Forest bathing in Orkney

Orkney is nearly treeless, and anyone coming for forest bathing should know that first. Trees here grow in sheltered corners planted by people. Binscarth Wood at Finstown is the largest, a nineteenth-century mix of sycamore, ash and conifers in a dip near the Loch of Harray, with a public path through it. Happy Valley in Stenness is a local nature reserve of woodland and garden planted by one man over fifty years, now looked after by Orkney Islands Council. Olav's Wood on South Ronaldsay is a younger planting in a burn valley, and Berstane Wood on the eastern edge of Kirkwall is a small shelter wood.

A session in an Orkney wood is a couple of unhurried hours with a small group, mostly spent still, with the wind in the tops and the sea never far away; the shelter of a few acres of trees feels very different here from on the mainland. Guide profiles list dates and prices.

Binscarth Wood is a short walk from Finstown, on the Kirkwall to Stromness bus route, with a signed path. Happy Valley has a small car park off the road to Stenness and level paths by the burn.