1. Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire
For Londoners, forest bathing at its most accessible is at Burnham Beeches, north of Slough — which is why scenes from Robin Hood and Harry Potter films have been shot there. Pathways zoom off in all directions from the car park and café on Lord Mayors Drive. The beech trees in this national nature reserve are so intertwined that you can’t help but feel entangled in their benevolent presence (wood landtrust.org.uk). The serene Burnham Beeches Hotel is your base, with B&B doubles from £109 (corushotels.com).
2. Ashdown Forest, East Sussex
Once upon a time, a bear of little brain enjoyed many adventures in his Hundred Acre Wood. You too can pursue your own heffalumps on a two-mile walk around the actual Five Hundred Acre Wood that inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh author AA Milne. The wood and its forest are part of the High Weald, a region of butterfly-rich heathland of bracken and gorse punctuated by clumps of pines (ashdownforest.org). Stay at Ashdown Park, a smart country house hotel near Forest Row that has B&B doubles from £199 (ashdownpark.com).
3. Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
Tapestries of oak, beech and chestnut rise from a dimpled landscape formed centuries ago by hundreds of tiny open-cast mines. These “scowles” create mini canyons, silent and eerie, with pathways that dive through tangles of creepers and snaggle-toothed rock. Sample the Beechenhurst trail, an eight-mile loop just off the Coleford-to-Cinderford road (forestryengland.uk). Stay at Speech House, a 17th-century hunting lodge that has B&B doubles from £76 (thespeechhouse.co.uk).
4. The National Forest, Derbyshire
This bold project is attempting to rewild the Midlands. Some nine million trees have been planted across 200 square miles to link the ancient forests of Charnwood and Needwood. It’s threaded by the 75-mile National Forest Way, at its best in the mature bluebell-rich Charnwood (national forest.org). The hub is the Rosliston Forestry Centre, with trails and tree-shrouded forest lodges, where three nights’ self-catering for four costs from £299 (rosliston forestrycentre.co.uk).
5. Brecon Beacons, South Wales
While the Beacons are famously bleak on top, they are drained by wooded river valleys. One such, the Hepste, tumbles southwards through a cleft hung with firs and oaks, over four impressive waterfalls. Start at Gwaun Hepste car park for a six-mile loop that includes stepped descents and scrambling over roots. The reward is all the drama of the falls and some of the chilliest wild swimming in Wales (naturalresources.wales). Follow this with craft beers at the Bear, a 15th-century coaching inn at the heart of Crickhowell with B&B doubles from £129 (bearhotel.co.uk).
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6. New Forest, Hampshire
Walk in the presence of giants among the huge sequoias that line the one-and-a-half-mile Tall Trees trail at Blackwater. The New Forest was proclaimed royal land in about 1079, when William the Conqueror decided that he’d had enough of conquering and turned to hunting instead, evacuating villages to create 150 square miles of woodland and heath. Its hub is the village of Brockenhurst, from where walks radiate in all directions (newforestnpa.gov.uk). Reward yourself with home-cooked meals and cosy rooms at the Pig just outside the village, where room-only doubles cost from £195 (thepighotel.com).
7. Kielder Forest, Northumberland
Immerse yourself in the sheer scale of the 230 square miles of coniferous forest that surround Kielder Water. Its size and remoteness qualify it as a dark-sky park, and trails of varying lengths scurry off around the reservoir or plunge into the trees. Try the three-mile Kielder Castle visitor trail, haunted by the giant forest-head sculpture Silvas Capitalis (visitkielder. com). Then ease any aches and pains in your private hot tub at Landal Kielder Waterside, where three nights’ self-catering for four costs from £305 (landal.co.uk).
8. Thetford Forest, Norfolk and Suffolk
The Scots pines and larches of Thetford seem to belong more to the Baltic coast than the UK. The largest lowland pine forest in Britain, it was planted after the First World War to replenish timber reserves, and the sandy softness underfoot gives it a silent serenity. Set off from the Lodge visitor centre along the three-mile Fir trail, looking out for the recreations of classical sculptures such as the Venus de Milo (forestryengland.uk). Hole up afterwards at Strattons, a smart, award-winning boutique hotel in Swaffham where B&B doubles cost from £120 (strattonshotel.com).
9. Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs
This forested mix of lochs, hills and glens comes with ospreys and treetop walkways. There’s a choice of trails close to the Lodge Forest visitor centre just outside Aberfoyle, including a section of the 79-mile Rob Roy Way. Walk the ten miles from Aberfoyle to the small, bustling town of Callander (walkhighlands.co.uk). And afterwards go to ground in one of Comrie Croft’s woodland-based Nordic kata tents, where two nights’ self-catering for four costs from £200 (comriecroft.com).
10. Tay Forest Park, Perthshire
Birnam Wood, as in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, lines the River Tay. This is Big Tree Country thanks to the dukes of Atholl, who planted 25 million trees in the region 200 years ago. Find the Macbeth tree — a gnarly, hollow, 500-year-old oak — and clamber inside for shelter if it’s raining. Then amble across the bridge at Dunkeld, and upriver through a tree zoo of maple, western hemlock and Douglas fir (pkct.org). End your exertions at the rambling Dunkeld House Hotel, which has B&B doubles from £148 (dunkeldhousehotel.co.uk).
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