Forest bathing in Bridgend

Bridgend's woodland splits in two. Up the Garw, Llynfi and Ogmore valleys the hillsides carry Natural Resources Wales conifer plantations on former colliery land, with broadleaf creeping back along the rivers. Down on the coastal plain it is older and gentler: Bryngarw Country Park at Brynmenyn has a Victorian estate's beech, oak and ornamental trees along the Garw, Parc Slip near Aberkenfig is a Wildlife Trust reserve with young woodland and wetland on reclaimed opencast, and Merthyr Mawr has woods behind some of the tallest dunes in Wales.

Sessions in this part of South Wales suit the valley woods in winter, when the plantations give shelter, and the estate parkland in spring and autumn. Expect to spend two or three hours covering a few hundred metres, with pauses to breathe, touch bark and sit quietly, and a shared cup of tea at the end. Each guide's profile shows what they offer and when.

Bryngarw Country Park is the obvious first stop: a pay-and-display car park, a visitor centre with a cafe, and mostly surfaced paths through the woods and Japanese garden. Parc Slip has its own car park and visitor centre and is quieter, with level trails around the lakes.