WOW Women's Wellness Festival 2026 — My Honest Review (MS, Heat, and All)

I'll be honest with you — I nearly didn't write this. Not because I didn't have an amazing time, because I really did. But because I want to be real about what it's actually like to attend a full two day outdoor festival when you're living with a chronic illness. Not to put you off — absolutely not — but because the version of me who turned up on Saturday morning really could have done with this information.

So here it is.

The Women Behind It All

Before I get into my weekend, I want to take a moment to talk about the two women who make WOW happen, because honestly they deserve their own blog post.

Rie Pearson is a retired police officer turned abuse prevention advocate. She's the author of Be Kind. No Excuses — a book (I have bought in the past and gifted) written to help teenage girls recognise the red flag behaviours that can be the early signs of an abusive relationship. She runs workshops in schools, works one-to-one with women who've experienced abuse, and her ABC Programme (Awareness, Belief, Confidence) is designed to help young women feel safe and empowered as they navigate relationships. The fact that she's brought all of that knowledge and passion into creating a safe wellness space for girls from 12 upwards says everything about her. You can find out more at riepearson.com.

Annalice Argyle is the founder of TRAC UK — the Recovery Advocates and Consultants — a Middlesbrough-based independent advocacy service supporting people with substance misuse issues. She's herself in recovery, now over 20 years sober, and has turned her own experience into a lifeline for thousands of others. TRAC UK has a women-only recovery service and an online community of over 4,500 women nationally and internationally. She is, in the truly amazing.

Together, these two created an event that is so much more than a wellness festival. It's a genuinely safe, inclusive space built by women who understand — women who have lived experience of trauma, addiction, abuse, and the long road back to yourself. That's not something you can manufacture. You feel it the moment you arrive.

First, the Good Stuff (Because There Was SO Much)

The WOW Women Only Wellness Festival in Northallerton is genuinely unlike anything I've been to before. The community of women there was incredible — warm, open, and the kind of people who just get it. I went with my friend Hazel Smith, who was actually hosting her own workshops on burnout (she was brilliant, by the way — I've seen her as a friend for years and being in her workshop capacity genuinely blew me away).

My first stop was the wonderful Tracy Nicholson, a PT and boxersize instructor — and bonus points, she was wearing workwear I'd made for her PT business, and those bright blue colours were visible from the bottom of the hill. Seeing your work out in the world like that? Lush. We did stretching and shadowboxing and I felt like a very small, very feminine version of Tyson Fury. I loved every second.

Then came Hazel's 'Clear Minds with Hazel' burnout workshop, which I found genuinely valuable even though I've been working through a lot with my therapist. Recognising past patterns in yourself is powerful stuff.

Next up was a session with Laura Forsyth, a business coach — and this one I think changed the direction of my year. Back in January at one of her events I had decided to stop writing blogs (hello, irony). This time, I left with a completely different mindset. SEO, PR, getting seen — I need to be shouting from the rooftops about what Something Profound is and who it's for. So here I am. Writing a blog!

In the afternoon I had the absolute treat of a workshop with Dione from Coast Holistic Training — she'd recently had some merch made by me, so there was no way I was missing it. She taught us how to use pendulums. I've honestly picked them up and put them back down in shops for years, thinking they were beautiful but having no idea what to do with them. Now I know. Consider me converted.

Sunday morning brought a gorgeous aromatherapy session with Sara from Homemade at the Elms — we made our own clarity roller balls, which felt so special. Sara is also one of my affiliates and a huge supporter of Something Profound, so being in her session felt extra meaningful. (Also, she very kindly brought me her headease roller ball before the session when I was struggling — more on that below.)

My final workshop was with the brilliant Lynn Crawford AKA The Connection Queen on human design, and once again I came away fired up about PR and putting myself out there. A theme was very clearly emerging from this weekend.

Now the Honest Bit: What I Wish I'd Known

I'm writing this section with love — for you, and for the version of me who packed the cool box and the sunscreen and the fan and thought that was enough.

The sun is relentless. There's very little shade at the main festival site. We didn't bring a gazebo because we weren't camping, and that was absolutely our downfall. Ten hours in baking sunshine did my MS body no good at all. By Sunday morning I had a thumping headache, I was dehydrated, and I was pretty sure I had mild sunstroke.

If you have MS (or any heat-sensitive condition), please plan for this: remember the blog I recently wrote about heat intolerance?  Yes well I didn't plan so well for this weekend. 

In future:

• Bring more water than you think you need. I turned up to a boxersize class without any. Classic.
• Put your sunscreen on before you leave the car, not once you're already hot. Learn from my mistakes.
• A gazebo or pop-up shade is not just for campers — it's a genuine accessibility need if heat affects you.
• Check in with your body. I missed my last workshop on Sunday and left early. That was the right call. There's no badge of honour for pushing through when your body is telling you it's done.
• Pack your meds and any cooling aids (cooling towels, fans, anything that helps you manage your temperature).

The evening brought a biblical rainstorm, which soaked our chairs and sent us back to the hotel — so pack a poncho too, just in case the weather has a personality crisis.

The Verdict

This festival is genuinely special. The workshops, the women, the atmosphere — I came home with new knowledge, new energy for my business, and a heart full of gratitude. It was probably for me a once in a lifetime experience, and I mean that in the best possible way. My body has made it pretty clear that a full two day outdoor festival in the blazing sun isn't really my thing, and I'm okay with that. I showed up, I gave it everything, and I had an incredible time.

If you're thinking about attending and you have a chronic illness or you're neurodivergent and crowds and sensory overload are a thing — go, but go prepared. Email the organisers ahead of time, plan your schedule with rest built in, and give yourself full permission to step away when you need to.

You deserve to be there. You just also deserve to still be standing at the end of it. 💙

Sam x (still recovering and so incredibly grateful for this experience)

Sam runs Something Profound — funny, honest T-shirts made for people with chronic illness and neurodivergent communities. Find us at www.something-profound.co.uk