Forest bathing in Powys

Powys is a quarter of Wales and mostly hill farm, but the woods are substantial where they occur. Hafren Forest west of Llanidloes is Natural Resources Wales conifer around the source of the Severn, with boardwalks and waterfalls from the Rhyd-y-benwch car park. Lake Vyrnwy is an RSPB reserve where oak woods and plantations ring the reservoir. The Elan Valley has oak at Cnwch Wood and a trail along the old railway, and in the south the Brecon Beacons bring Waterfall Country around Ystradfellte and the gorge wood at Pwll-y-wrach near Talgarth.

A session covers almost no ground: two or three hours in a small group under the trees, going slowly and sitting often, with a guide offering a handful of simple invitations. It is the stillness, not the walking, that matters. Each guide's profile below shows their dates and prices.

Hafren Forest is a good first wood, with free parking, picnic tables and the Cascades trail, a short level circuit by the Severn. Lake Vyrnwy has an RSPB visitor centre, cafe and the sculpture trail on a mostly flat lakeside path, and the Elan Valley visitor centre has parking, a cafe and the level railway trail.