Nature Restores

London is a great place to live. It’s culturally diverse, dynamic and has almost limitless opportunities for entertainment and enrichment.

Forest Bathing

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has placed London into hibernation. The restaurants, bars, museums and theatres are closed. For many, the unnatural situation has created a great deal of stress and anxiety.

I am fortunate to live within walking distance of three of London’s finest green spaces - Regent’s Park, Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath. Although extremely busy, these places have provided a place to exercise and solace over the last few weeks.

Increasingly though, I have felt the need for solitude and isolation and a desire to leave the city. So, after weeks of warm sunshine we headed to Black Park Country Park on a cool and cloudy June day.

Black Park lies adjacent to Pinewood Film Studios. There is no filming at the moment but in the past the woods have been used to film scenes from Goldfinger, Star Wars and even Frankenstein.

We parked on the edge of the park next to the Bridgettine Convent and made our way into the woods. A woman rode past us on a bicycle, smiled and said ‘hello’ - we weren’t in the city anymore!

The cool weather meant that we were mostly alone in the woods with just the birdsong and the rustling of leaves in the wind for company. From the main thoroughfares, smaller bracken lined paths disappear amongst the pine, oak and chestnut trees. Along the way we also ecountered silver birch, beech and rowan.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the importance of nature to my psychological wellbeing. I enjoy living in the city but I miss the restorative respite of the natural world - and I miss it particularly at this moment in time.

The trees, the bracken, the birds and the insects - they nourish the soul and lift the spirits.

Foxglove

Human beings have evolved in nature and it’s clear that it is a place where many feel at their most comfortable. For me, time slows and pleasures become simpler - I can become absorbed in photographing a foxglove or a fern.

Ecosystems embody harmony and balance - a tree grows within its means depending on the quality of the soil and available water and sunlight. Nobody expects a tree to grow exponentially year after year. It’s liberating.

Male mandarin duck

Bracken

Eventually we arrived at a lake and I spent way too much time photographing a mandarin duck and lone swan. It was raining and time to go back to the city. We headed back to the car happy and recharged.