Santosa Yoga Camp, The Healing Field Meadow, Ridge Lane, Near Shepton Mallet, BA4 4PF

The Healing Field Meadow is on Ridge Lane, between Shepton Mallet and Pilton. It is two miles from the centre of Shepton Mallet.

Please note that the postcode does not bring you precisely to the field, but close by. Signs are in place at the crossroads and these directions help you to find the last part of the way, Full directions are here for you to download:

Directions to the Healing Field Meadow

Postcode for Sat Nav: BA4 4PF
Please be aware that because we are a field and not a building, this postcode does not bring you precisely to the field, but close by. Signs are in place at the crossroads and these directions help you to find the last part of the way.

The site is located in RIDGE LANE between Shepton Mallet and Pilton. RIDGE LANE, is off the B3136 close to the OLD WELLS ROAD. The gate to the field will be clearly marked for your arrival.
The nearest train station is Castle Cary, about a 15 minute cab ride from the site.
An easy way to find the site is to get yourself to THE HIGHWAYMAN INN (BA4 4LY) which is at the opposite end of RIDGE LANE, and then drive along Ridge Lane, across the B3136 and then you will find the site on your left, the third gate along.

FROM SHEPTON
Take the turning off the A361 and follow signs into Shepton Mallet’s Town
Centre and then through to FOSSE LANE INDUSTIRAL Estate
follow the signs towards Glastonbury on the B3136.
On the B3136 drive about a mile out of Shepton, you pass under a railway arch.
At the top of the following hill there is a crossroads.
TURN right here.
The site is about a couple of hundred yards along on the left, just before a stone
wall.

FROM PILTON
As you come out of Pilton on the A361, head up a steep hill.
There is a turning off to the left: the B3136 . Take this turn.
Follow this road towards Shepton up and down several hills for approximately 2
miles. At the crossroads turn left.
The site is about a couple of hundred yards along on the left, just before a stone
wall.

SITE OPENING AND CLOSING
Each day the site opens at dawn and gates close at dusk. You are welcome to come and go during those times.

The nearest train station is Castle Cary, about a 15 minute cab ride from the site. Most of the cab drivers there seem to know how to find the healing field but it could be a good idea to print out the directions and bring them with you to give to the cabbie. In the past quite a few people have cycled over from Castle Cary on their bikes.

Please download the crucial information document from the Downloadable Guidance Documents.

It’s a good idea to have a very good read before you arrive to ensure you know what you are signing up for! Please also read the Site Agreement as once you send your payment for the Ticket you are indicating to us that you are in accord with the Site Agreement and we’ll hold you to it.

We have two bazaars at the camp. Please check the schedule for days and times. You are most welcome to bring and share your home made crafts, second hand items, jewellery, arts, and all other delights in keeping with the yoga camp at the bazaar, all you need to do is to bring it along with you and set up a stall. Most of us use blankets on the earth as our stalls.

There is a full list of stuff to bring in the Downloadable Guidance Documents. Basically you need to bring yourself, all your camping equipment, and a plate, bowl, spoon, fork, knife and mug for yourself and each person in your party, plus a tea towel or two for drying up; your yoga mat and any other yoga stuff you want to use, musical instruments if you want to play. Flip flops are handy for the outdoor showers.. Bring clothes for all weathers – in the last years we have had blazing sun, (bring hats, sunblock and sunglasses); pouring rain (full waterproofs, umbrellas and wellies are a must), and the nights get a bit chilly, even if you are round the campfire (warm sweaters and rugs/blankets to sit on). Typical English summer gear.

If you want to trade your crafts or wares at the Bazaars, you are most welcome: please bring your stock and something nice to set it all out on.

We seek to offer space only to those therapists who can bring their own beautiful healing spaces with them. We have observed in previous camps that those therapists and healers who set up an appealing structure in which they enjoy to work find that they have the most interest from the campers. All therapists pay a basic reduced ticket rate and donate 20 per cent of their takings to the camp funds at the end of the camp. If you are equipped to offer a healing therapy in a lovely structure, and you’re all set with your blackboard / appointment book for campers to book themselves in, then please email your insurance certificate and qualification documents as attachments to Sam on bloomfield5879@gmail.com with “SANTOSA-THERAPIST” in the subject line and we will get back to you to confirm whether or not we have a space for you. It depends on getting the right mix of different therapies in the right number in order for this aspect of the camp to work well for everyone.

We have many offers of teachers for this camp, and a regular team of experienced Santosa teachers. We are keen to encourage other inspiring teachers / bhakti session leaders or workshop facilitators to come and join us. If you would like to be considered for teaching at the camp, then please be aware you will be asked to teach a minimum of three sessions in return for a discounted ticket price. If this appeals, then please mail a fifty word description of your proposed session and also proof of your current insurance and teaching qualification to santosamotherplan@gmail.comwith the word TEACHER in the subject line together with a HIGH QUALITY HIGH RES PHOTO.

If there is a space in the schedule and your proposal sounds as if it would fit in with what is on offer then one our marvellous schedulers will get back to you. If we have run out of space on the schedule by the time you mail us we may well invite you to attend the camp as a paying guest, but to be willing to be on standby / cover duty in case of need, or to step up and offer your session as a spontaneous sharing in a free structure during the camp. If you offer three sessions or more then we can make a partial refund of the fee you originally paid, in line with the discounted rate on offer to all Santosa teachers.

We work on the schedule right up to the last minute, so please check the Downloadable Guidance Documents for the latest version of running order and list of teachers attending. Please print this out and bring it with you. There will be no paper copies on site. Once you arrive on site all classes and workshops are free. All you need to pay for are any treatments you arrange with the therapists. As always there maybe last minute changes to the schedule.

Yes, please do. But no dogs this year thank you.

I hope to give you some clear pointers of what it can be like to bring a child to the camp. I set up these camps because I wanted somewhere clear and wonderful to bring my children so we could enjoy living yoga together. I have two boys and a girl and the joy for them at the camps is the children’s world they create with their friends at the camp. They enjoy the organised activities for kids, and sometimes I accompany them to these, but most of the time they have created their own special world and we just meet up for meals and devotional song or if and when we need to. They come and find me as and when in the yoga sessions if I am teaching or learning.

With children at the camp, there are some variables, and some not-so variables:

• • Your child is ultimately your responsibility at all times.
  • We do not offer creche or childcare facilities
  • We do offer classes where you and your children can do yoga together – family class each day, laughter yoga, and art workshops etc.
  • We also offer children’s yoga classes scheduled at the same time as adult yoga classes, often in neighbouring structures so lots of parents find if there child enjoys the class for the kids, at the same time they can enjoy the adult class.
  • We also offer arts and crafts activities in the afternoons and many parents find that if school age children are enjoying these sessions, then the parents can enjoy their own yoga in the neighbouring tents.
  • We also have a very pro family friendly feel so loads of people make friends with each other and take turns to mind the children – e,g by joining in with the kids activities while their parents go to the class – this seems to work very well
  • We create a very safe space for children so that we find on the whole site many children enjoy to play outside the yoga tents or to help out with the crew’s work (e.g in the welcome tent, or at the water facilities while their parents are doing yoga). So long as the child is happily occupied and knows exactly where their parent is if they need them then this works out very nicely for everyone – and the children get freedom to play, whilst being ‘held’ in a conscious space by the wider community of grown ups around.

In practice, we find that the parents and children who feel that they all get to enjoy what they like doing most are the ones where the children either bring along a friend to play with, or make friends at the camp and the parents also make friends with other parents and share responsibility for minding the children. Also there are lots of events you can enjoy together like the singing at the fire, the laughter yoga and the art workshops. Many teachers are also parents and/or experienced kids yoga teachers so are happy to admit children to any of the sessions on the schedule – so that’s an informal way to join the adult classes too. Please be sure to check with the teacher first.

This is a clean, green site. Please leave no trace of your presence on the site. Please sort out any recycling and take all of it and all of your rubbish away with you. We provide biodegradable black sacks for you at the Welcome Tent to keep everything sorted and tidy. Please keep your pitch tidy and the bags covered so as to discourage night time foraging by neighboring creatures, and to discourage flies and wasps during the daytime. You can compost your veggie scraps in the compost bins by the toilets.

“Take only photos, leave only footprints”

Biodegradable washing up liquid and hand soap is provided for washing up and for hand-washing. Please be sure that your own soaps and shampoos for showering and bathing are also biodegradable. The washing water soaks straight off into the fields.

We supply ample wonderfully soft recycled toilet paper. Enough for everyone.

Please be aware this is super-low impact, minimal camping. There is no electricity for public use. We have water points around the field, and exquisite shower and sauna facilities. We have composting drop toilets (sitting and squatting varieties) at the car park end of the field. Our toilet fairies work hard to keep them lovely for everyone, and we find that most people much prefer these to stinky chemical plastic boxes! We light them at night with lanterns so you can see to poo in the dark if you need to. Please poo in the hole and put a handful of sawdust on top of your creation before your leave. Please accompany children under six to the toilets and if necessary clear up after them. Please be sure to wash your hands with the soap and water provided after using the toilets.

Yes. Campervans and caravans and live-in buses are welcome but there is a small charge of £5 per live in vehicle. Pleas emake sure you but a live in vehicle ticket if you intend to bring one. When you arrive,  the gate tent yogis will guide you to a suitable space for your vehicle – this is likely to be close to the edges of the field near the entrance.

Yes, there is a special part of the site for cars. Please do not park next to your tent. If you arrive in a car, turn right and park your car, then come to check in at the gate at our Welcome Tent.

We will give you the Schedule and advise you where to pitch up.

There are wheelbarrows to help you carry your goodies from your car.

If you need help we can usually find someone to help you with unloading and carrying your possessions to your chosen pitch.

The camping areas for campervans, buses and caravans are up at the gate end of the field where you come in, along the hedge that bounds the car park. If this is full please ask on the gate where you can park up. Our crew camp along the hedge by the road at the side of the field. There is camping for tents in the centre of the field and along the hedge on the far side of the field,

Please do not camp in the Fire Lane, the open grass lane that encircles the central camping space in this end of the field, we need to keep this clear at all times.

Other than that you can camp anywhere you like within this end of the field – the bottom end of the camping space is marked if you imagine a boundary about twelve feet back from an imaginary line across the field that joins the two big ash tress on either side of the field. In practice this means no camping beyond the kitchen and temple. Please do not camp in this main circle of large structures for the yoga and bhakti events. This area is our communal and teaching area, with therapists and our spa and showers. The only structures other than the big group workshop spaces and the Bhakti Temple which are permitted in the far end of the field are therapists tents for healing work, and a very few designated yurts, crew bell tents and other special spaces.

We have a single community camp fire for focus. It will be minded by our fire keepers who will help us keep it safe and sacred. Please join us around this fire and respect the fire keeper’s guidance. There are also fires under the water to keep it hot for showers. But we ask for no other fires on site.

Three delicious sattvic (wholesome) vegan meals are included in the cost of your ticket. There is breakfast available from 8am in the morning (fresh fruit, cereals, crackers, breads and spreads) Complimentary chai is served at the morning meeting. A simple lunch (eg rice and dhal, or noodles and veggies) is available around noon, and a one pot evening meal (stews or soups) in the evening at 6pm. Coffees, teas, soft drinks, chai and cakes and snacks are available to purchase from the Chai Shop.

Please bring your own plate, mug, bowl, cutlery and tea towel to the kitchen when you come to collect your blessed food.

There are stand pipes around the field providing mains cold water for drinking, washing, cooking. We have a wonderful shower and sauna area, under the trees at the far end of the field.

We have a gorgeous communal kitchen marquee and soft social space to accommodate everyone comfortably. The intention is that by serving the camp meals at set times we can all eat together and enjoy the wider company of everyone on the camp together with the delicious food from Santosa’s ashram kitchen.

Please contact info@santosayogacamp.co.uk for concessionary rates.

The most people we have had at Santosa in Somerset was 250. This includes around 40 yoga teachers, our crew and usually about 10 healers and therapists. It is a friendly camp, and everyone gets to know most people. We cannot easily accommodate many more on the site, and we love the Healing Field Meadow so much that we want to keep our camp small and perfect, so we all fit in the single meadow. The maximum number the site can comfortably accommodate is 300.

Santosa is a non profit community-building, supportive, networking and nourishing social gathering for many yoga teachers who are all committed to the vision of YOGASEVA – to spread the light of yoga for all. We do this through the provision of yoga therapy in many different venues and to many different populations.

Supporting the happiness of yoga teachers and their families and friends is an important aspect of this work.

Santosa is run on a budget to make it an affordable camp for as many people as want to join us. We just manage to make ends meet through the energy and generosity of our volunteer workers and karma yogis. Children under 12 attend Santosa for free, however we rely on donations for the childrens’ food and camp services to keep our heads above water and to enable us to continue to run Santosa camps.

We hope to keep it a sustainable operation that can thrive and grow into the future, ensuring its beneficial energies continue to spread blessings to all who attend.

Payments via Paypal have a commission and fee deducted before we receive the money. If you pay by BACS, there is no charge of this kind so we offer a small discount.

Yes.

Day tickets will be available for cash on the gate, £50 per adult / £15 for a 12-18yrs, including lunch and dinner, plus for each overnight stay £15 including breakfast.

Please complete the Booking Form online and remember to include your email address as your initial booking reference.

Submit the form, and you will receive an email giving you payment options and a Booking Reference number.

You will not receive a paper ticket,

Please keep a note of the Booking Reference number, because that is your ‘ticket’ – you will need this to check in at our gate when you arrive.

Being part of Santosa living Yoga and Bhakti Camp is as much a spiritual process as an event . It’s not your usual festie. We really feel that you get the most out of this experience if you stay for the whole duration of the camp. If you are keen to come and yet big important stuff is going on in your life that prevents you from being with us for the full time, then we offer special tickets for either the first part of the week or second part of the week.

Of course you are welcome to speak to us if even this doesn’t work for you – we would prefer that you could come, even if just for a day!