A look at The Elements Trail on International Earth Day

It’s International Earth Day, and what better way to celebrate, than to take a closer look at a spa that really embraces the natural world and brings it into the spa experience? The Elements Trail in Ireland is an entirely unique experience that takes you on a two-hour journey along an intimate forest path with luxury spa moments along the way. Sound like your kind of escapism? Keep reading…

Where is The Elements Trail?

On a private island in the heart of Fermanagh on the Donegal coast, The Elements Trail offers guests the chance to relax in luxurious peace. For those tired of the white noise of the daily grind, this is a back to nature experience, but with luxury wellbeing included. ‘Step outside your life and into nature’ they say, of the retreat at Finn Lough. The environment sets the tone for your escape, and it’s also visible from pretty much all corners of the retreat. For example, the aromatherapy room uses plants from the forest while the lakeside hot tub has views over Lough Erne towards the cliff of Magho.

Where do you stay?

Guests stay in private lakeside lodges, cottages, catered suites and unique bubble domes, all surrounded by woodland. It is an estate that offers natural beauty alongside contemporary luxuries, bringing style and sophistication to romantic retreats, family escapes or group holidays. All accommodation has a sense of relaxed luxury to it, but for a really unique experience it’s impossible to beat the novelty of one of the bubble domes. They give you a front front row seat to starry skies and waking to uninterrupted lake and forest views.

What do you do on The Elements Trail spa experience?

The spa experience here is more of a journey. An immersive tour into a world of wellbeing, fusing modern luxuries and the natural world. In a beautifully styled modern building nestled amongst the trees, the forest spa offers a collection of beautiful spaces to relax in. The two-hour trail includes a salt room with float pool, lakeside Finnish sauna with alternative heating and cooling to improve circulation.

There’s also the aforementioned aromatherapy cabin with plants from the surrounding area, a hot tub overlooking the bay and a fireside relaxation suite with a floor-to-ceiling window that overlooks the forest floor, where you can enjoy herbal teas. The experience takes two people every 30-minutes, keeping numbers down for a truly intimate experience. Afterwards, enjoy a treatment or bespoke ritual using the product line Elemental Herbology, in keeping with the theme.

What’s the food like?

While self-catered cottages have their own kitchens to cook in, it offers guests a fresh and wholesome dining experience, with fresh, seasonal produce that’s grown at the resort’s own polytunnels or sourced from local suppliers and farmers. Meanwhile, fish is sourced from Lough Erne and the nearby Donegal coast.

What else do you need to know?

Given the retreat’s intrinsic connection to the natural world, it is fitting that they are also making great efforts towards sustainable spa practices as well. They do their best to avoid a throw away culture, and keep things as local as possible - as mentioned with the food. They provide S’well water bottles, reusable aqua shoes, handmade 100% cotton robes, hand turned bog oak wooden bowls for nibbles and Irish ‘Freebird’ tea for all tea drinking needs, for example.

Who would love The Elements Trail?

This is an experience that’s all about tranquility. Try it alone and really enjoy the quiet, share it with a partner for time that’s really dedicated to peaceful communication or simply ‘being’, or visit with a friend or parent. Whoever you choose to bring or not bring here, it’s all about focusing on yourself or one other person and really creating the time to connect meaningfully.