Name: Solstice Wilderness Crossing
Item: Solstice Wilderness Crossing
Author: Monica_Wilde

Do you find yourself at a crossroads in your life? Do you feel called to make a change? Need space in your life to find a new direction? Or to celebrate and mark a transition? Join us for a wilderness threshold crossing and guided rite of passage ceremony in the beautiful fells of the Lake District from 18 June to 22 June 2025.

This is an invitation to explore our wild selves in the unpredictable era that we live in. The Solstice Wilderness Crossing takes the form of a supportive five-day course, centred on one day of transformative solo fasting during the 16 hours from dawn to dusk, out on the Cumbrian fells. Stepping into the wilderness alone, you will return with insights and wisdom to share and integrate into your life. Together, we’ll work as a community – preparing for the quest, sharing stories, engaging in mini-adventures, reflecting on life’s big questions and celebrating this rite of passage.

For thousands of years people have engaged with the wilderness and the ‘mirror of nature’ to find clarity in life. To answer the questions that life throws up, or to mark significant life transitions. Taking time out from the busyness of everyday life, people cross the threshold into wild places to attend more closely to the movement of soul, to remember what is at one’s core, what is most important. Nature is healing. She brings to our attention the ways that we can change and enrich our lives.

Take some precious time out for yourself. Listen to the conversation your Soul and Nature have together.

Monica ‘Mo’ Wilde has introduced people to plants, fungi and the natural world for two decades, as a forager, teacher and herbalist. In sharing her own deep connection to nature and our planet’s other-than-human inhabitants, she inspires a significant personal relationship with Gaia. Mo ran rewilding retreats for eight years before training with Rupert Marques. She loves the transformative wilderness rites of passage through which nature acts to guide us. Through soul work and psycho-spiritual healing, we bless our lives with meaning and significance – even when we have travelled through the dark lands of trauma and loss. Mo Wilde is also the award winning author of ‘The Wilderness Cure’ and teaches foraging. As well as guiding, Mo will also forage wild foods to add to our suppers and is happy to introduce you to the plants.

Mungo Dalglish is a NO HANDS® Massage therapist & apprentice Wilderness Rites of Passage guide, with greening fingers and a yen for wildness. He co-founded a 27-acre Natural Farming & Permaculture project in Cheshire where he tries to live in attentive, harmonious, and ceremonial relationship with self, other, land, and Mystery, and runs mythopoetic & spiritual ecology workshops and retreats. His training and interests include the Way of Council, Ignatian Spirituality, and Vipassana meditation, alongside touch & song & story & poetry.

This work is based on the premise of our seamless belonging to the wider natural world, and a further support for our work is using a four directions wheel (an eco-centric model of human development) to contextualise our experience. In this way we see that attending to our own souls is not separate from remembering our place in our human community as well as our belonging to the wider natural world. One of the most touching and heartfelt aspects of this ceremony is witnessing how these threads of soul, community and land all weave together in a mutually beneficially manner.

The beautiful carbon-neutral Oak Howe site run by Ben and Debs of Wild Human is on 13 acres of young woodland and ancient oaks, within easy walking distance of Whitbarrrow Fell for your solo wilderness crossing day. Here, by the river, we will gather and grow in friendship and community.

The Oak Howe site is equipped with an outdoor kitchen, clay bread oven as well as gas burners, and meals will be provided but please bring your preferred choice of snacks and any particular drinks you would miss as there isn't a nearby shop.

There is fresh drinking water on site.

There are cob-hut composting toilets and paper is supplied.

There isn't a shower, so please bring a washcloth for keeping fresh. Unfortunately the river will be too shallow for swimming.

A solar electricity charger with a USB port for emergency charges will be available. However you are encouraged to switch your phone off to enjoy the solo time.

This guided 5-day course, limited to 15 people, prepares you for your threshold crossing with the support of your guides award winning author and expert forager, Monica Wilde and expert forager, Mungo Dalglish, using the four directions teachings of Bill Plotkin.

Day 1: On the first day we examine the framework for the course and get to know each other. As participants we come together as a supportive community. We forage for some plants and explore the beautiful camp, getting to know the plants, trees, rocks and waters of this location. We have dinner around the campfire, perhaps sharing songs and poems.

Day 2: The day before the threshold crossing, we sit in a council circle to prepare ourselves. We work with each individual’s ‘intent’. We explore where we find ourselves in life and what draws us to a threshold crossing at this time. Each person can also speak to the guides one to one if called to.

Day 3: The third day is the solo threshold crossing. This a fasting day spent alone with the wild spirit of nature on the fells. You take water but are without company, food, phones, books, and other distractions. From dawn to dusk you journey alone across the beautiful fells of the Lake District before returning to the community circle, being welcomed back and enjoying a celebratory supper cooked for you

Day 4: The day after the threshold we sit in again in a story council, to hear what has come back from the land. We share our stories and have them mirrored back to us, offering the opportunity to see our individual narrative in a wider context, together with the gifts and implications for the life we return to. We witness each other in council circle, reflecting on the messages and symbolism of each person’s experience.

Day 5: On the fifth day we close our ceremony preparing to incorporate our discoveries and return to the world. The guides are here to support you throughout your journey.

Testimonials:

"Attending the wilderness threshold crossing and guided rite of passage ceremony in the Lake District was a profoundly transformative experience. In nature’s embrace, I re-discovered a deep connection between who I am and the natural world. Free from the distractions of daily life, I was able to tune in and find renewed clarity about this period of my life. The beautifully guided event provided a sanctuary where I could reflect, rejuvenate, and embrace the wonderful possibilities that lie ahead. I encourage anyone seeking change, self-discovery, or a connection with nature’s transformative power to seize the opportunity of a wilderness crossing and embark on a wonderful journey of personal growth" ~ Suzanne T, Edinburgh, 2023

"As someone who hasn’t fasted much before & has never fasted whilst spending time alone, I found it a really energising, intriguing & fulfilling experience that left me with a desire to continue the practice when camping in the future. I found it hard to pull away from the fell (that evening sunshine was blissful) & as someone who enjoys food a lot & I didn’t think I would find it so liberating to fast for a day and not be distracted by eating. I found the experience quite empowering. I also found the container of the fell a wonderful place to explore the inner realms" ~ Participant, 2023

"Wilderness retreat with Mo and Mungo was one of the highlights of my year. It was incredibly moving and beautiful to sit in circle with these two wise, compassionate guides and a group of brave fellow adventurers. I was amazed at how deep we all went in our process, and how sensitively and courageously Mo and Mungo held the space for us all. A transformative experience. I loved it from start to finish. I am so glad I made this choice and I can’t wait for next time." ~ Lhamo Grace, 2024

"This was a wonderful way to challenge myself and just be (for hours) in a wild landscape on my own with the elements and my wits. I found I was way more practical than I had thought, yet also way more receptive to the magic of nature than I had realised. A poem came to me, quite literally, on the breeze in seconds, and it made and is making a good difference to my life." ~ Participant 2024

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Solstice Wilderness Crossing

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