Forest bathing in Leicestershire

Charnwood Forest, north-west of Leicester, is where most of Leicestershire's old woodland survives: Swithland Wood is ancient oak and birch over rocky ground, Bradgate Park next door has its famous gnarled oaks among the deer and bracken, and the Outwoods above Loughborough is a hilltop of oak, birch and old pine. Further west the county shares the National Forest with Derbyshire and Staffordshire, where young plantations around Moira and Ashby are maturing into real woods. South of Hinckley, Burbage Common and Woods mixes ancient woodland and grassland on the edge of town.

Sessions here are not walks in the usual sense. The guide sets a slow pace, pauses often, and offers short invitations to touch, listen or simply sit, often finishing with a shared drink under the trees. Two to three hours is typical and the ground covered is small. Each guide's profile gives their dates and prices.

Swithland Wood is a straightforward start, with a car park on the Swithland road and paths that are easy underfoot. Burbage Common has a visitor centre and a car park, and Hinckley station is about a mile away.