The Space Before Summer
Why late May in Sweden might be exactly what you need
I spent this week melting during the hottest May on record. I can’t remember the last time it was this hot in the UK, and of all the places to be in a heatwave, I found myself landlocked and airless in the Midlands, longing for cold waters and a fresh sea breeze. All I could think about was this time next year, we’ll be in Sweden.
Sweden has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I think I was probably supposed to be born Nordic. It’s a place I’ve longed to travel to for years, and the idea of running a small group women’s wellness retreat there feels genuinely dreamy. Even now, when it’s still twelve months away, I find myself planning it at quiet moments. Planning and creating the flow of a retreat is one of my favourite parts of this job. It’s where I get to picture myself there, imagine how the days will unfold, think about how to make the experience really land for the women who come.
So what am I imagining? I imagine what it feels like to wake up in our private cabins, walk through pine forest to the water’s edge for that first cool morning dip. I contemplate whether the sun will already be up or whether we will catch it just rising. I think about afternoons kayaking through the Swedish archipelago, finding secluded beaches, the hardest decision of the day being which beach we stop at for our picnic lunch. I imagine the tranquil coastal view from the yoga deck. This is what a late May retreat in Europe should feel like, unhurried, restorative, with nowhere else to be.
In my twenties, when it came to travel, I was absolutely convinced that hot sunshine was the answer to everything. The first chance I got as a young adult I took myself off to warmer climates, working on super yachts in the Caribbean. I got to travel. I got the tan. I genuinely believed that if it was hot and sunny and I was getting a tan, all would be well in my world. Little did I know then that the tan meant nothing.
It took me a long time to understand that. Longer still to do something about it. Life is one long experiment and the whole point is getting things wrong, that’s how you grow and work out what is truly best for you. Not waiting until everything is in order and aligned. You have to say yes. Yes to experience, to exploring, to adventure, to figuring it out. You collect experiences, people, places, versions of yourself. And slowly, if you’re paying attention, you start to whittle away everything that doesn’t fit. The things that drain you. The roles that don’t suit you. The noise that isn’t yours. And what you’re left with, eventually, is something much closer to the truth of yourself and what you actually love. Life starts to feel like one long exhale.
For me that process has led somewhere I didn’t expect in my twenties. It’s led to Wales. To married life and raising a family. To hosting retreats for small groups of women in beautiful places. To mornings that start with a wild swim and evenings that end with good food and honest conversation. To work that feels purposeful rather than performed.
Have you noticed how your choices change over time? What served you in your twenties might look completely different now, and that’s not a failure, that’s just life evolving. The things that once felt exciting, the heat, the pace, the constant motion, might be exactly what you’re moving away from. And the things you once overlooked, the cool morning, the quiet landscape, the slow unhurried day, might be exactly what you’re moving towards.
I’m happy to say I choose rugged landscapes and cold water that makes you gasp over Caribbean seas any day. I’m here for laid back vibes over go go go. For moving easily, sleeping deeply, coming home feeling like yourself again. Just nature, cold water, good company and genuine rest.
That’s what a slow travel retreat in Sweden in late May offers. Before the mad summer rush, before the calendars fill up and the pace quickens and everyone is suddenly busy again. A week of outdoor days, wild swimming, yoga and kayaking through the archipelago, in the space before summer properly begins.
Sweden is one of my I cannot wait moments. If you’ve been reading this and quietly nodding, I think it might be one of yours too. Come and join us.
Join the waitlist for Sweden 2027
here and be the first to know. Launching to our inner community Wednesday June 3rd.
