Our leisurely Forest Bathing+ walks are carried out throughout the country in the UK.

Forest Bathing+, as defined and practised by The Forest Bathing Institute, is a type of relaxation involving spending time in nature to promote health and well-being. We combine different practices including mindfulness, grounding, natural aromatherapy, and others, together with the cutting-edge science in the fields of wood-wode web and ecology.

Using short exercises we also encourage the development and use of various senses. We aim to give you an opportunity to stop and look at life from a larger perspective. We have been inspired by forest bathing, currently widely practiced for its therapeutic properties in Japan and the USA.

In Japan, a forest bathing trip is called Shinrin-yoku.

bamboo forest in Arashiyama, Kyoto

Some of the possible benefits of spending time in nature include reduced stress levels, stronger immune system response, and a stabilised cortisol cycle.

We are fortunate to be working with different charities across the UK, including The Wildlife Trusts, RSBP, Woodland Trust, National Trust, and Forestry Commission. We donate a portion fo our profits to these charities to help protect environments and wildlife.

We will start with an introduction: who we are, what we do, and give simple tips for the session ahead. We will also show you the facilities available on site.

We will take a walk around the site and then gather to start some simple relaxation exercises, these will involve breathing exercises, aimed at calming your breath and bringing mindfulness to your senses.

We will then do a guided grounding meditation. Our walk will include different exercises to sharpen your senses to make you more aware of your surroundings. Please note, the exercises will be aimed at sensual experiences rather than intellectual understanding – we want you to learn about the environment with your senses rather than with your mind! We will work on sharpening the sense of smell, hearing, touch, and sight.

The rest of the walk will be in silence – we call it a “mindful walk.”  There are many benefits to mindful walking, including, by playing the part of the observer you will notice a lot more wildlife, as this is a quiet exercise, animals, and birds will not be scared away by human voices.

To finish, we will walk back to where we started; we will sit down undercover, which will provide us an opportunity to discuss our experiences. Gary and Olga will be available for any questions, and will also provide details for future events.

Throughout the 2 or 3 hour walk, you will be supervised by our qualified trained guides who will do their best to give you as much attention as possible, and take the best care of you. After some of the exercises, we will join in a group to briefly discuss our experiences, which will help us learn from each other and, maybe, notice something new about ourselves.

You can see more information about our events and book your place below:

You can also join our Facebook group here.

Contact us using the Contact us Form on Contact us page, or by calling us on 01932 880 712 – we will be happy to answer any of your questions!

Hope to see you at the events!

You can read all of the reviews for our Forest Bathing+ Walks here:

“It was a really rare opportunity to come together with people who had the same appreciation for nature and mindfulness to spend several hours in a beautiful, tranquil setting- it was a unique event. At the end I felt serene and refreshed- I’m really glad I attended the event, and glad to have made connections with people. The sense of peace I got at the end gave me clarity- I was able to see how frenetic and crazy our daily lives have become, and how crazy the world is. This event was a lovely ‘pause’, wonderful ‘time out’! Gary and Olga, your experience and knowledge really came across, the pace was lovely and relaxing- no sense of hurrying the group along in any way. Length of session perfect, not too long, not too short- that said, I could have easily continued for another hour or so!! 😉 I’ve always loved being in woods and forests, and thanks to you I’ve now learned of the existence of Forest Bathing, which is great! Thanks for starting nature therapy walks- brilliant idea! ”

— Emma Randallon Mar 16, 2017, taken from our Meetup group review page

“Although the system says I’ve attended only one Nature Therapy Walk to Newlands Corner on the 1st October 2016, I’ve actually also attended a Bay Pond (Godstone) walk on 20th August. I enjoyed both walks, the mindful meditations and the exercises to connect better with nature. ”

— Joanna Bristow-Watkins on Apr 24, 2017, taken from our Meetup group review page

“ This was an incredible experience. Our hosts were wonderful, welcoming, kind, authentic people. The afternoon was such a unique and special experience, heightening our senses amongst beautiful trees in a captivating environment. Our group were a lovely bunch of people it was a pleasure to share the experience with. Thank You! ”

— Anna on Jul 30, 2017, taken from our Meetup group review page