- Feel Good
- 18th Jul 2025
- 0
- 0 minute
HLN’s guide to slow living in the North East
Wellness, these days, often feels like another thing on the to-do list. Meditate, hydrate, lift heavy things, do yoga, exfoliate, manifest, don’t forget your matcha… it’s no wonder we’re knackered before we’ve even left the house.
But what if the real secret to feeling better wasn’t doing more, but doing less – and doing it more intentionally?
Enter: slow living.
This isn’t about moving to a cabin in the woods or switching your phone for a polaroid camera (though, by all means, go ahead). It’s about pressing pause on the pressure and reconnecting with the everyday magic already around you. And luckily, the North East is the perfect place to do just that.
Here’s how to slow it all down – and feel better for it.
Swap ‘morning routines’ for morning moments
You don’t need a 17-step routine and lemon water at dawn to have a good start. In fact, rushing through wellness like a checklist defeats the point.
Try this instead: put the kettle on, open a window, and sit with your cuppa before the scroll, the emails or the school run. Listen to the birds. Watch the steam rise. That’s it. That’s the moment.
For extra peace: walk down to the Quayside or your nearest green space before the city wakes up. Slow living is about noticing – and Newcastle sunrises over the Tyne are worth slowing down for. Need some inspo? Check out our best places to watch the sunrise in the region.
Embrace the art of off-grid days
You don’t need to leave the region to disconnect. Northumberland alone is packed with places where signal fades and thoughts clear.
Go tech-free (or tech-light) and take a day trip to:
- Druridge Bay – quiet dunes, no distractions, miles of sand
- Hareshaw Linn, Hexham – a woodland waterfall walk that feels enchanted
- Causey Arch, near Stanley – the oldest railway bridge in the world and a peaceful spot to journal under trees
Leave the to-do list at home. Bring a notebook instead.
Start journaling (but keep it casual)
Journaling doesn’t need to be a dramatic Dear Diary situation. Sometimes it’s just:
- A list of things that made you smile today
- A messy page of what’s on your mind
- A few lines about the clouds, the coffee, or the conversation you overheard in Greggs
Try a local coffee shop like Pink Lane Coffee, Flower Café, or Cake Stories (at Hoults Yard) for a cosy journaling nook. Headphones in, pen out, world paused.
Make Sundays sacred again
Remember when Sundays meant roast dinners, lie-ins, and nothing in the diary? Let’s bring that back.
Designate one day a week (or even just a morning) where you don’t make plans. No productivity. No guilt. Just potter. Bake something slow (like banana bread or choc chip cookies). Do laundry in real time instead of multitasking. Read a book for fun.
Slow living isn’t glamorous – and that’s exactly why it works.
Reconnect with craft
You don’t have to be “good” at it. The point is doing something with your hands that isn’t typing or tapping.
Try:
- Pottery at Kiln, Newcastle – coffee and clay, what could be better?
- Calligraphy workshops at The Crafthood, Gateshead
- Wildflower pressing or sketching in Jesmond Dene – free, mindful, and quietly magical
Rethink self-care
Bubble baths are lovely. But so is putting your phone on airplane mode at 8pm. Or unfollowing accounts that make you feel like you’re not doing enough. Or eating a meal slowly, without distraction.
Self-care in slow living is less about adding and more about uncluttering. What can you let go of?
Let nature set the pace
The North East is full of reminders that life moves in seasons, not sprints. Watch the tide roll in at Tynemouth. Walk under turning leaves in Saltwell Park. Catch snowdrops at Wallington or bluebells at Allen Banks in spring. Breathe it all in. You’re not behind. You’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
Final thought: You’re allowed to slow down
Slow living isn’t about being lazy or avoiding ambition. It’s about choosing presence over pressure. It’s about anchoring yourself in a world that constantly pulls you forward. And it’s about realising that peace doesn’t have to be earned through hustle – sometimes, it’s already waiting for you in a quiet moment, a train ride, or a walk through Ouseburn with no agenda at all.
So, go on. Cancel something. Say no to the noise. Say yes to the moment. The North East is the perfect backdrop for slowing down – and trust us, it looks really good in soft focus.
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