An Outdoor Journey in Scotland: Wilderness Therapy

The invitation to join the first An-Turus Wilderness Therapy Journey filled me with excitement and mild anxiety in equal measure. As the mother of a toddler, writer and part-time facilitator, I was struggling to squash the daily grind into its 24-hour timeslot. But deeper than my preoccupation with regular meals, clean clothes, sleeping enough and returning the phone calls that keep things on track, I knew that this journey down the Spey River was just what I needed. As ever, my deeper sense was spot-on.Living with my family in London, it had been a while since I had experienced nature in chunks bigger than my own garden, or the local playground. But whenever I go abroad to somewhere wild and beautiful, or visit the Lake District, Cornwall, or Snowdon (where I grew up) I feel an inward sigh and an upwards soar. Despite my love of nature, the thought of joining a group I didn't know, to do a sport I had never done (canoeing) was one of the more anxiety provoking ones…