Forest bathing at Wormley Wood

Wormley Wood and the adjoining Nut Wood together cover about 137 hectares south of Hertford, part of the Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation. Native oak and hornbeam dominate, and the Woodland Trust describes it as one of only two areas of oak and hornbeam forest of its kind in the UK. The hornbeam was coppiced from medieval times, and the Cecil family owned the wood from the Elizabethan era. Look out for an 1860s coal post and a stretch of the Roman road Ermine Street running through.

Nut Wood was planted with Japanese larch in the 1980s and is slowly being returned to oak, hornbeam and birch, so for the older feel stay in Wormley Wood itself. Parking is at the small Bencroft West car park off White Stubbs Lane, about 250 m from the wood along stony paths. Paths are gently undulating but uneven in places, with some steep sections, steps and footbridges, and they are wet and muddy for part of the year. Bluebells flower in spring. There are no toilets on site.