Bounding around in the treetops like Robin Hood and his Merry Men made for the perfect family day out.
Forest bathing takes a different tone when your version of it is chasing a toddler through the treetops. Ahead Albie gallops, a tiny silhouette amid gigantic Scots pines, larches and ash trees that part to reveal a landscape of tumbling meadows, leafy copses and standalone farmhouses.
The Baumwipfelpfad Neckertal in Toggenburg, Switzerland is a wooden walkway through the treetops that reaches 55 metres' elevation. It meanders above an adventure playground, creating a scene that reminds me of Robin Hood's village in the trees in the film 'Prince of Thieves'.
There are activity stations along the way, and as the breeze sweeps in over the meadows and brushes our cheeks we learn how to read the age of a tree (the dark lines in a trunk tell all) and which pines smell of citrus (Scots pine). Up here we can see fruit that would otherwise remain hidden. Burrs on beech trees, carrying nuts that will ripen in autumn and clustered so heavily that the branches buckle. And large-leaved linden, whose flowers will be turned into tea.
The scene is a weave of different shades of green, with threads come loose that are fluttering gold in the sunlight. It's not quite forest bathing at its finest with my toddler to chase, but it's an uplifting and mesmerising and truly special family day out.
