Forest bathing in Merseyside

Merseyside's woodland is in its parks, its coastal dunes and the valleys of the Wirral. The best known is Formby, where National Trust pinewoods run down to the dunes and are home to red squirrels. In Liverpool, Croxteth Hall and Country Park has old parkland trees and plantation woods, and Calderstones Park keeps the ancient Allerton Oak. On the Wirral, Dibbinsdale at Bromborough is ancient oak and ash along a brook, and Eastham Country Park has old woodland above the Mersey shore.

A session is a slow, guided couple of hours among the trees, with a handful of simple prompts to notice, listen and touch, and plenty of time to sit. Groups are small and the pace gentle, so it suits people who would not call themselves walkers. Most of these woods can be reached by Merseyrail or bus, which makes a session before work realistic. Each guide's profile lists what they run and what it costs.

Formby is the obvious first visit: the National Trust car park on Victoria Road sits in the pinewoods, and Freshfield station is a short walk away. Croxteth Hall and Country Park is a good inland alternative with level paths.