Forest bathing at Alice Holt Forest

Alice Holt is a Forestry England woodland of about 850 hectares, just south of Farnham and inside the South Downs National Park. It was a royal forest for centuries, and in the Roman period the area was a major pottery centre. Much of what you walk through today was planted later: around 1,600 acres of oak went in between 1815 and 1825 for naval timber, and conifers followed from the 1920s. Large blocks of the old oak still stand, and Forestry England is gradually restoring native broadleaves.

Most people start at the visitor centre at Bucks Horn Oak, where the café, play trails and Go Ape are concentrated. The Easy Access Trail is a good choice for a first, slow visit. For quieter time, walk away from the centre along the wide forest tracks into the oak stands, where it is easy to find a log or a bank to sit on. Forest bathing sessions are run here by The Forest Bathing Institute, in partnership with Forestry England.