Forget the departure lounge. The smart money now seems to be staying closer to home, and not just because flights are a faff. Recent research found that UK staycations are nearly matching holidays abroad, with 46% of Brits naming a staycation their ideal trip, compared to 45% who’d rather head overseas. The appeal is obvious when you consider the advantages of a proper break without the airport queues, the exchange rate headaches, or the three hours spent hunting for a gate.
What’s changed is how far people are willing to take it. Rather than booking a weekend away, a growing number of homeowners are building the retreat into their own garden, permanently. Think cold plunge pools, steam and sauna setups, and water features that do more than just look nice from the kitchen window, they are the perfect garden staycation and spa retreat.
The great British staycation shift
It’s part of a much bigger shift in how we use outdoor space. Garden spending in the UK has been climbing steadily, with homeowners investing in everything from decking and outdoor kitchens to hot tubs and dedicated seating areas. Many are now treating the garden as less like an afterthought and more like an extension of the house itself, with a corner set aside specifically for recovery and relaxation, rather than just entertaining.
The cold water therapy craze
Cold water therapy is a big part of that conversation. Ice baths and cold plunges have gone from niche fitness habit to mainstream wellness talking point over the past couple of years, with claims ranging from better circulation to improved mood. The evidence is genuinely mixed though, and it’s worth being upfront that cold water immersion carries real risks, including cold water shock and strain on the heart, so it isn’t suitable for everyone. Anyone curious should start slowly and check with a GP first, particularly if they have an existing heart condition.
Finding the middle ground
That’s one reason why striking a happy medium is proving so popular. Rather than committing to a freezing plunge pool, more households are choosing a dual-temperature setup instead, one that can switch between a brisk cold dip and a proper warm soak, all in one compact unit. It’s the same principle behind the hot and cold contrast therapy you’d find at a spa retreat, just without the membership fee or the drive.
This is where the UK’s smaller gardens have forced a bit of ingenuity. Most plots simply don’t have room for a traditional swimming pool, and this is partly why compact swim spas have become such a popular option. Compass Pools’ Fit range is a good example, squeezing a full swim current and hydrotherapy jets into a footprint that fits where a standard pool never could. It’s less about the glamour of a pool party and more about year-round use, somewhere to swim against a current before work, or ease into after a long week.
Why compact beats traditional
The practicalities are a big factor here with a full-sized pool providing a serious commitment, both in terms of space and the time it takes to maintain. This can put plenty of people off even before they’ve even looked at the costs. A smaller, purpose-built unit sidesteps a lot of that. It can usually be installed in a fraction of the time, heats up faster, and runs comfortably through most of the year rather than sitting under a cover for nine months. For a household weighing up a one-off luxury holiday against a spa retreat feature they’ll use every week, the cost element starts to look rather different.
A garden for every season
There’s also a knock-on effect for how people use the rest of their garden. Once there’s a reason to be outside year-round, whether that’s a quick swim before breakfast or a warm soak after dark, the rest of the space tends to follow suit. Lighting gets better thought through, seating moves closer to the action, and what was once a patch of lawn for the summer months becomes worth using year-round.
None of this means the traditional spa weekend is going anywhere. There’s still a strong case for getting away entirely and letting someone else do the work, with the best antidote to burnout often being a proper spa break. However, the appeal of having that option at home, even in a modest garden, is clearly resonating. A well-designed outdoor space can genuinely change how a home feels day to day, and a wellness feature is increasingly part of that design brief from the start, not a late addition.
Whether it’s a sauna, a cold plunge, or a proper swim spa that does both jobs at once, the pattern is the same. Brits are investing in their own back gardens to get the spa retreat benefits they’d otherwise travel for. Given how competitive staycation plans have become with trips abroad, don’t be surprised if more of us start taking our holidays without ever leaving our resident postcode.
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