Forest bathing in Scottish Borders

The Tweed valley is the heart of Borders woodland. Glentress Forest, above Peebles, is a big Forestry and Land Scotland forest of spruce, larch and Douglas fir known for its mountain biking but with quiet walking trails too, and Cardrona Forest a few miles downstream is calmer. Dawyck Botanic Garden at Stobo, run by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, has some of the oldest and tallest conifers in Scotland in its sixty-odd acres of woodland garden. Plora Wood at Walkerburn is a Woodland Trust oakwood on the valley side. On the coast, Pease Dean near Cockburnspath is a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve of ancient woodland in a deep ravine.

Sessions last two to three hours in a small group, cover very little ground and spend most of the time still, which is easier in the Tweed's quieter corners than beside the bike trails. Winter dates tend to use the sheltered valley woods. Guide profiles list dates, venues and prices.

Glentress is a straightforward first visit, with pay car parks, toilets and a cafe at Peel, and walking trails that start gently through the lower forest. Dawyck has parking and a cafe and charges admission.