Weekly blog: Gathering around the fire, reconnecting to nature and soggy walks

Dec 11, 2023

I'm really heading into my hibernation mode now. I have a puzzle on the go, a constant flow of mince pies going into my mouth and I've fully replaced water with drinking endless mugs of tea.

This will be my last blog of the year as, from next Monday, I am taking two weeks off to just relax at home with my cat Stevie. It's been a crazy busy but amazing year and I'm very much looking forward to having some time off.

For those of you who are coming to the Christmas weekender, I will see you there but for everyone else - have a really lovely Christmas and see you in 2024!

Alice's diary:

The highlight of my week this week was our mini retreat day on Saturday which I hosted with Maddie at the stunning grounds of 42 Acres. This is the 3rd retreat day we've hosted this year and they are my absolute favourite events to host, I always come away feeling warm and fuzzy and an even deeper love for the women who come along.

We started the day with some tea, pastries and fruit as we settle in and meet the other attendees before heading over to the gorgeous yurt where Maddie guided us through a 15 minute meditation to settle any nerves or stress from the journey.

After we all felt a bit calmer, we put our hiking boots on and headed out to the surrounding woodland for a gentle walk, looking at all the lichens and few fungi still clinging on. We usually have lunch on our walk but as the stormy weather was coming in we opted to head back to the yurt and have some lunch there instead, where we also pulled some oracle cards and wrote some affirmations.

Once our lunch had digested we had a lovely hatha yoga class from Maddie which has a perfect mix of heat and relaxation and all about connection to nature.

Finally we went for a very cold dip in the lake on the grounds before warming up in the sauna and sitting round the fire eating cake and drinking tea.

There's something so special about sitting in a circle around the fire, it's such a primal way of connecting to each other, something our ancestors did. We all went round the circle talking about something we enjoyed about the day or something we would take away and I absolutely love hearing the different perspectives from the day. Some of the women loved meeting new people and chatting to other women with similar interests, others loved spending time immersed in nature, and then there were many women who felt proud of doing an activity slightly out of their comfort zone, whether it was the swim or the walk or trying yoga for the first time.

Me and maddie will be hosting many more of these in 2024 with talk about a longer weekend retreat too so make sure your keep your eyes peeled!

Things to click on:

This app that really helps me limit my social media use

This beautiful walk in the Quantock Hills

This inspiring YouTube channel from a couple who basically live my dream life

My favourite yoga teacher (you can join her membership too!)

Get transported to Scotland with this podcast

The base layer that I'm always wearing in the winter

In the spotlight: New Years Day hike around Cheddar Gorge

Start the year as you mean to go on with our New Years Day hike around Cheddar Gorge. This is one of my favourite hikes in the South West - so much history and stunning views.

Much better than waking up with a hangover and sitting in your bed all day surrounded by Dominoes pizza boxes (amirite?)

We already have a lovely bunch booked on and I'm really looking forward to chatting and catching up with you all!