Wellbeing Walks in NW Cumbria

Mind Over Mountains is a mental health charity that brings together the healing power of nature, mindfulness, and time with experienced coaches and counsellors. We provide retreats and walks across England and Wales and in 2024, we'll be delivering three free wellbeing walks within the Lake District National Park for people served by the Keswick & Solway and Maryport & Cockermouth PCNs.

Our walks are intentionally mindful and these walks are specifically designed to be accessible for individuals with a lower to moderate level of physical fitness. They will suit individuals with a wide range of mental health challenges but are not appropriate for individuals in mental health crisis. If in doubt about a walk's suitability, please contact us at info@mindovermountains.org.uk.

These three walks are entirely free of charge and are available now on our website for people to book a place using the links below.

Castlerigg Stone Circle – October 10th 2024
Keswick – November 16th 2024
Bassenthwaite – March 10th 2025

Each of the three wellbeing walks will:

• Bring together walking and talking in nature, mindfulness and the support of specialist coaches and counsellors – in line with our core practice.
• Provide an opportunity for sixteen people to walk in the NW fells within the Lake District National Park, supported by two of our coaches or counsellors and two qualified mountain leaders.
• Incorporate minibus transport to and back from the walk location – pick up locations will be confirmed based on where participants live (but likely to include Wigton, Aspatria, Maryport and/or Cockermouth).
• Be preceded and followed by Zoom calls for participants that will help to reduce anxiety, introduce aspects of mindfulness and review learnings from the walk.
• Involve 2½ hours of walking at a relatively steady pace on good surfaces, with frequent stops for mindfulness. Each walk will cover around 3 miles.
• Be suitable for people with lower to moderate levels of physical fitness.
• Be suitable for people with a wide range of common mental health challenges (such as depression, anxiety and stress), diagnosed mental illness (such as bipolar disorder, eating disorders and phobias), and the impacts of trauma.
• Evaluate patient outcomes using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales (WEMWBS).

For more information, please visit our website.