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BB2622 : Introducing Shinrin-yoku
Thursday
9th July 2026
Shinrin-yoku. Had you heard of it? Neither had I. Nor had I heard of its English translation,
Forest Bathing, until today’s adventure.
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First, however,
we need to start on the Windermere Ferry which was surprisingly quiet given the
forecast.
The early morning mist had
lifted and a good baking was in prospect.
This had, of course, been anticipated and our itinerary amended and
reduced.
Accordingly only one WOLF,
Claife Heights, was our target.
Latterbarrow would have to wait.
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Briefly, we
admired the view from the Claife Viewing Station then set off up the steep
climb through the trees to emerge onto the open ground of Mitchell Knotts. A bit of a bridle path dog-leg led us back
into the woods at Scale Ivy intake. When
we reached the turn-off for the summit things went somewhat awry. The path was thigh deep in bracken and head high
in brambles and conifers. Strangely for
such an overgrown passage, the track on the ground looked well marked as if
frequently trod.
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Robert, gently,
chastised me as he had asked if he should wear shorts or would he be exposed to
ticks. I had assured him that we would
be on bridle paths and we would not be under attack. This was before we reduced our
ambitions. I had been thinking of the
clear bridle path from Far Sawrey. Even
so, I had failed to anticipate the bracken filled jungle we would have to
negotiate to reach first the top of High Pate Crag and then High Blind
How. I should have read the two
Wainwright books more carefully. AW
talks of this being where the fun starts and there being a desperate passage through
encroaching and over-hanging spruce.
Chris Jesty, second edition, is less prosaic but talks about a small area
around the Ordnance Survey column being left unplanted. He adds that there are glimpses of views but
most of it being hidden by trees.
A third edition
is needed. The lower slopes of High
Blind How are now a post-apocalyptic vision of devastation, just like Latterbarrow
used to be (Armageddon
Revisited, BB1206).
No standing
trees but lots of wooden debris.
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The summit, however, now provides a pleasant viewpoint, as it must have
done when the trig point was planted.
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Our descent
through devastation led to a path in which a tick-fest seemed inevitable. Head high and not pleasant, apart from the
glimpses of Windermere far below us.
Eventually ,we found a break from the bracken in a pleasant, tree lined
area. It was there that I was introduced
to the delights of Forest Bathing.
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Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese mindfulness practice
of immersing your senses in the forest atmosphere.
Research allegedly
shows that
breathing in airborne tree chemicals (phytoncides) can lower cortisol, reduce
blood pressure, and boost your immune system.
Unlike hiking, it focuses on doing nothing but being present
- no chasing Wainwrights or
other such targets.
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If you want
to know more, check out The National Trust's
Beginner's
Guide To Forest Bathing
or
click on the picture above.
Suitably
boosted, whether by tree chemicals or by caffeine and cookies, we continued on
our way, enduring more jolly green giants as we used to call bracken when the
children were small and ticks hadn’t been invented. Fortunately today we seem not to have been
attacked. Eventually we reached the wide, stony path that leads down to the
lake. I pity the poor ponies that must
have had to carry their burden up and down that steep track.
The traipse
back alongside the lake is somewhat of a disappointment. Although it is too wide to be overrun by
vegetation, there are few views, thanks to the trees that align the
foreshore. Eventually it does emerge
into more open ground where quite a lot of people were enjoying the sun and,
for some strange reason, some entering into the lake.
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Back at the
Viewing Station, we stopped for the mandatory ice cream at the café before
joining the queue for the ferry.
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As we travelled back
across Windermere on the Mallard,
watching families bathing, it made me realise how much fun shinrin-yokuing
in the trees must
be compared to getting cold and wet in wet and cold water.
Don,
Thursday 9th July 2026
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