Rewilding my mind, muscles and tastebuds with AliKats in France
Sharon Walker reviews a wellness coaching retreat in the rustic hamlet of Montriond near Morzine and finds surprisingly spectacular veggie food, exceptional natural beauty, and how to be brave
I’d arrived in the French Alps after a difficult year, during which I’d watched my father disappear into the ravages of dementia. My kids had just flown the nest and I was feeling a little bereft. I needed to disconnect from the daily churn, to reconnect and discover what was next for my life. A restorative moment in nature, on the AliKats’ Spring Awakening retreat, seemed just the ticket.
Held in La Ferme á Jules, a large Alpine chalet in the rustic hamlet of Montriond, the retreat is run by AliKats, a company founded by British couple Al and Kat, who have a reputation for offering brilliant ski chalets. Now they had teamed up with Caitlin Cockerton, a highly regarded professional leadership coach, to offer mindfulness wellness breaks.
“All around me nature was bursting forth, striving and competing in a potent surge of energy. Everything seemed to be saying: “Grow, do it!””
I’d first met Caitlin over a preliminary Zoom coaching session, in which we’d used a visualisation to dive into my values, and I already had a good feeling about both her and the retreat. Now I was to spend the next four days continuing this exploration, in company of three other women, who’d also joined the retreat.
This was to be a full sensory immersion, starting with a walk along the river, through the light-dappled forest, first focusing on one sense at a time in a walking meditation, until we emerged by Lac Montriond, for our first wild swim. The water was ridiculously blue and full of freshly-melted snow. I lasted all of 30 seconds, but every cell in my body felt fired up and fizzing with energy. And there waiting for us after our dip, was a warm van and ‘towel fairy’ from the chalet.
This was the pattern of the retreat, pushing me just beyond my comfort zone, but oh-ever-so-nicely.
Back at the chalet there was qigong with Ursula, a seemingly otherworldly angel, who showed us how to tap ourselves awake and flick away stale energy by sweeping our hands down our bodies. It was as if she had been born cleansing auras, so it was a surprise to learn she’s only made the switch from corporate London three years prior.
Back in my room, I found a thoughtful gift from the retreat, including fruit roll made from foraged berries and fridge magnet bearing the quote from one of my favourite poets, Mary Oliver, “What will you do with this wild and precious life?”
Later that evening, as we sat on the hay bales around the fire pit, Caitlin invited us to write a note containing those things we didn’t need to bring with us over the next few days and to throw them into the flames. I watched self-doubt, fear and resentment go up in smoke.
In the morning we piled back into the AliKats van for our first hike up the mountain. Breathing deep lungfuls of clear mountain air, we set off into pine forest and focused our attention on ‘nature’s mirror’.
All around me nature was bursting forth, striving and competing in a potent surge of energy. The mountain slopes carpeted with wild flowers, the river alive and fast rushing with newly melted snow. Everything seemed to be saying: “Grow, do it!”
The walking was a little challenging, but in a good way. As we switched between the magical forests of dappled light and up the steeper mountain paths, gasping at the stunning scenery, it was well worth the protest from my calf muscles. Back in the chalet Ursula’s knot-defying Thai massage, a kind of ‘yoga/massage’ where she does the hard work for you, was a welcome optional extra.
We’d also learned so much about nature, not least that we could eat so much of what was right under our noses in the wild. One day, after our hike, we were greeted by Kat and head chef Rachelle, who introduced us to the joys of foraging in Kat’s wildly abundant garden.
We plucked the top tender leaves from nettles and threw them into baskets for supper. Back at the chalet, Rachelle showed us how to rinse the nettles we’d picked (wearing gloves) before blanching them in boiling water to kill the sting. We mixed the leaves with onions and chickpea flour to make a spicy pakoras and kept the blanching liquid for nettle tea.
Every day Rachelle used wild foraged herbs and flowers to accent our meals, providing a list of ingredients, detailing the flavours and health properties. For example, apart from being completely delicious, we learnt that rhubarb was also “a powerful regulator of gut flora.” While nettles were, “the closet thing you’ll get to a superfood. So much more powerful than anything you’ll find in the shops and so much cooler.”
I’m not generally vegan and had worried I that I might be constantly hungry or find the food a bit boring. No chance of that. At the first dinner Rachelle had given us each our own freshly baked sourdough loaf, along with smokey, freshly churned butter, covered in wild flowers. It seemed too beautiful to eat, but of course we did.
Every meal was spectacular - delicate and delicious. A feast for the eyes as much as the tastebuds, with “distinctly ‘Michelin vibes’, as one guest announced, as yet-another astonishingly creative dish was laid before us. Each day I vowed to skip dessert, but it was hopeless.
On our final hike we were joined by mountain guide, Neil, who spoke to us of the healing powers of forest bathing, showed us how to estimate a tree’s age and cheerfully informed us of medicinal properties of the various tiny flowers and plants that carpeted the mountainside.
Perhaps it was the majestic scenery, perhaps it was gentle coaxing from Caitlin who had an easy knack of seeing deep within us, helping us unearth what we needed in that moment. Or maybe it was it the warm acceptance of my companions on the retreat, but I felt I was expanding (and not only thanks to Rachelle’s divine four course dinners) and growing stronger.
On our first day, walking in silence by the river, tuning into nature’s ‘mirror’ for insights, I’d found I was focusing on tree roots and rocks. After a year of upheaval, I was craving stability.
But now, on the final day, as we retraced our steps down to the lake, I was drawn to the beautiful wild flowers, the abundance of nature. Beauty and growth were at front of my mind.
I picked a dandelion ‘clock’ and watched its seeds float away on the breeze. It seemed a potent reminder of the precious brevity of this “wild and precious life”, and I knew I had to be brave with my future.
