Forest bathing at Beacon Fell Country Park

Beacon Fell is a 266 metre hill north of Preston, on the south-western edge of the Forest of Bowland. Its 75 hectares of woodland, grassland and moorland became one of the UK's first country parks in 1970. The woods are largely conifer, first planted when the fell was a water supply, and footpaths wind through them past wooden sculptures by the local artist Thompson Dagnall.

A one-way road loops round the fell, and from the car park you are quickly among the trees. The visitor centre and café are the busiest spot; the woodland paths on the far side of the hill are usually quieter. The summit is open, with a trig point and wide views, but the conifers below are where to go when it is windy. Paths are mostly well made, with some muddy and sloping stretches.