Forest bathing at Great Wood, Borrowdale

Great Wood climbs the slope above the eastern shore of Derwentwater, just south of Keswick. The National Trust describes it as internationally significant ancient Atlantic oak woodland, the damp, mild kind of wood where lichens, mosses and fungi grow on almost every surface. It is part of the wider woodland of Borrowdale, where the Trust also looks after a temperate rainforest nature reserve. Red squirrels live here.

Waymarked walks of half a mile to just under two miles start from the Great Wood car park, and the wood is quiet once you leave the path up to Walla Crag. For an easier option, the accessible loop through Cockshot Wood near the Keswick lakeside, or the level path to Friar's Crag, keep you among trees by the water. The oaks are at their best in spring green and in autumn, and the wood gives some shelter on a wet day. Paths away from the lakeside are rough and can be muddy.