The soothing island

From forest bathing to beach moonwalks, Jersey is the perfect place to find solace in Nature, says Antonia Windsor

- Antonia Windsor

I AM standing at the foot of a towering eucalyptus tree, watching light dart and flutter as the breeze moves through the leaves. The scent that wafts on the wind reminds me of massage rooms in luxury resorts, but I am more relaxed than I have ever been on a massage table and I am doing nothing more than paying close attention to the trees and flowers, birds and insects of the wood I find myself in. I am ‘forest bathing’.

The concept was first developed in Japan as an attempt to revive burnt-out townies. People were brought to the forest to recuperate and studies were made to assess the impact on heart rate, cortisol levels and mental health. The positive results saw the trend taking off in neighbouring Korea, then spreading across the western world and eventually reaching Jersey’s shores.

Even on this peaceful island, life can get hectic, particularly for those that work in the busy financial industries, and Amanda Bond, a trained eco-therapist who leads monthly forest-bathing walks, has no shortage of people keen to experience the restorative nature of the forest for themselves.

The arboretum that surrounds St Peter’s Val de la Mare reservoir is a fitting location to take in Nature. The trees here, including giant American redwoods, Japanese cypresses and Australian bottlebrushes, were donated by the Moores family in the 1970s and planted in memory of their son Nigel, who had died in a car accident. After several years, the trees had been allowed to grow to full size, without any human interference, and they now cohabit and interconnect in a peaceful wilderness that unites all corners of the globe.