Secret Hills Walking Holidays
Continue the Experience of Nordic walking
NORDIC WALKING FOR THOSE WHO HAVE MASTERED THE NORDIC TECHNIQUE BUT NEED REFRESHING, OR JUST TO NEED TO PRACTICE
On this break, we will walk with our poles amid stunning scenery, look at the views, stop for a chat, a rest, or maybe to take a picture. But, at the same time, you will also be shown how to adapt your Nordic Walking for less than perfect, or uneven terrain, whilst slipping right back to the correct way once the ground levels. We will do “double poling” in longer grass or walk with the poles at odd angles, and in fact walk as they did in Finland when it was first used for the cross country skiers. They had no perfect disused railway lines to walk, or wide flat grassy tracks, and yet they gained huge fitness. With Maggie Jennings help, you will be able to work your heart muscles, lengthen your stride, gain more speed, tone those core muscles and improve your balance, all whilst having a wonderful holiday, in a beautiful part of the country, with other like minded Nordic Walkers. We can hire you poles.
We run guided Nordic Walking holidays breaks. We want you to enjoy learning or practicing the Nordic walking technique. This holiday provides the structure, venue and instructor professionalism to enable you to practice Nordic walking. But it is foremost a holiday - a fun break, a chance to meet new friends. We create a lovely social atmosphere, in a super part of the country.
As experienced Nordic Walkers you may already know why Nordic Walking is beneficial to you, and why you should consider it an aid to improving your general health and well being. Nordic Walking gives your whole body a full aerobic work out. It makes easier and less tiring once you have acquired the technique. It is suitable for all ages and fitness levels - any one can do it with practice. So, at the risk of repeating what you already know, we feel we constantly need to remind our selves why we do it.
Here are some of the benefits of Nordic Walking.
- Improves your heart and lung functions
- Improves your posture
- Strengthens your spinal discs, reduces back pain.
- Frees up your joints, reduces the load on your hips, knees .
- Strengthen the bones of your upper body
- Releases muscle tension in your neck and shoulders
- Tones up the muscles in your upper arms, chest and shoulder
- Strengthens the wrists and prevents swollen fingers.
- Burn many more calories than with ordinary walking
As you learn the “technique” you will lengthen your stride, improve heart muscles, take stress from joints, improve the balance, stamina and core muscles, whilst gaining a general feeling of well being. It is used to fight depression and diabetes, reduce weight, and much much more. In effect, once learned correctly, if you put energy and strength into your Nordic Walking, it is possible to lose between 20% and 40% more weight than normal walking. Of course, if you are not overweight, you don’t go on losing it!!! You simply tone the muscles, for the ladies, in particular, the core muscles, and in men it tends to attack the “beer belly”! For both sexes, it is a wonderful way to shift those extra bits round the waist that pile on after Christmas, or, in fact, any time of the year!!
Nordic walking came about in Finland in 1933, when the cross country skiers had no snow to use, so couldn’t keep fit. They adapted their exercise by sort of walking with skis, this evolved into Nordic Walking, and their fitness was found to be vastly better in the No Snow time than in Winter. It eventually became the famous, and now so popular, recreational sport, that we know today. In some countries its benefits are so highly valued that it is now on prescription for many ailments, including Diabetes and Obesity.
Nordic Walking has many hidden talents too! Because it is designed to realign the whole body, once you have become at one with your poles, it can retrain many of our “neglected”muscles, whilst toning and restoring the others that we use daily and know about.
Maggie Jennings - your instructor
After running walking breaks for many years, Maggie became a Nordic walking instructor after researching the huge benefits to body and mind. She now runs courses and walks, in her home county of Suffolk, either for Suffolk Sport, or various other District Councils. Maggie also teaches Nordic walking every year at holiday centres and colleges across the country.
Her main aim is to bring Nordic walking to the walking public. Some may need it for weight control, others for joints, muscle tone, or stamina. Some take it up for depression, balance problems, or lack of tone in their Core Muscles. Whatever the need, Maggie helps achieve those goals, in a friendly, non competitive way, whilst making both her classes, and the walks fun……you will hardly know you are working! If you need specific knowledge on the technique before you commit yourself, call Maggie on 01728832638
Our venue for Nordic Walking holidays
The Derbyshire Dales – great walking country, with it’s lovely rivers and limestone uplands.
This programme is designed for beginners to Nordic Walking and we walk in the best area of this white peak country - and we have chosen some fabulous walks for you. The walking is moderate – some climbing but never severe. There is a variety about the walks too. We walk in the valleys, where rivers bubble along, and across the moors, all in a couple of hours - and there is a changing scene at every turn.
“The Derbyshire Dales are a delight - lovely river valleys and upland splendour. Just right for Nordic walking, either for beginners or experienced walkers”
Getting to the Derbyshire Dales is easy, and if you come by train , we will pick you up at the nearest station (Matlock). Hartington is 25 miles from junction 25 of the M1, and is in the centre of the large populations of Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and the East Midlands. The village lies just off the A515 road from Ashbourne to Buxton.
Our hotel and meals
We stay at Hartington for all of our walking breaks - a village steeped in walking tradition, and geared to walking needs. Its village centre has two excellent pubs, a cheese shop, several cafes, and shops to buy that present and those postcards.
We have negotiated a deal with the recently refurbished Charles Cotton Hotel as our first base, supplemented by excellent country guest houses, chosen by us for the warmth of welcome, comfort, en suite facilities, and most importantly, the ability to help walkers dry clothes and boots should it rain. All rooms are en suite AND they offer a no single supplement policy, helping us fulfil a major promise in our company mission NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENTS. The Charles Cotton has been a hotel for 275 years, but has undergone a complete refurbishment in the last two years, under new ownership. Rooms are spacious and tastefully decorated. The hotel is shownon this page. Breakfast and three course dinner in the hotel The cost of staying at The Charles Cotton Hotel is £360. Included in this cost is: En suite room, breakfast, three course dinner, Nordic Walking tuition, transport on the walks.
Alternative accommodation
There are several good Bed and Breakfasts in Hartington, and we are happy to book these for you. Cost of bed and breakfasts, en suite room, but no dinner is £260. There will be a single supplement for sole use of a twin/double room. There are several eating places in the village or just outside it.
Also, Hartington Hall YHA, a truly superb YHA, may be interesting to you, and again we can book for you. Ask for details and prices.
Non walking Partners
are very welcome. They only pay the cost of the accommodation they use, and we will be happy quote you on this. Additionall, we are happy to advise on activities that can be undertaken in the Derbyshire Dales, on transport, and great places to go.
How your day is organised
A typical day will start with Warm Up exercises, and then our walk of approximately 5 – 8 miles. Don’t forget, this is not a frog march! More a way of building Nordic Walking into an every day lifestyle, or holiday. We will be stopping to look at the wonderful views, having a laugh, eating plenty of good food, in fact all the normal things we all do on a great holiday! We will NOT be wearing glittering Lycra suits, and going for the burn.……you can do that back at home in the Gym if you like! However, we will be working those muscles, building up a sweat and stamina. The muscles may be under a certain stress, due to the fact that the terrain will be different, and we will be exercising each day,s o walks will end with the Wind Down exercises. Remember, Maggie will be on hand to help with any of those nagging queries you may have. There’s not a lot that can’t be ironed out over a cup of tea!
Need to know more
If it's a technical issue contact Maggie on 01728832638. Contact Alan Garner on 01694723600 for all other queries.
