What to Expect on an Elsewhere Weekend
If you’ve never joined a hiking weekend before, it’s natural to wonder what it will actually feel like.
Is it intense? Is it awkward? Will I know anyone? Will I be fit enough?
An Elsewhere weekend is not a bootcamp and it’s not a wellness retreat. It’s a carefully designed few days built around one simple premise: that walking well, in beautiful places, with the right people, is enough.
Here’s what that looks like …
Every weekend begins with place.
The landscapes are chosen for scale and atmosphere — rolling hills, open coastline, expansive skies. Routes are planned in advance, tested and selected for challenge and reward. You’ll walk far enough to feel it, but not so far that you’re depleted. The aim isn’t exhaustion. It’s capability.
Groups are intentionally small.
Most women arrive alone. Within a few hours, the dynamic begins to shift. Shared terrain has a way of doing that. There’s space for conversation, and space for quiet. No one is put on the spot. Nothing is forced. Connection happens naturally when you move side by side.
Where you stay matters.
Evenings are spent in thoughtfully chosen houses — light-filled kitchens, long tables, comfortable bedrooms, somewhere that feels calm rather than functional. Dinner is shared. Mornings are unhurried. There’s time to sit with a coffee, to shower properly after a long walk, to read for half an hour before bed. The environment supports the reset.
There is a clear structure to the days.
Breakfast together. A guided hike. Time for rest. Dinner around a table. But the schedule isn’t packed. There’s room in it. The energy is steady rather than frantic. You’ll move, you’ll climb, you’ll likely surprise yourself, but you won’t be rushed.
There’s also experience behind the scenes. Your hosts are qualified in movement and wellbeing practices, so if the group feels like an early morning stretch or a short grounding flow before dinner, it’s there, lightly offered, never imposed. Nothing is scheduled unless it adds to the weekend. Nothing is performative. But thoughtful touches, when wanted, are always available.
Walking changes the quality of interaction.
It’s easier to talk when you’re not sitting opposite someone. Silence doesn’t feel awkward. Depth arrives gradually. By the end of the weekend, something subtle has shifted. You leave not transformed, and not exhausted, but with a quiet return to yourself — steadier, clearer, slightly braver than when you arrived.
That’s what to expect.