A Slow Release of Vitamin N: Nature-Based Adventures in Europe
We are often bombarded with advice on how to live our lives with jaunty bucket lists of things that will magically improve our fitness, relationships, happiness, sleeping and so on, but it is tricky finding the time and the places to do this.
Our nature-based adventures open up the extraordinary power of nature to restore the mind and the body - the power of Vitamin N. Our carefully crafted adventures are authentic, regenerative holidays that help you connect with unique landscapes and wildlife, experience rejuvenating outdoor activities and take some time back for yourself.
Ready to switch off and immerse yourself in the great outdoors? Here’s our roundup of some of our favourite nature-based adventures in Europe.
Hike through undulating landscapes interspersed with mindful yoga sessions, allowing you to breathe deeply and feel the connection with the surrounding elements. You will stay on a farm close to the enormous Vatnajökull glacier where geothermal baths await you to ease any aches and pains and let you gently absorb the impact of nature on your senses. You will spend time kayaking, island-hopping, foraging for food and picnicking with our expert local guide.
Explore ancient oak woodlands and forage and cook your wild harvest over open fires on the stunning west coast of Scotland. Canoe and hike to unspoilt coves and islands where you can really relax, detox and nourish your mind and body. The Scottish Highlands is a wild, profoundly beautiful place that can help restore our natural balance, as RL Stevenson put it his poem In the Highlands.
O to dream, O to awake and wander
There, and with delight to take and render,
Through the trance of silence,
Quiet breath!
Valtellina in Northern Italy offers a chance to hike deep into the Alps through pristine pastures that have supported generations of communities. Our local partner here lives and breathes the circular economy and you will stay in their delightful inn run on agro tourismo guidelines.
What you eat is a key part of Vitamin N and you will sample plenty of locally-sourced slow food. Depending on the season, farmers will be tending their flocks of alpine sheep and goats in the centuries-old practice of transhumance. We may well meet them along the way and sample their cheeses and the other produce they live off during the summer months.
The gentle rhythm of each step on your way to the huts becomes almost meditative. In the care of our lovely guides who know the region intimately, you will gain an understanding of the pace of the seasons and how nature unfolds and how the cycle of the year is interlinked.
Adventure deep into the heart of the mountains and glaciers of Jämtland, Härjedalen. This adventure is all about mountain biking around, up and down the holy mountain of Helags, meeting nomadic Sami farmers on the way who have reared reindeer for generations. Fika - much more than coffee and cake - will also sustain your body while the challenges of mountain biking will feed your soul. This is a fairly physically demanding trip, but your expert guide will set the right pace for you. The sense of achievement as you relax in the wood-fired sauna at the end of each day is enormous. As the UK’s Mental health Foundation puts it “Physical activity is not only good for your body, but it’s also great for your mind”. The active release of chemicals in your brain that makes us feel good – boosting our self-esteem and helping us concentrate, sleep and feel better.
