Forest bathing at Grizedale Forest

Grizedale covers about 2,400 hectares of the fells south of Hawkshead. Much of it is conifer plantation, Sitka spruce and western hemlock, with newer plantings of native broadleaves; larch disease and ash dieback have opened up some areas. The Brocklebank family sold the estate in 1937, and since the late 1970s artists have left sculptures in the trees, many of them made to rot back into the forest. Red squirrels and red and roe deer live here.

Most people start at the visitor centre, where the waymarked walks, an easy access trail and the café are. The forest also has mountain bike trails and a Go Ape course, so it can feel busy near the centre on a summer weekend. Walk a little way up any trail and it quietens quickly. The smaller car parks at Moor Top, Bogle Crag and Machell's Coppice are good starting points if you want to avoid the main hub. Expect forest roads and stony paths, some of them steep.