The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Travel on trial On edge? Can’t relax? Take a leap on the wild side
Aisling O’Leary learns to reconnect with nature on a weekend of wild swimming and fire making in Cornwall
Iam floating in the river Fal on a crisp morning in Cornwall, eyes full of bluish-pink sky. The lush vegetation on either side of the water is tinged with yellow and orange and a fishing boat quietly makes its way downstream. I have been in so long at this point that I might have turned into Seamus, the local seal – but never have I felt so enlivened by nature.
I still can’t quite believe it. My friends had laughed when I’d mentioned the wild swimming, because I hate the cold. I have Raynaud’s (which affects the circulation) so that even wearing two pairs of gloves while cycling, I come home with rigid white fingers. Yet, clearly, I’ve managed to surprise myself.
I realised recently that it had officially been a decade since my transition from green fields (in Co Clare, Ireland) to glittering lights. Spending the past few years living in cities from New York to London, followed by an unexpected crash course in confinement over the past 10 months, I felt completely disconnected from nature, if not, well, everything. Life felt stale.
Enter Thera-Sea, a retreat that promises to rewild people, as opposed to land; pushing me out of my comfort zone and into wild swimming, water sports, bushcraft skills, foraging, workshops and more.
I was intrigued by its emphasis on mental health, given the catastrophic effect the pandemic has had on rates of depression and loneliness. I, for one, had been feeling on edge all the time, unable to relax.
When I arrive (“You said you wanted remote, right?” the taxi driver asks after many wrong turns), I am shown to my cabin – one of three, in addition to a treehouse and main house. Located in 20 acres of woodland on the Fal in south Cornwall, the setting couldn’t be more suitable. But with two outdoor hot showers, communal lavatories and no electricity or heating in two of the cabins, think rough and ready rather than luxe glamping.
The next day starts bright and early with the wild swim. I enter the water slowly, not quite ready to plunge. Yikes, it’s cold. I breathe deeply in and out, like I’ve been told, pushing my body through stabbing pins and needles that melt into something resembling warmth, and a state of meditative calm. Somehow, my fingers aren’t blue.
There is more cold water to come, but (thankfully) this time it’s beneath me: paddleboarding, into the wind. Attempting to steer on course, plunging my oar left, then right; trying and failing to be at one with the elements while they work against me. A whole hourlong session goes by, just me, the board and the water, at the end of which I realise I haven’t thought about Covid once.
Later, we are greeted by Matt the forager, who, armed with a basket, leads us around the woodland to (re) acquaint ourselves with dock leaves, hops, sea beet (delicious) and sea arrowgrass. I think about how once, we would have known exactly what he was showing us and how far we have travelled from that knowledge. That evening, I find myself picking hops and making them into tea (not an IPA, somewhat regrettably) before sleeping perhaps the deepest I have since the start of the pandemic.
Workshops are more friendly discussions than therapy sessions. As a former mental health nurse, founder Katy Grif
fin is passionate about managing stress and talks to our group of nine, comprising two mothers and some overworked London millennials, about nutrition, exercise, sleep and purpose.
On our last day, bushcraft skills are on the agenda. At last, my chance to learn how to keep myself warm in the wild (I was never a Girl Scout growing up). After all, who knows what skills we will need in this brave new world?
We sit around the fire while Mark (touted as Thera-Sea’s own Ray Mears) shows us how to make one. First step: preparation. This means having all your dry wood organised, from twigs up to big sticks, before starting anything. Then, put down a layer of cotton or moss, light it using a flint device (or matches, in our case) and quickly get your twigs on the flames, creating a square around the cotton. When they have caught light, move on to the bigger twigs and, as the flames grow, add the bigger sticks.
By the end of the weekend, I find myself longing for one more day. All that time spent outdoors, reconnecting with nature and away from screens, has done my soul some serious good. I feel reinvigorated; reminded that this world has more to offer than just four walls. But Katy specifically keeps it to three days so that this is more a brief respite than an escape from reality.
All that time spent outdoors, away from screens, has done my soul some serious good
The next available Thera-Sea retreats will take place May 4-6, June 22-24, July 13-15 and Aug 24-26; from £315pp (thera-sea.co.uk).
Travel within the UK is currently subject to restrictions. See Page 3.