BBC News
By Emily-Ann Elliott
March 18, 2026
Revived by a Dutch writer, the simple ritual of “dusking” – quietly watching the transition from day to night – is spreading beyond the Netherlands as a way to reconnect with the natural world.
Sitting cocooned under a thick blanket in a plant-filled orangery, I look through its large glass windows onto the 900-year-old stone walls of Helmsley Castle in North Yorkshire. I’m in a room full of people, yet a gentle stillness hangs in the air. Outside the sun is setting. Inside we are doing… absolutely nothing.
Super Sleuth
