WELLNESS guru Liz Earle and mindfulness meditation expert Gelong Thubten will headline a new health and wellbeing festival in Dorset.

Wellbeing by the Lakes is a three day festival exploring what it means to be mindful and how to live well in a fast-paced modern world. A curated blend of expert talks, live performance, meditation, movement sessions, wholesome food and healing therapies will be on offer at at Sculpture by the Lakes. Day tickets to the festival start at £20 and the event will run from Thursday, September 19 – Saturday, September 21 from 10am to 5pm, with late night performances and live music on Friday and a separate evening concert on Saturday.

Liz Earle MBE is a wellbeing entrepreneur, TV presenter and the author of over 35 books on a range of health, beauty and wellbeing topics. Her number one bestselling books include The Good Menopause Guide and The Good Gut Guide. Gelong Thubten is a Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and author. He specialises in teaching mindfulness meditation internationally and works with major global companies, including Google. Thubten has also collaborated with Ruby Wax on her popular bestseller How to be Human and is currently accompanying her on her UK tour. Thubten is the author of A Monk’s Guide to Happiness, published in June 2019.

The festival’s programme aims to inspire and revitalise. Visitors will be able to broaden their knowledge by sampling a wide range of innovative and traditional wellbeing practices. Alongside inspiring talks on a wealth of wellbeing topics there will also be a variety of classes designed to get bodies stretching and minds unwinding, including different styles of yoga, classic Pilates, expressive dance techniques and qigong to name but a few.

Visitors will also have the chance to take part in guided mindfulness and mediation workshops, and sound baths where attendees can relax and let therapeutic sounds wash over them. Or they can try their artistic hand at one of the many creative therapies on offer, indulge in some healing, peruse the stalls, and wander the sculpture gardens, all while enjoying deliciously wholesome, home grown food. Throughout the three days there will be live acoustic music from a range of artists as well as the chance to take part in traditional Tibetan workshops and watch folklore performances.

Throughout the festival the Tashi Lhunpo monks will be creating an intricate Chenrezig (Wheel of Compassion) sand mandala. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to watch this fascinating process before the mandala is ritually dismantled and offered to the River Frome.

All in all, this brand new festival offers a wealth of things to see and experience, all set within the beautiful surrounds of Sculpture by the Lakes.

Sculpture by the Lakes is nestled in 26 acres of Dorset’s glorious countryside. Visitors can enjoy reflective lakes, the fast flowing River Frome, streams, landscaped gardens, and meandering paths through wild unspoilt scenery with far reaching views across the water meadows, all interspersed with monumental sculptures by world renowned sculptor Simon Gudgeon. For a full line-up of guest speakers and workshop leaders and to buy day tickets and 3 day passes see the website wellbeingbythelakes.co.uk