Thursday 5 December 2024
Escape the Christmas stress and find peace in the nation’s forests
Step away from the whirl of present shopping, gift wrapping, preparing food, decorating your home and the busy rush of Christmas with some self-care in the nation’s forests this festive season. Much as we may love the chance to host friends and family and celebrate with loved ones, Christmas can leave us tired and feeling overwhelmed.
Your local forest offers the perfect escape, whether it’s for a solo winter walk among the trees or an organised activity to connect with others and restore wellbeing. Time among trees delivers powerful health benefits, from lowering blood pressure to boosting your immune system. This Christmas, give yourself the gift of forest time. Here's how you can explore our wonderful wellbeing activities:
Wellbeing trails
Follow one of the wellbeing trails in 19 of the nation’s forests and enjoy a winter, mindful walk. The self-led trails wind through the trees encouraging you to pause, unplug and mindfully reconnect with nature as you walk. The sensitively designed trails have themed panels, and the beautiful silhouettes of bare-branched trees make a peaceful woodland backdrop for a mindful walk.
Cost: free. Find a trail near you and download your free wellbeing journal before you visit.
Solstice in the forest
Celebrate the energy of the winter solstice with an organised forest bathing session in the beautiful Forestry England Whinlatter, on 21 December. On the shortest day, join others in slowing down your body and mind to the rhythm of the forest.
Women can also celebrate the return of longer days at our special cacao ceremony, marking the transition from darkness to light.
Cost: solstice forest bathing 21 December 10am £35 per person. Find out more and book.
Cost: winter solstice women's cacao ceremony 21 December 7pm £25 per person: Find out more and book.
Winter forest bathing
The hushed quiet of a winter woodland is the perfect time of year for forest bathing - the Japanese practice of relaxing in the forest. Known in Japan as shinrin yoku, being calm and quiet amongst the trees, observing nature around you whilst breathing deeply can help boost health and wellbeing naturally.
Cost: variable. Join a guided forest bathing session at specific forests below or read our guide to start forest bathing and try forest bathing on your own in any of our beautiful forest locations.
Winter wildlife walks
Winter in the forest is a magical time. Life slows down, and without the leaves rustling in the wind, the forest falls quiet. Leave the headphones at home and tune in to the sights, sounds and scents and you’ll notice nature all around you.
Winter months are an excellent time to get to know mammals in the forest. You may not meet an animal face to face, but you can read the tracks and signs they leave behind.
Prints in the mud or snow can show the journeys animals in the forest have made before you. You can quickly learn the difference between fox, badger and deer prints.
You can also enjoy a bit of tree identification on your walk. Broadleaved trees become ghosts of the forest in winter, leaving their skeletons on show. Each species is built differently, with the silhouette of oak being round and stocky with low branches, and birch standing tall and slender with trailing branches.
Cost: free – find a forest to plan your walk.
Stargazing
The winter months are perfect for stargazing in the forest and seeing the night sky like never before. The dark skies above the nation's forests are not only great for stargazers, but many woodland species such as birds and bats also benefit from reduced light pollution. So, wrap up warm, take a flask of hot chocolate and a torch and prepare to be dazzled by the constellations above your head and maybe a glimpse of nocturnal wildlife!
Cost: free – more information on some of the best forests for stargazing.
Car parking charges may apply when you visit the nation’s forests. Forestry England membership offers free parking where charges apply and is a wonderful way to explore hundreds of forests across England while supporting our work caring for these beautiful places.
Notes to Editor
- Images are available here. Please credit Forestry England/Crown copyright.
- Forestry England manages and cares for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests, with over 285 million visits in 2023/24. As England’s largest land manager, we shape landscapes and enhance forests for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and businesses to grow. We are continuing the work we have already started to make the nation’s forests resilient to climate change and by 2026 we will:
- create at least 6,000 more hectares where we integrate wilding activities in our productive forests
- increase the diversity of visitors to the nation’s forests and have one million hours of high-quality volunteer time given to the nation’s forests
- plant at least 2,000 hectares of new, high quality, predominantly broadleaf woodlands
For more information visit forestryengland.uk. Forestry England is an agency of the Forestry Commission.
Media Contact:
Naomi Fuller, Media Relations Manager | media@forestryengland.uk