Forest bathing in North Yorkshire

England's largest county has woodland of every kind. On the North York Moors, Dalby Forest near Pickering is a Forestry England working forest of pine, spruce and larch with broadleaf valleys. In the Dales, Strid Wood on the Bolton Abbey estate is sessile oak along the Wharfe, and Grass Wood above Grassington is ash and hazel on limestone. Hackfall, near Masham, is an eighteenth-century woodland garden in a gorge of the Ure, restored by the Woodland Trust, and Nidd Gorge outside Knaresborough is ancient broadleaf woodland on a steep riverbank.

Expect a slow couple of hours or a little more, in a small group, mostly standing or sitting rather than walking. A guide offers a handful of simple invitations to engage the senses and leaves room to follow them in your own way. The river gorges at Hackfall, Nidd and Strid are sheltered and loud with water, and work well outside summer. Guide profiles list dates and prices.

Nidd Gorge is easy to reach, about a mile and a half from Knaresborough station with a small free car park off Scotton Drive. Dalby Forest has a visitor centre, cafe and surfaced trails, though there is a toll for driving in.