Detox retreats in the UK: what's on offer and how to choose
The UK detox retreats in this guide are small, independently run houses in the countryside offering juice or fasting weeks with yoga, walks and talks on food. At the three week-long retreats we priced in November 2026, a week in a room of your own cost from about £1,000 to over £3,000, and less per person if you share.
"Detox" is a word retreats use to describe a week of juice, fasting or plant-based food. It isn't a medical treatment. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health points to a 2015 review that found no compelling research supporting detox diets for losing weight or removing toxins from the body. It also cites a 2017 review which found that juice and detox diets can lead to weight gain once people go back to eating normally. If what you're after is rest, good food and time outdoors, a yoga or walking week can give you that without the fasting.
A UK detox retreat saves you a flight, and many are within reach of a train line. None of the ones we found is run specifically for gay men, so you'll usually be in a small mixed group. If you're new to the idea, Detox retreats for gay men: what they are and who they suit explains what a detox week can and can't do. If you take regular medication or have a health condition, talk to your doctor before you book a juice or fasting week.
Every price below comes from the retreat's own website and was checked on 3 November 2026.
Sura Detox, Devon
Sura runs week-long retreats at Smythen Farm in North Devon throughout the year. You choose juice or water fasting day by day, with fresh juice four times a day, and the days include yoga, meditation and tai chi, talks on nutrition, workshops on stress, beach walks and a raw food class on the last day. Colonic irrigation is part of the programme twice a day, although the website describes it as optional. It's worth knowing what that involves before you go. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says there's limited clinical evidence for colonic irrigation, that colon cleansing can have side effects, some of them serious, and that harmful effects are more likely in people with a history of bowel disease or bowel surgery, severe haemorrhoids, kidney disease or heart disease. If you're considering it, talk to your own doctor first, and know that you can say no.
A week costs from £1,000 in a single bunk room with a shared bathroom to £2,200 for a large cottage to yourself. Sharing with a partner or a friend costs from £1,100 each, and Sura says the shared price can come down to £900 each for people who need it. Massages are extra, from £75, and the deposit is £250. It doesn't publish dates, so call to check availability.
The Cotswolds Juice Retreat, Stroud
This one runs six-night juice retreats from Saturday to Friday in a retreat house in Stroud, about an hour and a half by direct train from London Paddington. The next date listed is 13 to 19 March 2027. The week includes fresh organic juices, gentle yoga, breathwork, a sound bath, meditation and guided countryside walks.
A room of your own costs £1,750 to £1,950. Sharing with a partner, friend or family member costs £1,350 to £1,550 each, and there's a non-residential option for £950. Time at a nearby spa and any treatments are extra.
The Raw Retreat, Cornwall
The Raw Retreat, near Quethiock in south-east Cornwall, offers plant-based food and juice retreats, staying in a private studio or one of three shepherd's huts, with a minimum stay of three nights. Prices depend on the programme and where you sleep. A seven-night Healing Detox stay in the studio costs £2,875 alone or £2,160 each if two of you share. Its Simply Stay option, where you build your own package, costs from £1,535 for seven nights alone in the smallest hut, or £1,155 each when sharing, up to £1,745 alone in the studio. The deposit is £300, and the retreat asks you to contact it to confirm dates before booking.
A gentler weekend: The Detox Barn, Suffolk
If a full week of juice feels like a lot, The Detox Barn, a barn conversion in the Suffolk countryside, runs tech-free weekend retreats from Friday to Sunday with plant-based meals, daily yoga, sound baths and country walks. A weekend costs £550 with a room to yourself, or £450 each if two of you share a double or twin, and that includes all your food and drink. Treatments with its therapists are extra. When we checked, the next weekend with rooms still free was 8 to 10 January 2027.
What the price includes, and what it doesn't
At Sura and the Cotswolds Juice Retreat, the price covers your room, the juices and the programme of classes, talks and walks, while massages, spa visits and travel are extra. The Raw Retreat works differently: its set programmes come with their own inclusions, and on a Simply Stay you choose what to add, so ask for a written list of what your price covers. Deposits were £250 to £300, with the rest due about a month before you arrive. The biggest difference in price comes from the room, so decide early whether you'd share.
What to ask before you book
Apart from a page at The Raw Retreat listing who shouldn't fast, none of the four websites said much about health checks before arrival, so ask directly whether there's a health questionnaire and whether anyone medically qualified is on site. A questionnaire or a nurse on site is a good sign of a careful retreat, but it isn't a replacement for talking to your own doctor before a juice or fasting week. Ask whether colonics, supplements or herbs are included and whether you can say no to them. Ask what happens if you feel unwell on a fast, and whether you can switch to food.
If you're going with a partner, it's fine to ask for a double bed. Sura, for example, has double beds in its cottages and most of its en-suite rooms, though that tells you what rooms it has, not how welcoming it is. Under the Equality Act 2010 in England, Scotland and Wales, a business can't treat you worse because you're gay, and a well-run retreat won't make it an issue. How to choose an LGBTQ+ retreat has more questions worth sending.
If you'd rather not fast at all, or you'd like to be among other gay men, a yoga, walking or wellness week gives you the rest and good food without the juice-only days. Browse gay men's and mixed retreats on Among Our People, and for other UK options, Gay retreats in the UK: where they happen and what's on offer covers gay men's weeks, meditation and walking weekends. ✦
General information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before fasting or changing what you eat, especially if you take medication or have a health condition. Prices and dates were checked on 3 November 2026 and can change, so confirm them with the retreat before you book.