metabolic health specialist whose expertise anchors the programme in science. Together, they’ve created a place where evidence and experience coexist – where the reset feels credible and comforting in a beautiful setting. This vision extends beyond guests: the Elmhurst Foundation also runs apprenticeships in horticulture, conservation, and marketing, giving young people practical skills while caring for the land.

A marketeer for over 25 years, I asked Helen what her motivation for Combe Grove was. “When I decided to do something new, I knew I couldn’t spend my time on anything that made the world worse. My model was always about helpfulness rather than pure commercialism,” she told me. “I’d seen so much – like children handed enormous, sugar-loaded cupcakes or marshmallow-topped milkshakes – and I knew I wanted to create something better. When I left my last business after 17 years, I could either continue the same corporate trajectory or start fresh. For me, growth means learning new things, not repeating the old. So, I built a model based on ‘do no harm.’”

She continued: “Whatever your health issue, your metabolism – blood sugar, blood pressure, HbA1c – is at the core. Unlike yoga, fasting, or Ayurveda, which aren’t fully recognised by the NHS, metabolic markers are universally understood. So, our focus is metabolic health, because it connects to almost every chronic condition.”

Her vision is nothing short of a movement that can change everyone’s lives and help people take back control of their health if they follow the basics, but I wondered how can metabolic health be made more accessible and appealing to the public? Helen told me that she believes it should be as normal as knowing your weight or blood pressure.

Prevention awareness is everything – and Combe Grove teaches that prevention, rooted in lifestyle and guided by science, can be both powerful and peaceful. This retreat doesn’t just aim to improve numbers on a blood sugar meter – it nurtures mindset, resilience, and sustainable habits. A mantra that I support!

Combe Grove is not luxury defined by opulence or excess, but by depth: the chance to slow down, reconnect with both nature and yourself, and learn new skills to reset your life. As the NHS redefines how it manages long-term conditions, Combe Grove shows what prevention can really look like – an environment that restores, habits that last, and a philosophy of health that nourishes both people and planet. As the estate evolves, it stands as a beacon of what the future of hospitality can be – deeply rooted, environmentally attuned, and devoted to wellbeing in its truest sense. I’ll be returning in three months for the Returner’s Stay Programme, and I’m excited to measure how far I’ve come and continue building on the progress I’ve made.

The Details:

• Programme: Five-night Metabolic Health Retreat
• What’s Included: Medical assessments, three treatments or consultations, yoga, meditation, guided woodland walks, indoor and outdoor swimming, and nutrient-rich seasonal meals
• Setting: 70-acre estate of woodland, orchards, and meadows, just minutes from Bath
• Starting Price: The Classic Metabolic Health Programme starts from £2,150, with a three-night follow-up Returner’s Stay (to reinforce progress and retest diagnostics for those with experience of the initial retreat) starting from £1,050
• Find Out More: www.combegrove.com