Forest bathing at Worcester Woods Country Park

Worcester Woods Country Park sits on the eastern edge of the city, run by Worcestershire County Council. It is made up of two local nature reserves, Nunnery Wood and Hornhill Meadows, plus a large open field and orchards. Nunnery Wood was once owned by the nuns of White Ladies Aston, and its oldest trees are thought to date from the period after the Black Death, when the land was abandoned. It is a rare chance to walk through old woodland without leaving town.

Start at the Countryside Centre, where there is a café and toilets. The Woodland Trail through Nunnery Wood is level and surfaced with rolled stone, so it works for wheelchairs and pushchairs and in wet weather, and there is seating at regular points. The Meadow Trail through Hornhill Meadows and the orchards is level but on unsurfaced grass, with kissing gates. The area around the centre and play areas is busiest; once you are inside the wood it is usually calm.