Forest bathing at Snipe Dales

Snipe Dales sits on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, near Lusby and Spilsby, and has two halves: a country park of mixed woodland and a nature reserve of wet valleys, grassland and scrub, run together by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. The country park woods are mostly Corsican pine planted in 1965, with some Scots pine and beech, and the pines are slowly being replaced with ash, oak, alder and other native trees. The valleys, cut by small streams, are one of the few surviving semi-natural wet valley systems in the county.

Start at the country park car park, which has toilets, a disabled toilet and a picnic area. Three waymarked walks go from here: a one-mile there-and-back trail, the Country Park Trail of about a mile and a quarter, and the Snipe Dales Round, three and a half miles through the reserve. Paths are steep and muddy in places, so wear waterproof boots. The car park barrier has set daytime hours and the machines take cash only. Dogs are allowed on a short lead in the country park only.