Forest bathing in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is urban, so its woodland is in the river valleys, the old estates and the green edges, and there is more of it than you might think. Dunham Massey near Altrincham has ancient oaks in a deer park. Etherow Country Park at Compstall is a wooded valley of oak and beech where the Etherow meets the Goyt. Tandle Hill above Royton is a hilltop beech wood, Daisy Nook follows the Medlock through a wooded valley near Oldham, and Haigh Woodland Park at Wigan has plantation and oak around the hall. Boggart Hole Clough in Blackley is a wooded ravine inside the city.

A session here is two to three hours of slow walking and stillness in a small group, with simple invitations from the guide to notice what is around you and tea at the end. Several of these sites are on the tram or train. Each guide's profile gives their own dates, venues and prices.

Etherow is a good first visit, with a pay and display car park, visitor centre, cafe and level paths around the lake. Dunham Massey is a canal-side walk from Altrincham station, and Haigh Woodland Park has free parking and a cafe.