As a child I thought it was perfectly normal to be stood shivering & soaking wet in Snowdonia or the Lakes as part of your holiday. As a teenager, the Duke of Edinburgh Award helped me build resilience & independence. Since then, something of a midlife crisis that extended to an annual pilgrimage high mountain climbing in the Alps provided my fix. More recently I can be found either motorbiking up or skiing down them – you get my point – mountains are important to me.
So, you will understand that it didn’t take much deliberation when Di West gave me a call to ask if I wanted to shadow the wellbeing team on a Mind Over Mountains walk recently with a view to getting involved more regularly. I came across the amazing work that she & the team do at a coaching outdoors event in 2024 when I was inspired by hearing Alex Staniforth tell his story, Di & I spoke at the same event a year later about the credentials I needed to achieve to be considered.
One year on I found myself in the beautiful surroundings of Helmsley, N. Yorkshire with a group of people all there for their own reasons. Mind Over Mountains enable people to restore & sustain their mental health & wellbeing through a highly integrated practice that brings together walking in nature, mindfulness, & professional coaching and counselling…how powerful it was to see this in action.
We weren’t there to fix anyone, just to walk side by side in the outdoors, hold the space & have some great conversations. It is quite profound the impact a day outside can have as was born out by all our reflections as we parted. What a beautiful privilege to be come together with a group of strangers & have a shared experience that will live long in all our memories. What a great way to spend a day – walking & coaching outdoors.
I am delighted to be joining Di & the wellbeing team to support the charity’s work going forward & if you are interested in learning more about the great work they do or participating in one of their many walks & retreats, then take a look at their website https://mindovermountains.org.uk/
P.S. I’d love to tell you more about the walk (which was apparently stunning) or share some photos but unusually for me my phone stayed largely in my pocket & I was so immersed in conversation I can’t remember a great deal. Another sign of a day well spent!
