From urban events to day-long experiences and longer wilderness retreats, take a look at all that is on offer:
Our events aim to inspire and educate. We believe that they are wonderful ways to learn, grow and connect with like-minded individuals, creating an evolutionary community. We choose facilitators that will bring a breadth of knowledge and wisdom in an accessible, friendly approach, making it available to all. We hope you enjoy!
Jump to what you love:
Retreats and Programmes
Wilderness Spa - A Day Long Retreat
Three night, four day wilderness retreats based in Spain
Urban Events
Film Screenings - Wild City Screenings
Friends & Family Activities
Nature Sundays Wilderness walks
Click on the links above to learn more.
Wilderness Spa - A Day-Long Retreat
4th Oct 10am-4:30pm Wilderness Spa in Epping Forest
Wilderness Spa is a one day retreat to help you relax and recharge in a wonderful, natural way. Taking place in Epping Forest, a short trip from central London, the day consists of a series of restorative activities helped along by the magic of Nature. The highlight of the day is time alone in nature – a practice of letting nature help you recharge your batteries. Hosted with care, knowledge and fun in equal measures, Wilderness Spa is sure to leave you delighted and inspired.
What to expect
- A beautiful restorative experience outdoors
- Activities to awaken the senses, relax and energise body and make time to stop while learning how nature helps us heal and recover from busy lives
- Easy travel to and from London
- A great introduction to Way of Nature ideas and practices
Programme
- Arrival by 9.45 AM at Theydon Bois underground station
- A wander into Epping Forest
- A silent walk exploring senses and arrival
- Awakening the body and energy with Qi Gong (pronounced “chee gung”)
- A talk about Nature’s surprising healing properties
- A total body relaxation
- Lunch in the outdoors
- A Solo experience – a ninety minute experience alone with nature
- A last session about keeping Wildness in everyday life finishing at 4:30pm
Who’s it for?
Wilderness Spa is a great experience for people feeling a need to rest or recharge. With the busyness of everyday life, it’s easy to forget how amazing time outdoors is for us. More so, that we have forgotten the art of relaxation and of being in the moment. This experience is about reminding and practicing how to do all of this.
What to bring
- Appropriate outdoor clothes – we’ll send you a reminder with a weather forecast!
- A beach towel or something to lie on outside
- Some packed lunch
Our day in the magical Epping Forest helped me to slow down, breathe and to experience methods which are helping me to raise my inner awareness, such as Qi Gong and meditation. The day was brilliant overall and I’d recommend this experience to anyone who wants to become more of their fullest self! - JM, West London
Cost: £45 for the day (transport and lunch not included)
Venue: Epping Forest - meet at Theydon Bois underground station at 9:45am prompt
Register for: 4th Oct 10am-4:30pm Book online here or call 0207 581 4090. If you have any questions please email [email protected] for more
Guides:
Andres Roberts
Andres is a co-founder of Way of Nature UK, an entrepreneur and a guide dedicated to learning, wholeness and creativity. He has dedicated much of his life and work to helping positive change happen through art, play and nature. He has been hosting participative learning experiences since 2005 and deep nature programmes since 2010. He is also a partner of Kessels & Smit where he facilitates inspiring organisational change and leadership programmes. Half British; half Colombian; big on the sea, music, festivals and banquets, his biggest questions are about reconnection, wisdom, enchantment and keeping magic alive in everyday life.
Adrian Kowal
Adrian is a co-founder of Way of Nature UK and has been spending time in the wilderness before he could speak. Since 1999 he has led group tours in remote areas of nature in North America, Russia, Europe, and Africa. He is passionate about living a balanced lifestyle in our busy modern world by supporting people’s reconnection with nature through his work with scout groups, universities, and men’s groups. Adrian is the co-founder of evolve - a centre for evolution based in South Kensington, which inspires individuals to feel empowered in their lives through yoga, holistic treatments, innovative workshops, courses and special events.
Three night, four day wilderness retreat based in the Spanish Pyrenees - All One in Nature hosted together with Active Earth
23rd - 26th Oct Location: Spanish Pyrenees
4th - 8th Dec Location: Spanish Pyrenees
This amazing retreat is all about helping you rest, reconnect, and recharge. Hosted in the beautiful Spanish Pyrenees, the programme involves a 24 hour ‘solo in wild nature’, soothing yoga, Qi Gong, relaxation activities, activities in the valley and generally a fantastic time. Throughout the programme we share a range of nature-based practices and Way of Nature teachings to helping you to relax, find presence, and tap into nature’s amazing capacity to energise and inspire. This programme is hosted together with Active Earth.
What to expect
We have been running this programme for several years at this special location, and people have chosen to come back to this place time and time again. The combination of activities are designed to help you slowly arrive in the valley and prepare for a 24 hour ‘solo in wild nature’. The solo is a special period of time in a single beautiful spot. If you have not done this before, you will be amazed at how - with our help preparing – the experience can be incredibly helpful when life is so fast paced and frantic. If you have done a ‘solo’ before, you will love the capacity of this valley to support and energise.
Programme
• Arrival on Thursday to B&B accommodation
• Friday exploring the valley (depending on the time of year and group this might include hikes, exploring canyons, outdoors yoga, adventure trails and more)
• Friday also introduces ideas and activities from nature-based traditions and Way of Nature teachings, By the end of Friday you will have a sense of where you want to be for your ‘solo’. We will also run through key outdoors and safety briefings and will support you throughout with these things if necessary.
• On Saturday we start with relaxation and presencing activities, before a lovely pre-solo meal together and departure for your solo spot. Before leaving we also introduce some helpful ideas on mindfulness and taking care on solo.
• We will guide you to your solo spot and help you prepare as much as you need to.
• 24 hours later we come back to get you. There will be a lovely meal waiting for the group – and a nice shower!
• Sunday afternoon is about a ‘review’; a special way of sharing stories of adventure and insight.
• We then close the programme. You are welcome to stay on Sunday night and Monday is left open for you to explore the valley, although transfers to airports need to be arranged in advance.
• Local transfers, meals and accommodation are all included
Who’s it for?
This experience can be provided for all people with a basic level of physical fitness. We also provide all instruction and support required – you won’t need any prior experience of physical activities in the wild. You will need some basic equipment such as sleeping bags, a list of which is provided on registration. We can also hire out all equipment necessary. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any queries on this at all.
“The solo program at Active Earth was an amazing learning experience. The first days we hiked in the beautiful Sant Aniolvalley and got familiar with the surroundings and each other. Also we learned more about being in presence and how human emotions work. After a yoga session and a delicious meal I went up to my amazing solo spot. Experiencing fears, emotions, happiness and connection with wild nature gave me the possibility to bring the learned theories into practice. This combination was very powerful for me. It gave me profound insights of what I was forgotten during my hectic life back home. Now I am definitely more connected to myself and my surroundings and it feels great :-). I wish everybody to have the unique solo experience. Andres and Korbi thanks a lot! “ Camiel Bernards
What to bring?
We provide a packing list on registration.
Cost
£495 per person. The fee covers everything from local transfers and accommodation to all hosting, guiding and activities and all home cooked meals made with love.
Safety
ActiveEarth Training operates a comprehensive safety and risk management (SRM) policy (for download above on right-hand side). All staff are covered by our company liability insurance which will be sent to you on request.
Venue
The course is based in a modern mountain lodge high above the Sant Aniol valley in the Alta Garrotxa Nature Park, looking far into the high Pyrenees. We will cook together and enjoy a healthy and delicious diet of organic and locally sourced foods.
Booking
Please email [email protected] for a booking form
Travel
The location is reached easily by rail, road or plane. There are good flight connections to Girona airport (www.ryanair.com), or Barcelona airport (and on Girona via a 1,5 h train journey). Getting to Girona by train is also very convenient. Please check out: http://www.seat61.com/Spain.htm for more information. We offer a pick-up service on Thursday evening from Girona. If you need further assistance with organising your travel, just contact us.
Guides
Andres Roberts
Andres is a co-founder of Way of Nature UK, an entrepreneur and a guide dedicated to learning, wholeness and creativity. He has dedicated much of his life and work to helping positive change happen through art, play and nature. He has been hosting participative learning experiences since 2005 and deep nature programmes since 2010. He is also a partner of Kessels & Smit where he facilitates inspiring organisational change and leadership programmes. Half British; half Colombian; big on the sea, music, festivals and banquets, his biggest questions are about reconnection, wisdom, enchantment and keeping magic alive in everyday life.
Korbi Hort
As a qualified guide and group facilitator Korbi draws on over 15 years of experience and has safely led thousands of people through inspirational learning experiences. Synthesising outdoor adventures with philosophy, psychology, music and art he has been an innovator in the field of outdoor and sustainability education. Korbi believes that exploring the ‘wild’ within and around us is vital if we wish to create peace and understanding.
Korbi is a director at Active Earth Learning, and co-founder of Easy Day, the Active Earth Foundation and the School of Youth. He holds a Masters degree in Sustainability and Responsibility from Ashridge Business School and a BSc in Outdoor Education from Edinburgh University. Korbi lives next to his cherished Sant Aniol valley in Catalunya, Spain.
Film Screenings - Wild City Screenings
Wild City Screenings is a series of film showings based on the power of nature and its capacity and need for change. Each screening will consist of an inspiring film screening and some time speaking and playing to see what the stories mean to our city lives.
If you enjoy spending time in nature, are interested in ecology and the environment, or are just curious about our relationship with the natural world this event will be right up your street.
Future dates for other film screenings: 18th May, 19th October. More information coming soon! Watch this space.
Nature Sundays Wilderness Walks
Once every other month our community organises a walk in nature in the South East of the UK. A day outing for Way of Nature friends to meet and explore the countryside together. No programme as such, just open space for good times. Bring a packed lunch… and maybe a voluntary donation to Threshold; a foundation to protect special land.
13th Apr 2pm-5pm - Location: Hampstead Heath
Mindful Sunday Walk with Po-Zu (po-zu.com/)
This Sunday in April we will be hosting one of our regular Nature Sunday events together with the soleful souls at Po-Zu . Staying close to the big city, we are going to take the afternoon to explore nature close to home, while making time for mindful walking and celebrating our feet. Through the walk we will explore some of the lesser known parts of Hampstead Heath - really getting a sense of leaving the city. And on our escape we will introduce and play around with practices such such as mindful walking, Chi Gung movements and a few techniques to help awaken the senses. The day will be a lovely chance to meet as a community and to wake up the feet and toes!
Hampstead Heath is an important refuge for wildlife, including grass snakes, foxes, rabbits, slow worms, squirrels and frogs. Common kingfishers, jackdaws, pipistrelles and Daubenton’s bats are seen over the ponds. Some introduced species have also thrived at the site, for example muntjac deer, terrapins and ring-necked parakeets.
Venue: Please meet at the corner of Well Road and East Heath Road at 13:45pm. Here is a map of steps to get to the meeting place from Hampstead Tube station which is approx 7 mins away: http://bit.ly/1hvSnK7
Cost: This walk is free to attend and will be a great opportunity to meet like-minded people who enjoy spending time in nature.
Register: Just so that we can have an idea of numbers (and in case you get lost on the day!), please email your name and mobile number to: [email protected]
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17th Aug 10am - 5pm - special day to the seaside to Botany Bay, Kent
Join us for a gentle hike and swim at one of Kent’s most photographed bays. Botany Bay is infamous, this hidden gem offers stunning views of white cliffs and beautiful chalk stacks. It is said that Botany Bay found its name when those found in possession of smuggled goods were deported to Botany Bay in Australia; you may not see many smugglers on the sands these days. When the tide is out it is great for fossils and exploring rock pools. Plenty of exposed sand to enjoy when the tide is in but due to its shape at high tide the ends of the beach are cut off.
Facilities include:
- Seasonal lifeguards
- Cafe/restaurant nearby
- Public House nearby
- Toilets (seasonal)
For those interested we will offer a short chi gung group practice and meditation but feel free spend the day as you wish.
Venue: Please meet at Victoria Train Station at 9:45am latest to be able to catch to 10:05am train to Margate. Then its a gentle 45 minute walk to Botany Bay. We will aim to be back at Margate Station at 4:30pm to catch the 4:46pm back to Victoria. Please bring you own food, towel, sun tan lotion, sunglasses and a jacket in case of wind/rain.
To save money it is advisable to book your train ticket in advance via http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Cost: This walk is free to attend and will be a great opportunity to meet like-minded people who enjoy spending time in nature.
Register: Just so that we can have an idea of numbers (and in case you get lost on the day!), please email your name and mobile number to: [email protected]
For more information please visit the Nature Sundays Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/498678593538097/