Winchester selected as venue for National Event encouraging families and individuals to unplug across the UK

National Unplugging Day comes to Winchester as Parents from all around all the UK pledge to support the UK’s National Unplugging Day on Sunday 25th June.

National Unplugging Day has chosen Winchester as its location to hold a celebration of unplugging, encouraging families to go on a digital detox for a day and reconnect with each other offline.

Following on from the huge success of the last two years, it is expected that over half a million parents will pledge to unplug and take part in National Unplugging Day accompanied with families all over Hampshire who will attend the offline event near Barton Stacey, on the outskirts of Winchester.

On Sunday 25th June, people from Hampshire and the South East are invited to enjoy a fabulous day of tech-free fun at the beautiful Riverside Cottage and Yurt in Barton Stacey, near Winchester in Hampshire. The day will take place in grounds of this stunning Hampshire Hideaway with beautiful gardens overlooking lavender fields and local vines. The event is intended to create an environment where families and individuals can ditch their gadgets, devices and phones for the day and go off-line together making memories with a whole host of fun and exciting workshops.

The National Day of Unplugging in the UK recognises the value and importance of technology in today's society whilst trying to encourage people, especially families and young children and the connected generations who have grown up with ever-present technology, to be more mindful of their digital usage. This day is not intended to be a one-off, but rather a starting point to encourage people of all ages to embrace a healthy lifestyle by regularly setting aside time away from their digital devices.

National Unplugging Day was created by two busy working Mums: Gemma Johnson and Charlotte Vaughan. Charlotte Vaughan, Co-Founder of National Unplugging Day, Mum and Winchester Resident found she was suffering from chronic headaches after spending too much time spent on her smart-phone and laptop and wanted to create a change to her and her family’s screen time usage.

Gemma Johnson from Buckinghamshire, Founder and chief executive of leading parenting site, My Family Club, decided to launch the initiative alongside her friend and PR Advisor in 2015 after she was contacted by parents looking for advice on how to manage their children’s screen time and digital burnout.

Parenting and family tech expert Gemma Johnson, Founder of MyFamilyClub.co.uk and National Unplugging Day in the UK says “As a parent of three children, I appreciate how demanding and stressful it can be managing the day-to-day tasks of a busy family life whilst also staying on top a parallel digital world. With technology an inherent part of everyday life, it’s easy to feel bogged down and opt to take a back seat at home as the daily demands take over; Charlotte and I have created this event where families can spend the day together completely unplugged to experience the joys that spending time together brings when there are no distractions. We want to help families kick-start healthier digital habits and we believe National Unplugging Day is the perfect way to start this.”

A whole host of Wellness businesses have been brought in to provide ‘dopamine boosting’ activities and include a number of Winchester-based experts who will be on hand running the workshops and include the following:
• Winchester-based Mandy Papas Hypnotherapist will be running an introduction to Mindfulness course
• Winchester-based Yoga Teacher Jenny Joslin from JJ Yoga will be hosting a Parent/Child Yoga session
• Integr8 Dance, a dance school from Winchester, will be hosting a StreetDance workshop for children
• BeatsDisco, DJ based in Winchester will be supplying the sounds and running a DJ Vinyl Workshop for Kids!
• Other experts who are running Workshops include:
• Chris James – Mind Body and Health Guru and Yoga Teacher to Millie Mackintosh
• Hoop Like a Boss – Hula Hoop Teacher and Expert

Leading Mind and Body Expert Chris James has written a special meditation for National Unplugging Day and will personally guide individuals attending the event through a Mind-Body Cleanse sequence taken from his new book Mind Body Cleanse.

Chris James, Leading Mind and Body Guru and Celebrity Yoga teacher commented: “A huge congratulations to the National Unplugging Day crew for putting this event on. We’re spending more time than ever on our digital devices, from two to four hours daily. And with the flood of incoming texts, emails, What’s App messages, calls, and notifications, it’s probably quite rare that your screen stays unlit for more than a minute! So here’s to a bit of chill time, I am so excited about my Mind-Body Cleanse yoga and meditation session that I will be personally teaching at this fantastic event in Winchester”


NOTES TO EDITOR
To set families up for success during the National Unplugging Day on Sunday 25 June, MyFamilyClub is offering tips and advice to families who want to enjoy technology-free family time.

National Unplugging Day
National Unplugging Day happens for the third time in the UK on Sunday 25 June where families will unplug from their devices to spend time with their loved ones without using technology. The National Day of Unplugging recognises the value and importance of technology in today's society whilst trying to encourage people (especially families and young children, the connected generations who have grown up with ever-present technology), to be more mindful of their digital usage. This day is not intended to be a one-off, but rather a starting point to encourage people of all ages to embrace a healthy lifestyle by regularly setting aside time away from their digital devices.
www.nationalunpluggingday.co.uk

MyFamilyClub
MyFamilyClub is a leading parenting website with more than a million parents registered. www.MyFamilyClub.co.uk helps parents save money. We’re here for parents with children of all ages, from birth until the day they leave home. On the site you’ll find tips and guides on a whole host of topics from money-saving to lifestyle and family travel ! MyFamilyClub also rounds up the best vouchers, offers, deals and discounts, and has best travel reviews for busy families.
www.myfamilyclub.co.uk

Riverside Cottage and Yurt
The Riverside Dream began when we first opened the doors to Riverside Cottage, our spacious Hampshire hideaway that’s since been featured among The Sunday Times’ 25 Great British Holiday Rentals. With its exposed beams, flagstone floors, open fireplaces and roses round the door, the house has long been our refuge from the stresses of everyday life.
Riverside has two self-catering properties all with their own unique countryside qualities buried deep in the Hampshire Countryside close to Winchester.
In the grounds of the Cottage, nestled amongst lavender fields and Hampshire Vines: you will find The Riverside Yurt which is open for light lunches, coffee, teas and cakes – Wednesday to Saturday during the warmer months of March to October
All year round Riverside offer activities and events in the Riverside Yurt, from Yoga to Hula Hooping to dinner parties and inspiring talks on a host of leading subjects: art, business and fashion and are delighted to host this year’s National Unplugging Day.
Riverside is the place to relax and rejuvenate – to go for country walks, sit by the river, daydream over coffee and cake at the Yurt, or have a digital detox for the day enjoying the beautiful Hampshire scenery.
www.riversidelifestyle.co.uk

To book tickets for the Winchester event, go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unplugged-at-the-riverside-yu...

Interviews
Gemma Johnson and Charlotte Vaughan, Co-Founders of National Unplugging are available for interview.
Winchester Businesses are available for interview : Mandy Papas, Jenny Joslin Yoga, Integr8 Dance

Images
Images are available on request

For more information please contact Charlotte Vaughan –– 07817 140174 charlotte@myfamilyclub.co.uk