A couple’s nighttime forest walk had an unexpected impact on our relationship

Writer Sian Bradley and her partner Adam spent a weekend getting reacquainted with nature (Picture: Sian Bradley)

‘This is the strangest date I’ve ever been on,’ I think as I rub dirt between my fingers in a dark forest on the grounds of Armathwaite Hall Hotel and Spa in Keswick.

We use our phone torches to illuminate the cold, damp earth in our hands. ‘Doesn’t it smell wonderful?’ asks our guide Jen Grange, who’s an experienced nature therapist and director of Lakeland wellbeing. She’s encouraging us to tune into Mother Nature, in the hopes that a sensory connection to the forest can help us connect to each other.

In the year or so we’ve been together, I’ve been on all the usual dates with my partner, Adam. We’ve been on cinema trips, dinners, drinks, nights out, shows, gigs, and yes, picnics and walks in nature — but nothing like this.

This was our first getaway, and we were meant to be moon bathing and star gazing, but the venue adapted this due to the cloudy weather. Instead, we set out for some couple’s nighttime forest bathing.

Sure I was curious but, I’ll be honest, I was also sceptical. I’ve always struggled with mindfulness and I didn’t see how walking through a forest could deepen my relationship. I was so wrong.

I was aware of Adam the whole time. I wondered if he also found this to be relaxing and incredibly wholesome, but also felt a bit silly and awkward? I knew I wanted to ignore the embarrassment and give it my all, so when I saw he was doing the same I felt a surge of affection.

Jen’s knowledge rubbed off on me, and soon I was completely engrossed. We bent to sniff snowdrops, felt the cool moss on tree trunks, and were asked whether we could smell the decomposing leaves. Then we reached a lake, and Jen told us to take some time just the two of us.

Some of the walk’s hands-on activities (Picture: Sian Bradley)

We sat on damp rocks by the rippling water, this huge sheet of black glass stretching out before us. We held hands and pointed out the lights of the villages dotted in distant hills. Then we fell silent so we could let the sounds of water gently lapping against rock wash over us. I couldn’t deny it, I felt closer to Adam, in a nebulous spiritual way that I would usually sniff at.

Immersing myself in the scurrying, swaying life of the forest helped me feel connected to nature, and to myself. Why wouldn’t I also feel more connected to my partner? It was surprisingly intimate.

We strolled back into the grounds of the hotel, crunching dead leaves underfoot. Dwarfed under the huge night sky, we wrote down things we wanted to rid ourselves of onto pieces of paper and burnt them. We discussed what we wrote on that paper later on; opening up felt natural after that.

‘It was completely disarming, like being naked,’ Adam told me afterwards. ‘It took down social barriers so we could return to this childlike state.’ “Playing” in this unpretentious way allowed us to be honest and open with eachother for the rest of our getaway.

Forest bathing, or Shinrin-Yoku, is a wellbeing therapy originating in Japan in the 1980s, as stressed-out city-dwellers sought refuge in nature. It’s proved equally popular in the Western world, with Kate Middleton and Justin Beiber counting themselves as fans. It literally translates to ‘forest-bath’, meaning to bath in the forest atmosphere.

Engaging in sensory experiences allows us to connect with nature and tune into the seasons. Even heading to a park can provide similar benefits, which include reducing stress and blood pressure, and improving mood, sleep and energy levels.

The impressive hotel grounds by day light (Picture: Armathwaite Hall Hotel and Spa)

Jen explains that one of the reasons for this is that trees emit Phytoncides, essential oils that protect them against germs and insects. Inhaling phytoncides boosts our immune systems by increasing the number of frontline immune defenders in our bodies. Stepping away from the stressors of daily life – our phones, the bright lights, bustle and smoggy air of the city, our chores and to-do lists – is clearly good for us. Now I’d discovered that it’s good for our relationships too.

Nestled away in the Lake District, Armathwaite Hall Hotel and Spa is the perfect venue for a couple’s forest bathing package. Morning’s began with a continental breakfast of fruit, pastries, cereal, fresh orange juice and coffee…and that’s before you order your cooked breakfast. The food was lovely and the staff were always friendly, so the view of the grounds through the bay windows was the metaphorical cherry on the cake.

Leave enough time to enjoy the spa (Picture: Sian Bradley)

Our day was filled with strolls around the grounds and in the on-site spa. After an incredible complimentary aromatherapy massage for me, followed by an (also complimentary) flapjack and green smoothie, we spent hours moving between the sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and swimming pool. Oh, and there’s a heated outdoor hot tub where you can order glasses of prosecco to enjoy while you relax in the bubbles with views of the forest.

Dinner, which was included in the package, was delicious; beetroot and whipped feta salad and butternut squash risotto with mushroom followed by a delectable creme brule. We ended the night sipping freshly made cocktails by the fireplace or in the bar, before retiring to the room with a bottle of champagne to enjoy in the gold-tapped bath. Sleep came easily in the comfortable-as-a-cloud double bed.

‘This is the most relaxed I’ve ever been,’ Adam told me as we lay in bed in our dressing gowns on our final morning. ‘I never want to leave.’ I felt the same.

It had been a dreamy weekend, almost surreal in how different it was from our usual grind. Sadly, reality beckoned and I worried that all the relaxation and connection would be undone – but that night in the forest made a lasting impression on me. If only to remind myself that when I’m feeling disconnected from my partner – or friends or family for that matter – maybe we should go outside and rub some dirt between our fingers.

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‘I was curious but, I’ll be honest, I was also sceptical.’