Open Gates Outdoors

This Blog has kindly been contributed by Zoe Williamson who runs an online grief support service. You can find out more about Zoe and her work at   https://www.my-goodbye.co.uk Grief, Nature, and Exercise....What’s the Connection? When experiencing emotional distress, we are often encouraged to spend time in nature to help us recover a state of equilibrium. It is also well documented that physical exercise releases the endorphins which can help calm anxiety. It seems probable then that combining these two concepts into the practise of regular outdoor exercise could help in managing the challenges of mental ill-health. But could this hypothesis be extended to the significantly challenging task of recovering from a traumatic bereavement? Yes, it could; the benefits for bereavement care are borne out not just by anecdotal evidence, but also by systematic research. Exposure to wildlife provides a meaningful and concrete reminder of the natural cycle of life and death. It helps u...

For a long time I have enjoyed visiting shooting huts in the more remote areas of the High Peak. These are not to be confused with shooting butts, the smaller trench like features cut into the hillside in lines from which shooters will take aim. The huts I'm talking about are cabins big enough to accommodate upwards of 15 people for lunch and refreshment during a grouse shoot. Most of them are 19th century constructions.  Inside of Oyster Clough Cabin showing basic comforts (flowers and fairy lights not standard) Shooting huts are special places for their locations, the basic but charming nature of their furnishings (if any), and the stories they would be able to tell. I don't claim to be the first to enjoy the romance of huts and cabins in the Peak District and they are the subject of a Country Diary in the Guardian in 2020 www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/27/country-diary-cabin-fever-on-the-moors Shooting huts are also symbols, maybe to become relics, of social hierar...