Dr Anne Alison | From NHS GP to Wellness Pioneer

In this episode we're joined by Dr Anne Alison — GP, founder, and the inspiring force behind Vale Wellness in Cowbridge, Wales. Anne's story is one of courage, vision, and an unshakeable belief that healthcare can — and should — be so much more.

After nearly two decades serving patients within the NHS, Dr Anne took a leap of faith and founded Vale Wellness: a pioneering, multidisciplinary private healthcare clinic offering GP services, physiotherapy, psychology, nutrition, NESA therapy, and more — all under one roof, with a genuinely personal touch.

We explore her journey, her passion for running, and why she believes that treating the whole person — not just the condition — is the key to a healthier, happier life.

A truly inspiring listen.

📚 Book Referenced

⚠️ Title note: Referenced in the episode as "Ultra-Processed Humans" — the correct title is:

Ultra-Processed People by Dr Chris van Tulleken (2023) — available from all major booksellers.

🔗 Links & Resources

Vale Wellness, Cowbridge

🌐 www.valegp.co.uk

📧 enquiries@valewellness.co.uk

📍 London House, 89 Eastgate, Cowbridge, CF71 7AA

📱 @valewellnessgp on Instagram

🏃 @vwdr_ontherun on Instagram

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Anastasia Salichou is an Akashic Records Healer and Coach, public speaker and trainer who helps people reclaim their unique personal power, heal past and present life trauma, and step into their authentic selves and potentiality. With her work in the Records alongside several healing modalities, she channels healing energy and messages in a way that’s practical, empowering, and transformative. She supports her clients and audience into deep healing, understanding their Soul Gifts and Potential, and creating a life that truly speaks to them.

Links

• Website: www.anastasia.coach
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnastasiaSalichou
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnastasiaSalichou/ 

https://www.facebook.com/AnastasiaTransformationCoachHealer/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anastasia_transformation_coach/

Hannah Hern was born in New Zealand, educated in the UK, and working as a nurse when her husband James came home from a Southampton boat show with a poster and a question: Should we buy a yacht? Hannah's answer — "Only rich people have boats" — didn't quite stick.

In this episode, Hannah tells her side of the story: six years living aboard Carpe Diem on the Itchen River in all weathers (including snow on the deck and ice in the river), raising three young children in a 38-foot Bavaria while saving, learning to sail on Sundays, and quietly preparing for a life most people thought would never happen. Then in 2012, they sailed out of the UK and never looked back.

What followed was five and a half years circumnavigating the globe — crossing the Bay of Biscay, sailing down to St. Helena, across to Brazil, through the Pacific, and spending two and a half years in and out of New Zealand. Along the way, the family volunteered in Fiji after Cyclone Winston, spending three and a half months helping rebuild a primary school alongside a fleet of fellow cruisers. The kids were homeschooled throughout, and their youngest two can barely remember life before the ocean.

Hannah reflects honestly on the whole journey — the 24/7 togetherness, the lack of family support, the moments of "what on earth are we doing?" — and why, despite all of that, she'd do it again in a heartbeat. Now farming eight acres on St. Helena and supplying fresh produce to passing yachties, she's clear that the adventure isn't over yet.

Follow Hannah on

https://facebook.com/james.herne.2025

If you are visiting St Helena by yacht and would like to reach out to Hannah for services or guidance please contact them here too.

On Island, Hannah is at Gift Cottage Farm.

Born on the remote island of St. Helena in 1972, James Hern spent much of his childhood in a children's home — but rather than letting that define him, he channelled his energy into books, self-reliance, and the sea. He taught himself to windsurf, built his own powerboat (becoming the first St. Helenian to do so), and went on to rack up over 100,000 registered nautical miles as a skipper.

In this episode, James shares the remarkable story of how he and his wife Hannah made a six-year plan to leave the UK, sail away through the Solent with three young children aboard their 40-foot Bavaria, and spend over six years circumnavigating the globe — homeschooling their kids along the way. Their eldest son, educated entirely on the boat until the age of 14, went on to achieve three times the government expectation in maths in his very first year at school.

Now back on St. Helena, James and Hannah have traded life at sea for eight acres of tropical farmland in Sandy Bay — growing papayas, avocados, flowers, and coffee, entirely off the grid. For the past 20 years they haven't paid a single domestic bill, powering their home with solar panels and a 70-year-old spring. And just like on the boat, they built it all from scratch with no farming background, learning as they go.

James's message is simple: every goal is reachable, the boat is only as strong as the skipper, and the one thing he'd do differently? Start ten years earlier.

Follow James:

https://facebook.com/james.herne.2025

Contact James here too if you are visiting St Helena by yacht and would like to reach out for his services.

On island find him at Gift Cottage Farm.

Welcome to Island Life Stories - a podcast sharing honest, inspiring conversations with people who've taken a leap, made a change, or chosen a different path in life.