Forest bathing at Lineover Wood

Lineover Wood is a Woodland Trust wood of about 50 hectares on the Cotswold escarpment just outside Cheltenham. Around two thirds of it is ancient woodland, with oak, lime, ash and beech. Among the old trees are a beech over 600 years old, thought to be the third largest in England, and a lime coppice stool that is nearly 1,000 years old. The Cotswold Way crosses the wood.

The small north car park sits opposite the reservoir, and from there two waymarked walks of about an hour each cover the wood: the North Walk is moderate, while the South Walk has some more strenuous slopes. In spring look for bluebells, primroses and lily of the valley; in autumn more than 500 kinds of fungi have been recorded here. There are no toilets on site, the nearest being in Cheltenham, so this is a place for a self-contained, unhurried visit.