The North York Moors National Park will dedicate September to exploring new ways people can connect with themselves, with others and with nature, through its annual Mindful Month programme.
Events will range from creative workshops and gentle exercise to outdoor retreats and sociable sporting activities, all set against the National Park’s landscapes and coastal locations.
A highlight is the Mindful on the Moor Art and Wellbeing Festival at Danby Lodge National Park Centre on Saturday 6 September. Visitors can take part in activities such as willow weaving, pottery, printmaking, painting, yoga and sensory nature walks with sketching and journaling.
Yoga sessions will also take place at coastal spots including Sandsend and Whitby, and at Rosedale Abbey, where some classes will be joined by goats. For those seeking a more active approach, there will be trail runs ending with yoga, as well as the Minds & Miles cycling sportive on 28 September from Sutton Bank, offering both road and off-road routes.
Special retreats will run throughout the month, including an off-grid day at Coast and Camplight in Stainsacre with yoga, meditation, a vegetarian lunch and nature walks. Acre and Shelter will host a candle-lit Roots to Healing evening featuring Reiki and a fireside cacao ceremony, while Gumboots and Wellingtons in Ellerburn will hold a Forest Flow and Fireside Glow evening with a guided cycle in Dalby Forest followed by hot chocolate around the firepit.
The Staithes Festival of Arts and Heritage, on 13 and 14 September, will also coincide with Mindful Month, adding art and culture to the mix in the coastal village.
Phoebe Smith, marketing assistant at the National Park, said: “Sometimes people underestimate how powerful it can be to spend time in a peaceful location absorbed in an activity, whether it’s creative or exercise-oriented. Mindful Month is about showing the different ways that these connections can be made in the North York Moors, not just for September but all year round.”
Full programme details are available at www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/mindfulmonth.
