The new travel retreats addressing depression and grief

They combine outdoor pursuits and mental health support for anyone who wants to improve their wellbeing, with or without a diagnosis.

At the top of a hill in England’s Peak District, life coach Zaidha Roscoe leads our group in an exercise to ground us in the present moment and find a sense of calm. “Focus on five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste,” she says. I notice cheery-neon hiking clothes against a cornflower-blue sky. Brush my fingers along the feathery grass. Tune in to a duet of chirping birds. Smell the crisp autumn air. And bite into nutty trail mix.
It’s the first of several mindfulness and nature connection activities we will do on this six-mile hike through Chatsworth Estate with Mind Over Mountains. The organisation hosts free wellbeing walks and low-cost weekend retreats led by mountain guides and qualified counsellors or coaches at national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty across the UK. It’s one of a few organisations – including Blackdog Outdoors in the UK and Hiking My Feelings in the US – that combine outdoor pursuits and mental health support for anyone who wants to improve their wellbeing, with or without a diagnosis.
These organisations fill a canyon-sized gap in the outdoor and wellness spaces. Half of the world’s population will develop a mental health disorder in their lifetime. But while many places offer self-care activities such as yoga or forest bathing, these programmes rarely foster an atmosphere that encourages confiding to your instructor about your depression or chatting with fellow participants about grief. So, many people may feel isolated and unsupported in these settings.