Forest bathing in Berkshire

Berkshire's best woodland is in the east, on the sandy ground south of Windsor and Bracknell. Windsor Great Park holds some of the oldest oak pollards in Europe, and the adjoining Swinley Forest is a big block of Scots pine and heath with miles of forest track. West of Reading the chalk takes over: Basildon Park above Pangbourne has beech woods and parkland on the Thames slopes, and Snelsmore Common Country Park outside Newbury mixes birch and oak with open heath. Dinton Pastures near Wokingham adds lakeside willow and alder along the Loddon.

Sessions are gentle: a slow walk of two or three hours covering less than a mile, with time to sit, listen and notice, and tea or a short sharing circle at the end. Swinley's pines are quiet even on summer weekends, and Windsor's woods are walkable from the town's two railway stations. See each guide's profile for dates, venues and prices.

The Look Out Discovery Centre at Swinley Forest is the obvious first stop, with a large pay and display car park, cafe and waymarked trails straight into the pines. Snelsmore Common has free parking and level sandy paths, and is far quieter than Windsor.