Health & Wellness holidays in N.Portugal

24/06/2022

General well being here...fresh air, eagles soaring, oxygen from the forest behind the house, good food and wine, calm and beauty...what's not to love?!!

05/06/2021

What I can offer here? Beautiful views, great accommodation, walks in the forest and around Bom Jesus, Citânia and Sameiro. The pool. Spa in Taipas, yoga here (teacher comes). Cycling...best to rent bikes if you want beautiful bike rides along rivers or the sea.
Food? A local restaurant close by, bread delivered daily, fish van comes here by request, self-catering... excellent kitchen.
No holiday is fun on your own...so best to come with 2 or 3 friends. The Pool House has 1 big double bedroom and a twin bedroom.
You can be as energetic or as lazy as you want.
What matters is that you love your holiday and that it really is a holiday. Minimum stay of 3 nights..any less and you'd feel it was too short and hadn't given yourself enough time to unwind and recharge those batteries.

19/05/2021

Every Saturday yoga here at 5pm. It costs 5€ per person. Maximum of 5 in a group...when indoors.
Come and make new friends while you do something good for yourself.
Virginia x

19/05/2021

A selection of photos of the 2 houses we rent out..the Pool House for 4 and the farmhouse for 6 guests.
And, activities from here include hiking through the forest behind the house (with frequent stops to take in the view), swimming, Yoga, Pilates, skipping (I have 6 skipping ropes), cycling (around here but also renting bikes and cycling along rivers and by the sea), visiting nearby sites of historic interest (Bom Jesus, Sameiro, Citânia de Briteiros)..and time to sit back and read, watch TV. Even visit the spa in nearby Taipas...
And food? Breakfast provided, lunch in local restaurant and dinner cooked together...kabbutz style, over a glass of vinho verde.

27/03/2021

Relax, go for walks, read, swim, sit back and take life in the slow lane.

01/05/2020

Yes, I'm still alive and kicking! Obviously business is shut for now - but during this pandemic I'm out walking over the hills and dales and discovering new walks to share with anyone who wants to come visit us here.
The lockdown in Portugal eases from Monday, but I've blocked off my calendar until 1 June - as a precaution.
I'm still in love with my Pilates room - especially the lighting. So far it has only been used a handful of times.
As parks and gardens in Portugal are open from Monday I'm so keen to go to Citânia de Briteiros, the Celtic settlement. I feel I could wander over the heather and admire the views and imagine myself living there over 2000 years ago. It's 8 km from my house, but despite being so close the gates have been shut during this pandemic. Open those gates and I'll be there!
Bom Jesus has been looking particularly stunning these spring days - I've been all around it, and no need to socially distance as I only saw 2 or 3 other people whilst I was there. But, the flowers are out, the wisteria is in blossom and everything is impeccably looked after. So, what a treat.

11/04/2020

During the Corona Virus, like everyone, we're lying low and not taking any bookings until it is safe to do so. What we have been doing is taking out a field of vines and planting it with fruit trees and lots of vegetables - potatoes, onions, peppers, cauliflowers etc - first time to grow vegetables, so it'll be interesting. So far, it looks like the strawberries are the easiest things to grow - already turning red and we only planted them about 2 weeks ago!
During this crisis, keep well everyone. Don't take any risks and hopefully I'll see you when this is all over and it's safe to get out and about.

11/04/2020

Some of my favourite places - if you like gentle walks. All within 15 minutes of the house.

20/03/2020

With this pandemic, I think we'll all need a holiday once 'we're allowed out'!!
At the moment I begin the day in the Pool House, move on to have a bop in the Disco room, go for a walk through the forest behind the house, check my emails, cook for the family (and bake a cake or two!), watch Netflix/the news, and read a few pages of my novel. Oh, and the family together have just planted out a new garden - having extracted a field of vines.
How this differs to 'normal life' is I'm now not leaving the house, no shopping even (bulk shop done), more time for the family, more time outside - it feels as if I'm in a bubble. I almost can't believe there are people out there fighting for their lives and dying. I'm just suffering financially (all of March and April, weeks in May, June and September cancelled) - so I'll need to get my act together and begin advertising my little retreats to this oasis of calm, once the Corona Virus is announced over. Vx

28/02/2020

Do you like the new colour of the Pool House steps? I never liked the brown!
Lots of these photos are of our walk along the old Santiago de Compostela trail, 5 mins from the house. The next walk I want to organise is around the Citânia de Briteiros Celtic site.
I'm still entranced by the colours opf my Glitter Ball - lovely being able to shut away the world and just jig around to the sounds of Abba or whatever is on the memory stick.

17/02/2020

Small groups of up to 7 people, for breaks of 4 nights (Monday to Friday) - lots of choice: zumba, pilates, an unforgettable Tibetan-style meditation concert, woodland walks, cycling, swimming, local spa, fun wine tasting with quiz about Portugal, self catering and/ or eating in local restaurants, 2 amazing houses on the one farm, 1 minute apart - one classic and one modern. The farmhouse apartment has 2 double bedrooms and 1 twin and the Pool House has 1 double bedroom and one twin bedroom. Views all around - near the village of Longos and Taipas, 10 minutes from Braga. Own transport is necessary, unless you want to rely on the Getbus from the airport and then a local taxi driver.

13/02/2020

13/02/2020