Jetsettersblog

Walk Barefoot With ‘The Shepherdess’ This Summer

Go free range and free from footwear this summer on an exquisite Shacklabank Free Range Barefoot Walking Holiday in the Howgills, Cumbria, with The Shepherdess, Alison O’Neill.

Alison O’Neill, a working shepherdess at her Shacklabank Farm near Sedbergh, has long walked barefoot, but is now encouraging visitors to do the same. She has devised specific Barefoot Walks that enable them to feel a range of textures on the soles of their feet, as well as incorporating barefoot elements into other walks, for those who just want to give it a try.

Shacklabank’s Free Range Holidays differ from others, as visitors literally step into the shoes of Alison O’Neill and live her life as a hill farmer and shepherdess.

Her new barefoot walks allow visitors to follow in her footsteps, without donning their boots, as they cross bluebell woods, fern, bracken, mud, dewy morning grass, dry hay, cool mountain water rippling across pebbles in the beck, and so much more.

Barefoot walking was first advocated by nineteenth century German priest, Sebastian Kneipp, who believed that putting feet in contact with a diverse range of natural stimuli is therapeutic. Alison O’Neill echoes this belief.

The essence of a Shacklabank Free Range Walking Holiday is to go where nature leads you and Alison removes barriers, having special permissions to stray from footpaths and take visitors through a hay meadow, a bluebell wood and many more natural micro-environments on her walks.

Taking off the walking boots removes another barrier between the walker and the natural world that they are exploring, providing a complete sensory experience involving touch, as well as sound, sight, taste and smell.

The foot has as many nerve endings as the hand and is a sensory organ that loves to be stimulated. This is the basis of the ancient practice of reflexology, used for relaxation and to promote longevity. The Chinese believe that going barefoot helps a person absorb the life force energy Chi, which increases vitality and mental stimulation.

Other arguments for going barefoot include circulatory benefits, cooling the body down, strengthening toes, giving a natural gait back to the body, which was not made to wear shoes, and refreshing the spirit.

At Shacklabank, barefoot walking is another piece in a jigsaw puzzle that creates a sense of freedom and liberation and an abandonment of stress and the nine-to-five routine.

When coupled with the wow factor of being able to watch otters playing in a river, enjoying a spot of wild swimming underneath a cascading waterfall, seeing dragonflies dancing across the meadow, smelling the bluebells and wild garlic and hearing the curlews and the osprey flying overhead, it is an all-encompassing and magical sensory journey.

Alison O’Neill says: “What I find is that barefoot walking helps us slow down and appreciate the natural world more, giving time to time. The body feels amazing following a barefoot walk and guests cannot believe how relaxed and liberated they feel.

“Going barefoot discharges static electricity from the body and calms the nervous system, it is an authentic way in which to experience the amazing bio-diversity, landscape, fell views and scents of the green, velvety Howgills.

In a way, it makes you feel vulnerable, which adds to the awe that you feel when taking in the stunning natural world all around”.

Very important to Alison is the fact that walking barefoot is also better for the environment, leaving a lighter footprint than a boot.

“When we walk, we shed our carbon footprint. When we walk barefoot, we tread a lighter path and show our respect for a natural world that is treating us to sensory delights we may have never previously experienced.”

To find out more about Shacklabank’s Barefoot Walks and those that can incorporate a spell of barefoot walking within the overall experience, contact Alison O’Neill on 015396 20134 or 07765 63857.

More information about Shacklabank is available at www.shacklabank.co.uk

A 5-day Barefoot Walking break, or a standard walking break, both cost from £525 per person.

Accommodation choices are: static caravans with exquisite Cath Kidston furnishings, rooms within the farmhouse, a treehouse, traditional Romany caravans and a Shepherd’s Hut.