A walking holiday ticks all the boxes for a healthy start to 2020, from keeping fit to relieving stress and burning off the excesses of Christmas.
Ramblers Walking Holidays offer the perfect way to combine all the wellness benefits that walking brings with exploring some wonderful destinations both off and on the beaten track with a group of likeminded companions.
Hassness Country House
Perfectly situated in its own extensive grounds on the shores of Buttermere in the heart of the Lake District with wonderful lake and mountain views in all directions, Hassness Country House is an ideal spot to partake in some of the country’s best walks and a bit of wild swimming. Remote and unspoilt, set against a tranquil area of dramatic fells, farms and woodland, it offers a genuine opportunity to ‘get away from it all’ with one of the best round-the-lake walks in the Lake District right on the doorstep.
Catering to all levels of fitness ranging from ambles around the valley floor and its three lakes, Buttermere, Crummock Water and Loweswater to adventurous high peak challenges on the summits and ridges of the Western Fells, it offers an extensive on-going walking programme complemented by comfortable accommodation and with locally sourced home cooked meals.
Three-night breaks start from £260/person including half board accommodation (except for one dinner) and lunches on walking days.
Mindfulness in the Mountains (Grade 4, Moderate)
Away from everyday distractions, escape to the Lake District to replenish diminished energy by giving yourself time to contemplate life and develop some tried and tested coping strategies. On the shores of Buttermere with enthralling lake and mountain views, Mindfulness in the Mountains provides the opportunity to live in the moment through a programme of walking and reflection in restorative countryside.
Following trails such as Haystacks and Rannerdale knots, some walking will be silence with targeted activities to help connect with the surroundings and yourself. With resources to help familiarise yourself with techniques and theoretical concepts, there will also be gentle yoga and short meditations sessions.
Three-night break starts from £295/person and includes accommodation all meals (expect for one dinner), meditation and yoga sessions and transport to and from trails. Departures 2 June, 11 August, 10 October, 2020.
Women’s Activity Week (Grade 5, moderate)
Staying in Hassness Country House on the shores of Buttermere, Women’s activity week is the perfect antidote to modern city living. Designed to get some of that refreshing Cumbrian air into your lungs, relax with other like-minded women and perhaps try out something new, the week takes advantage of the superb setting with a daily selection of hill and Nordic walks, a half day kayaking on Derwentwater and the optional promise of a bracing morning dip. Interspersed with yoga and Pilates to restore and unwind, days hiking with some added circuit training or aerobics, are well rewarded with home cooked meals.
Women’s Activity Week seven-night holiday starts from £679/person including accommodation and all meals (except for one dinner), lakeland hill walking, yoga and Pilates sessions, introduction to Nordic Walking, aerobics and circuit training, half day kayaking and transport for activities. Departures: 13 June, 15 August & 12 September 2020.
Ramblers Walking Holidays (01707 331 133, www.ramblersholidays.co.uk).
