Retreats

Women are busier than ever before. We are juggling family, career, our homes, social lives, online social lives, fitness regimes, appointments, meetings… the list is exhaustive and relentless – it’s no wonder we need a break! Our Women’s woodland Wellbeing days are designed to do just that: to give you the time and space to rest, recharge and relax in the glorious natural surroundings of the forest.

Virtually any form of immersion in the natural world, outside of your internal world, heightens your overall well-being. The positive effects of a single exposure to nature can last for seven hours after an individual has experienced it. This leaves you feeling happier and in good spirits. Practising mindfulness in nature can help you manage your wellbeing and mental health. It can reduce feelings of stress, overwhelm, depression and anxiety and increase your ability to manage difficult situations.

Woodland Wellbeing Gift Vouchers

Our Woodland Wellbeing retreats will be running throughout Spring and Summer 2022. Retreats take place in our woodlands in Glossop and Leek. The perfect experience to give as a Mother's Day or Birthday gift! Purchase Gift Vouchers

Vouchers available...

• £60 Gift Voucher

Woodland Wellbeing Retreats 2022

Sunday 15th May 2022
10am-4pm

Align, Activate, Awaken

Gnat Hole Farm, Derbyshire Level, Chunal, Glossop, SK13 7PW

Cost: £60pp
Females over 18 Only

Experiences include...

• Guided Meditation & Angel Card Readings
• Flower crown or head piece creations
• Yoga & Fitness with Emma

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Sorry, this event has been cancelled.
Please keep an eye out for future retreats.

Relax, Rewind, Reconnect

Pickwood "Ballington" Woods, Ashenhurst Way, Leek, ST13 5SB

Cost: £60pp
Females over 18 Only

Experiences include...

• Laurel Gallagher Nature Art
• Love & Light Yoga
• Guided Meditation & Angel Card Readings

Testimonials

"I wasn't sure what to expect from the woodland wellbeing day. I went along with an open mind and d it. Experiencing things I have never taken the time to do and really enjoying them. The camp is amazing and loved the set up. You could have been a millions miles.from everywhere. Taking them time.to.appreciate the forest felt good. I would definitely recommend anyone to try on of the woodland wellbeing days. I came away feeling both relaxed and energised. Loved it!!" Sam

""I spent the most amazing and relaxing day at the Woodland Wellbeing Retreat at Gnat Hole Farm. I literally floated out of the woods at the end of the day! A mix of Yoga, Mindfulness, bushcraft and other woodland activities made this a truly unique experience. As a busy mum of two this was just what I needed to recharge my batteries." Hayley

"What an amazing day! I felt energized and full of ideas after leaving the Woodland Wellbeing retreat. I was able to spend some quality time with a great friend, exploring the woods for my woodland crafts, met some fun new people, learned some meditation/breathing techniques and really enjoyed the yoga session. I haven't done yoga in over ten years but the practitioner was really great at explaining the positions and it was such a lovely setting in the woods. We could hear birds chirping and feeling the breeze and sun made the whole experience so uplifting and refreshing! I really enjoyed my day and would recommend it to anyone! Thank you InsideOut Forest School for an unforgettable experience!" Chika

"Right from the moment I walked down the lane towards Gnat Hole Farm and Esther’s forest, I started to relax. We were greeted with a beautiful scene of hay bails, a campfire, pretty bunting, and the most lovely selection of herbal teas and fruit. Over the course of the day, I tried woodland bush crafts (I made a necklace!), mindfulness relaxation and yoga. It was just wonderful. Esther and her team were so lovely and welcoming, and as a group of women who hadn’t necessarily met before that day, we left as friends. I would absolutely recommend a forest well-being retreat, delivered by Esther, to anybody who would like to relax, get back to nature, and to have a fabulous day!"

"The Woodland Wellbeing Retreat is definitely an experience not to be missed. I left feeling so relaxed, yet energised and had learnt new skills. It’s just the perfect way to take time out from a busy schedule. Highly recommended." Anna

What to Expect...

There will be three wellbeing experiences running throughout the day, guests can participate in all three or opt for self-led quiet time and just be a part of the rhythm of the day. Each session will run for 1 hour - 1hour15mins with a break for lunch and time for reflection at the end of the day.

What's Included

Each participant will receive...

• Hot and cold healthy drinks
• Health & Wellness goodie bag from Glossop Wholefoods

Woodland Wellbeing Co-ordinators

Esther Brock, owner and leader of Inside Out Forest School will be running the day. Esther has been running forest school camps, woodland family and community events, nurture sessions and woodland wellbeing session for common mental disorders since June 2017. Sessions will be led by specialist qualified instructors.

Our Experiences

Shinrin-Yoku Forest Medicine

Take in the forest atmosphere - Shinrin-Yoku Forest Medicine (meaning Forest Bathing) is a preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine'. Spending time under the canopy of a living forest, relax in hammocks, or take a self guided Walk. Experience the calming, rejuvenating and restorative benefits of relaxing in nature.

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Bushcraft & Environmental Art

Activities will include Hapa-Zome - a Japanese term meaning‘leaf-dye’, an ancient art of beating leaves and flowers & berries with hammers, pounding natural pigment into cloth to create beautiful natural patterns. We will also be working with the different woods of the forest to create frames for our art, or to make jewellery.

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Treasury of Light

An hour of deep relaxation through sound healing with sacred crystal quartz bowls, chimes and essences followed by tea meditation. Dedicate your intentions in the light of a candle flame. Release, relax and revive your energies. Restore balance, peace (To mind, body and spirit.) and reconnect with your true self in nature. Access more light, joy, abundance and love.

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Laurel Gallagher Nature Art

‘Sensing Landscape’ is an approach to landscape painting that uses expressive mark making to capture the sensory experience of being immersed in nature. Laurel will lead you through a series of creative exercises that enhance your sense of connection to place and support you to translate those feelings into artworks. Laurel Gallagher studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University and Art and Design Education at Oxford Brookes and the Institute of Education, London. She is co-director of Urban Wilderness an arts organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent and practices as a painter under the name Feral State.

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Yoga and Fitness with Emma

Emma teaches hatha yoga which is the foundation of all yoga practices. Sessions include asana (movement) practice which can be tailored to all levels of experience as well as breath work and relaxation. As well as teaching yoga in the local area Emma is also a forest school leader running regular sessions for Inside Out Forest School.

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Flower Crown Workshop

"Flowers are the music of the ground. From earth's lips spoken without sound" Edwin Curran. Getting creative can have great benefits for everyone, no matter what age we are. It can help you to relax and calm the mind - re-focusing thoughts from worrying and stress. It is also often a way to lift your mood and release 'happy endorphins', creating a sense of achievement.
Faye is a Derbyshire-based florist who has several years of experience in running creative Workshops using flowers and foliage. Spending time making a Flower crown or head piece during this outdoor session, using all-natural materials, is a great way of connecting with nature, and an opportunity to get creative and have fun.

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Gong Bath Meditation

Experience a deep, relaxing and powerful sound meditation with gongs and other percussion instruments. Masha Bennett has completed a Master of Science in Therapeutic Practice for Psychological Trauma. She travels around the world as a Master Trainer of Trainers in Emotional Freedom Techniques.She has years of experience and extensive training in cognitive-behavioural therapy, hypno-psychotherapy, stress management and addiction treatment.

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Love & Light Yoga with Natalie

Natalie's Yoga practice is rooted in Hatha, Ashtanga and Iyengar Yoga. A deep love of nature and its healing abilities, the seasons and the moon also inspire her Yoga offerings. All classes include pranayama, asanas, visualisation and relaxation. She takes a non-competitive, gentle approach, helping to develop a deeper understanding and relationship with the body and mind. The practice of Yoga provides the tools to make positive changes which allows us to move towards a happier, healthier lifestyle.

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Grounding Meditation with Katy Rogers

Journey into the heart chakras & meet the soul self through grounding meditation, reiki energy & soul cleansing. Katy teaches, coaches and enables others on their own journey of growth and discovery. She helps those in need of healing with spiritual guidance, connection with your own divine, sovereign self, and connections with the infinite consciousness.

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Guided Meditation with The Chakra Room

Samantha is a holistic therapist and reiki master teacher. She is also a crystal energy guide and a spiritual mentor, with treatment rooms and workshop space in Ramsbottom. Journey through the 7 chakras with a guided meditation and explore some gentle energy movement exercises to help you to clear your energy field and get grounded and connected to the earths. amazing energy.

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Heart Opening Yoga with The Yoga Lounge

Our yoga in the woods is about making yoga accessible for those that lead fast-paced and busy lives. Expect an increase in your sense of peace and calm. Stress won't seem so stressful. Things that used to bother you won't seem to matter so much. Positive thoughts will begin to replace the negative ones. We are a judgement-free zone - no one cares about how 'good' or 'bad' you are here! This is your time and space to just BE.

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Massage and Meditation with Sharon

Massage & Mindfulness. Let Sharon guide you as you learn to be calm and relaxed - move, stretch, feel, breathe, believe and relax. Sharon runs "Relax Kids" and works with both children and adults.

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Yoga with Katherine

Katherine has been teaching yoga classes for 15 years, to adults; pregnancy and postnatal; babies, children and teenagers; and therapeutic yoga. In recent years, she answered a call to follow a more feminine path and focus on women’s healing. She trained to lead women’s circles with the Wild Woman Project, initiated as a Priestess of Brigantia with the Sheffield Goddess Temple and a Priestess Healer Glastonbury Goddess Temple. She later studied many healing modalities, particularly trauma-informed practices, including Yoga Nidra; Energy Medicine; Emotional Freedom Technique; brain retraining techniques; wild feminine arts; various Conscious Dance modalities; Shamanic practices; Celtic practices and mythology and native herbalism.

Cancellation Policy

If after booking, you decide to cancel, unfortunately we can not offer any refunds. However you may swap for another retreat on a different date if you wish. Please contact us with as much notice as possible to arrange this as spaces are limited.

 How to find us: 

Leek: Pickwood (Ballington) Woods, off the Ladydale Estate, Leek ST13 5SB.

Directions: Enter the Ladydale Estate onto Ashenhurst Way, drive to the very bottom where you'll see a public footpath just before the start of the new housing estate. It will be signposted. We will be waiting to greet you there.

Glossop: Gnat Hole Farm, off of Derbyshire Level, SK13 7PW (You can access Gnat hole farm from the Derbyshire level (less muddy) or Hague street Whitfield, map below).

Directions: There is strictly no parking, driving through, or dropping off on Chunal lane. All details will be on your information sheet upon booking.