3 Reasons why the Ribble Valley is the happiest in the UK...

If you’re familiar with the Ribble Valley already, you’ll know that it’s a beautiful and relaxing area to both live and visit, but did you know that it’s also officially the happiest place in the whole country?

That’s according to recent research released by the Office for National Statistics which asked local residents to rate how happy they felt on average, with residents rating the area 8.3 out of 10, compared to 7.56 for the UK on average!

Natural Beauty

It goes without saying that the Ribble Valley is a beautiful place to live, which is no doubt a large part of what makes the people here so happy.

The area is sometimes referred to as the ‘Cotswolds of the North’ and even England’s answer to Tuscany thanks to its unspoilt beauty, picturesque villages and quaint countryside.

From swathes of heather moorland and fells to bogs, valleys and rivers, the landscape is truly one of the most beautiful in the UK.

Around half of the Forest of Bowland falls within the Ribble Valley’s boundaries, as does Pendle Hill, which you may know from the notorious story of the Pendle witches (but don’t let that put you off!) and you can even see out to the Fylde coast on a clear day.

Places to Eat and Drink

For a relatively rural area, there’s a great foodie scene to enjoy in the Ribble Valley as well as some wonderful places to sit down and enjoy a drink or two, whether that’s a nice cup of coffee or something a little stronger.

There’s a huge selection of award-winning eateries and pubs in the area!

Good Links to Nearby Areas

While the area itself has plenty going on, it’s also very well situated to visit the surrounding areas too.

The mill towns of Burnley and Nelson are just half an hour or so away, while Blackburn and Preston aren’t much further afield, and you can also catch the train to Manchester in just over an hour too if you wish.

It all means that you can enjoy the peace and tranquillity of village life, without feeling like you’re a million miles from civilisation.

One of the best things about the Ribble Valley is the people. The locals here are all warm, friendly and down to earth, with a real community spirit that will ensure that you and your friends and family are made to feel at home during your time here.

The pace of life in Ribble Valley is much more relaxed than city life, which is surely a big contributor to the happiness of the locals.

In addition, Ribble Valley is also an exceptionally safe place to come and visit, with a lower crime rate than the rest of the county as a whole.

01.04.2022 | April Newsletter

Hello to Everyone and Everything! (see what I did there?!)    Welcome to April, that glorious month that will bring us Easter holidays, daffodils and the feeling that everything is coming to life after the dark winter days.   We have been revelling in the fabulous weather and have taken advantage of the the longer days and warmer soil! This has enabled us to forge ahead and get much needed jobs ticked off our white board.  Everything is so much easier when the ground is dry.   Mowing the grass for the first time this year was a huge milestone and put a big smile on Simons face. The grass seed is taking hold in the new areas and all heavy machinery banned from the grassy areas that will eventually have picnic tables and outdoor seating to enjoy a different view of the Ribble Valley.   Personally, we are all busy lambing at home on the farm next door.  Our son Jack who is only 18 has been building up his flock of Beltex sheep since he was 14. So our long days on the retreat are also long nights too! We also have one of our ducks nesting by the pond so hopefully soon we will have some little feathered friends to show you. Spring is definitely upon us! (no time now to tell you about our goat, Shetland pony, hens and cattle! More of them next time!)   Structurally all the lodges are now complete. All of the interiors are coming on beautifully and my team are thoroughly enjoying dressing the 6 themed lodges as each one is true to its name. Two are totally finished and we can now show you pictures of Koya and Itambe. Please follow us on Instagram and see our website for more pictures as the other four will be complete over the next few days.

The six signature lodges are completely ready and quite simply Beautiful. Quietly minimalist but joyously luxurious with absolute attention to every detail that will make your stay so very special.  In fact – the detail is down to our individual mattresses that have been specially commissioned by us (and come complete with our logo!) to make sure you will enjoy every waking and sleeping moment of your stay.   We are also spending far too much time eating and testing!  Your breakfast box will be delivered fresh to your door each morning for you to enjoy with your first coffee or tea of the day. Just imagine sitting on the deck with a warm croissant and pastry listening to the birdsong whilst planning your adventure for the day.   Our website booking system is now open and live and we cannot wait to welcome you all from June!  We have some fabulous events coming up in the Ribble Valley throughout the summer with food and music festivals on our doorstep to name but a few. Just ring and speak to our concierge team led by Kelly who will work with you from your first phone call to the moment youset off home after your break.

We ran a competition throughout March and we were surprised – and delighted – that Becky Oman ..  the winner, is based in Scotland! We feel sure that even with the fabulous Scottish scenery on her doorstep, we will be able to rival anything our neighbours across the border can come up with! Whilst we might not have the pass of Glencoe, a trip through the Trough of Bowland with lunch at the Inn at Whitewell isn’t a bad place to start.   In nearby Clitheroe this week there is great excitement with film crews all over town as they are shooting a film about “take that”. We can feel a surge of interest in tourism already as news of this filters out.    So..  that’s just a brief snapshot of today… tomorrow will bring more changes and plans and I will write and tell you of those very soon.   Until then, please check us out on everything-retreat.com  plus our Instagram page @everythingretreat and we look forward to seeing you soon!   From Everything, and more...

21.02.2022 | February Newsletter

Good afternoon! 

I hope you are all well and have embraced the storms this weekend! Wow that was a wild one! 

Everything Retreat has the benefit of glorious sunsets, fabulous views and with that comes the storm! However, each of the lodges are tucked into the hillside and an early walk round today shows no damage here at the Retreat; only a few branches for Simon our head groundsman to clear away this week and add to our Boma in our Itambe (African garden). Just one more reason to visit us! Light that log burner, pour a glass and watch the storm. Sounds perfect doesn't it? 

Wondering what a Boma is? It's a traditional African structure to keep out wild animals and thus protect families and livestock from harm. Woven from fallen branches it creates a perfect screen around our African themed lodge Itambe. 

Each of the unique lodges have their own theme and this extends into the private garden area too. When Chris and I took our family on safari in the Sabi sands we ate dinner in the Boma in the evening and it was so beautiful under the stars! It made such a lasting impression on me that it was the primary inspiration to link six of the lodges to our travels. I'll tell you about the others next time.... hopefully with some final interior pictures. 

The past six weeks have been very productive and the snagging list is narrowing down. 

My team are working so hard and I really appreciate their efforts to get us to the finish line. I suppose it might help if I didn't keep coming up with just one more idea? Fortunately they all help each other out and they are all so excited as they see their work building towards the launch.... (and just when they thought we might be finished...... read on!) 

We are currently decorating all interiors which then leads to all the furniture being placed and then to add all our specially chosen pieces that will make each and every one so individual! 

We have been busy with the entrance to the retreat and the stone wall and gateposts are now built and base course tarmac is down. These are all to ensure that once you are in our grounds, you are safely housed with understated security and privacy. We are now willing the weeks away to allow us to get on with mowing all the laid turf, seed large new areas and plant up hundreds more shrubs and plants that will make the retreat feel so special. This will be the first full year for our wild flower meadow which showed some early promise last autumn, but will be in full glory this year. We have also set up many hedgehog boxes, and habitats for owls, birds and all manner of creatures! We want you to open those doors and sit with a morning coffee listening to the valley waking up whilst planning your day. 

We also had some long awaited news last week that caused us to pop a cork to celebrate. Our planning permission has been granted to allow us to demolish our old tumble down stable block and replace the space with a beautiful building made of stone and timber. This will house our Everything Retreat studio and allow us to offer, for example, yoga or pilates or perhaps a themed lecture linked to any activities we are offering that week as a retreat and somewhere we can gather as a group if the site has been booked out for a holisitic event. 

We will also be able to offer two private treatment rooms for indiviually tailored stays at the retreat. So whatever you want... we will do our best to deliver! We want to make a trip to Everything Retreat a truly memorable experience (back to my feelings about Itambe!) 

However, this weeks even more exciting news is our website and booking system are finally ready to go live. 

Again the team have worked so hard to get this right, and I must pay tribute to my Manager Kelly for her dogged work on this ( she will be the one you will most likely speak to when you ring) and to Hayley who has been in charge of all the clever buttons and website building. 

So keep your eyes open for the updates on social media! In fact - do go on to our social media as we are currently running a promotion where you could start your trip with a £500 gift voucher by liking, tagging and sharing our site. You will be our best form of advertising so we want to engage as many as possible through you. In fact, by reading this, it means you are part of the family already!

I have listened to you all and see that you love the live shots so I will be doing more walk rounds as more progress is being made and we will have so much more to show over the coming days. 

Thank you all for your support and positivity. It truly means the world. 

It won’t be long before we can welcome you and that I am bursting to share my dreams with you. 

Much love 

12.01.21 | Our very first newsletter

I'm thrilled to welcome you all and give an insight into our journey so far.

My name is Louise Monk and I am the owner and founder of Everything Retreat here in the heart of the Ribble Valley, Lancashire.

Firstly, a little about how all this came about....

I have been brought up and lived in Mellor all of my life; from my family farming nearby, to marrying my best friend Chris and raising our three, now adult children (and many animals!). Always a madhouse but we love it and wouldn't change a thing!

So to add to all the madness... In 2018 I was out walking our dog Archie and whilst standing in one of the fields, I had a vision! I imagined stunning lodges nestled amongst the beautiful landscape looking out over the valley.

We are truly blessed to have some of the best views as far as the eye can see. Imagine being able to spend time amongst trees, sitting quietly with nature, to be able to press that reset button and escape for a while.

Fast forward all the design and planning and here we are... offering 12 luxury cedar lodges, already weathering into the hillside.

Six of the lodges are individually themed with inspiration being taken from my favourite places around the world, these form our Unique Collection.

The remaining six are designed to compliment the beautiful surroundings in which they sit, creating our Signature Collection. Take a look at our social media for a glimpse!

I absolutely cannot wait to test out each and every one. I simply don't know where to start but as Africa is my favourite place, I think I might have to go with Itambe!

We have equipped the lodges for you to be able to hide away and wind down, but if you prefer a little more adventure there will also be a concierge service on site. Allow us to guide you through all that the Ribble Valley has to offer, from blissful walks to historical sites and on to some of the best restaurants around. We are so fortunate to live in foodie paradise here in the Ribble Valley.

I want our guests to be able to escape the hustle and bustle of life and relax by the log burner or have a soak in their private outdoor hot tub with a glass of their favourite tipple, in my case it has to be a crisp glass of champagne... or maybe two!

My amazing team are currently working very hard to get us up and running, I am so excited to be able to welcome you all this year to escape at Everything Retreat.