Shining Cliff hostel

15/06/2026

🌲 Next Monday at Shining Cliff Woods 🌲
There are still a few spaces available for our next Take a Breath in Nature woodland session on Monday 22nd June.
This is a calm, friendly gathering where we use breathwork, meditation, and the woodland around us to slow down and reconnect. Afterwards, we gather around the fire for tea, coffee, and cake.
💚 No previous experience needed
💚 Donation-based (£2–£4 suggested)
💚 A welcoming space for anyone needing a gentle reset
📍 Beech Hut Gathering Circle
🕥 10.30am–12pm
If you’ve been thinking about giving yourself a quiet morning in nature, this is your invitation 🌿
See the Eventbrite booking link in the comments

15/06/2026

Marvellous Summer Monday sights🤩
These two lambs were sleeping peacefully next to their Mum; they’ve the most beautiful markings 💚
A glorious sea of purple, with busy bees 🐝 is probably Cat Mint (I use the app Obsidentify to find out what plants are, it was only 87% sure on this one).
A lovely way to start the day ☀️

14/06/2026

After weeks of rain, we're finally being treated to a lovely forecast this week 🌞🌿
Why not make the most of the long, light evenings and spend some time at Shining Cliff Woods?
🏡 Hostel Availability
We have 2 private rooms available from Monday through to Thursday night, just £25 per adult (sorry, no dogs during shared-use stays).
Enjoy your own room with shared access to the hostel's communal facilities. Spend your evenings exploring the myriad of woodland paths, discovering hidden corners of the woodland, or simply sitting quietly and listening to the wind in the trees and the birdsong all around you.
🔥 Upcoming Woodland Connection Sessions with Bonnie, Claire & Kate
Tuesday – Women Gathering
Wednesday evening – Forest Bathing
Thursday morning – Forest Bathing & Hammock Meditation (sold out but there's an Eventbrite waiting list available)
Last week's Stomp & Chomp was postponed due to the weather, so we're trying again this Thursday evening. Join us for a guided walk exploring the industrial heritage of Shining Cliff Woods, with fireside food cooked over the campfire before we set off. We currently have just 3 spaces remaining.
Whether you'd like a woodland stay, some time to connect with others, or simply an excuse to spend a few hours outdoors in beautiful surroundings, we'd love to see you this week 💚

14/06/2026

We had a really relaxed teen volunteer session today, it was so good to have no rain!
Our task today was to put cardboard collars around the saplings that have been planted this year in the Grith Fields. The collars are to help suppress grass growth around the saplings, with the intention of reducing competition for nutrients. It's also hoped that the cardboard collars, with a heap of grass clippings to act as a mulch on top, will also help to retain moisture.
The group got on with the task in a lovely, unhurried way, with lots of discussion about all manner of topics, some exploration of the mind-blowing structures you can see using loupe magnifier glasses (we were looking at a snapped bracken stem, it looked like the inside of a dragons mouth!), some trialling of using cardboard to slide on grass, and creating some body armour with the cardboard.
These sessions encourage young people to be outdoors, having a go at something different, meeting others who also like being outdoors and working to care for our natural environment.
We have a core group of volunteers who attend, some dip in and out as they are able, so we offer some extra places on Eventbrite to try and keep the session size between 5-10 people, have a look at the booking link in the comments if it sounds of interest to a young person (aged 12+) you know.

13/06/2026

11/06/2026

Does anyone local have any old photos of the reservoir in Shining Cliff woods when it was being used by the Wireworks?
We are planning a series of guided walks and would love to do one around the history of the reservoir, so if anyone can share any information about it I’d be very grateful!

10/06/2026

As followers might have sussed out, I'm always keen on cake (I always hankered after the running t-shirts that said 'I run to eat cake' and we have a regular winter booking where Kyla & I are very keen to help out if needed as we get thanked with fabulous cakes baked at the hostel 😂) and it's lovely to be surrounded by places where hostel guests can get tasty treats.
We've got beautiful walks from the hostel door that take in tasty treats at the Family Tree Cafe in Whatstandwell, Tannenbaum Glamping and Campsite Derbyshire offers delicious cakes and drinks and is located right next to the woodland, The Bear Inn, Alderwasley does fantastic food and is a lovely walk from the hostel, and now Birchwood Farm Caravan Park is offering food and drinks in their cafe - which, like the hostel, is situated right on the Midshires Way.
All in all, we've got a plethora of options for cake and cafe stops at Shining Cliff! (the word 'plethora' was used especially for Bonnie at Woodland Connections 😊)

10/06/2026

Transporting our cleaning product refills to the hostel from Skopa Zero Waste Place by bike this afternoon may have been foolhardy…😂💦⛈️A phenomenal hailstorm, not been so soggy and cold in a long time!

09/06/2026

I love our fortnightly Fettle, Kettle and Cake sessions!
We not only get to do something to help care for the woodland (although sometimes I pop in a hostel-related task) but we have a lovely time doing it.
Today we were cutting back the vegetation on the path between the hostel and car park area, as it tends to go bonkers at this time of year and brambles make a break for reaching the other side of the footpath.
We had the crazy downpours, but in between those, the sun shone, the conversations and connection was lovely and we got curious about the differences between bracken and ferns - still need to look up tri-pinnate leaves! - and had the absolute joy of watching Yellow-Barred Long-Horn moths, which were dancing above our heads, with the most ridiculously long antennae, and the beautiful, apt name of Fairy Moths.
We finished at the Beech Hut fire pit, practiced fire lighting, thoroughly enjoyed having a kettle on the campfire again, and made some nettle string from some of the nettles trimmed back.
Magic.
Loved it.
You are very welcome to join us..I'll put the booking link in the comments.

09/06/2026

Anyone else call this darker circle of grass in a field a fairy ring? 🧚
I remember them@from my childhood, they would sprout with loads of mushrooms…or am@i imagining it all?!