Forest bathing at Idless Woods

Idless Woods is Forestry England's 113 hectare forest just north of Truro, taking in St Clement, Bishop's and Lady's woods. Almost all of it is ancient woodland, now a mix of conifer and broadleaved planting with native woodland regenerating among it. In the middle of Bishop's Wood is a well-preserved Iron Age hill fort, a Scheduled Monument, its ramparts covered in old oak coppice, and charcoal-burning platforms show how long these woods have been worked.

There are no waymarked trails, just a network of woodland paths, so it suits an unhurried wander rather than a set route. The hill fort is the place to stop: old coppiced oaks and a sense of enclosure. A stream runs along the edge of the woods. Larch has recently been felled because of tree disease, so some areas are more open than they were. Paths are natural and can be muddy.