This wonderful retreat will be held at the gorgeous 4 star luxury Manoir Mouret, located in Andillac village in South West France: an hour’s drive from Toulouse Airport. A weekend spent researching the area and property, I was blown away by this outstanding property in rural France. So much so, I booked it for two retreats in 2024. Both were a huge success and I am returning for the third time.

The property, a stone built house, with three self contained barn apartments sits on 5 acres of land including an outdoor private swimming pool and tennis court: a perfect venue for unwinding and switching off. Manoir Mouret and their British owners, Margaret and Jack, were highly recommended. Manoir Mouret has also been featured in The Telegraph, The Guardian, Evening Standard and Queen of Retreats.

Laurence Brian is a Yoga Teacher and Holistic Therapist. For over 20 years, Laurence has been teaching Yoga, meditation and holistic dance. A journey to India positively transformed her life. Since then, she has been deeply researching into the body, mind connection and self healing processes through Yoga, dance, movement and energy in a profoundly holistic approach. Laurence shares her passion for travel and her love for nature by offering courses and retreats in exceptional locations around the world.

Laurence will be taking our daily Yoga sessions and leading our Meditation in the evening to quieten our minds and clear the mental clutter.

Laurence also offers Chi Nei Tsang massages, a form of Chinese healing touch therapy that has been used for centuries. It focuses on gentle deep massage of the abdomen in order to ‘train’ the internal abdominal organs, so they function in a more efficient manner, which in turn is believed to enhance physical and emotional wellbeing. This is an ‘Additional Treatment’.

Toulouse is the nearest major airport. British Airways and Ryanair direct flights from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Bristol, Edinburgh.

Car transfers from Toulouse airport to the venue is approximately one hour. Please indicate on the Booking Form if you wish to request this transfer option (€40 each way payable direct to the driver). Transfer times will be confirmed, depending on numbers and arrival times.

There is good public transport from Toulouse airport to Gaillac train station. A short taxi ride to the venue (20 minutes). Gaillac is the nearest town to Andillac.

Check in from 1500 on Friday and Check out at 1400 on Wednesday 21 May 2025.

They say when one door closes, another one opens and that definitely is my case!

Having enjoyed a wonderful 30 year career as a Retail Manager with the John Lewis Partnership, the chapter ended happily with Voluntary Redundancy. I retrained as a Massage and Beauty Therapist. So far in my new career, I have worked with two big brands: Aveda and Facegym. The foundations from my John Lewis career have always been the customer service journey and this is where I thrive. Ensuring my service to my clients is always first class and is of paramount importance to me.

My very first Wellness Retreat in the summer of 2022 was a success. My vision was to create a space where one could go to relax, take time out, enjoy some nourishing food, have a spa treatment and try a Yoga class. For some, it was their first taste of meditation, yoga and even a Hot Stone Massage!

My ethos and passion is to give people the opportunity to take time out of their busy lives and enjoy a peaceful and relaxing time away from the stresses of today: this really has been so timely, with many people more stressed, overworked and the fact that many companies are squeezing more out of us, with some ‘engines’ running very low! Simply turning up to my events with all the planning and organising being taken care of, means that our guests can fully unwind and take time out for themselves.

We then moved our retreats to the tranquil, peaceful, The Fintry Trust in the Surrey Hills. This proved a popular venue, set in beautiful grounds.