How to Get Out in Nature
Spending time in nature is proven to have a positive impact on your wellbeing
London is one of the greenest cities in Europe thanks to an abundance of parks and green spaces (including some great hidden ones), but it’s all too easy to get caught up in the fast pace of city life and spend more time in front of screens than out in the company of trees. It can also feel more difficult for people living in urban areas to spend quality time outdoors and spaces beyond London can feel inaccessible, meaning that people are missing out on the numerous positive effects of nature.
We know that getting plenty of fresh air and exercise is good for you, both physically and mentally, but studies have also shown that people with strong connectedness and emotional attachment to nature tend to feel happier and are less likely to experience stress, anxiety, depression and poor mental health.
We spoke to three people who regularly spend time outdoors to find out how they do it, why it’s been beneficial for them and top tips to help get more Londoners out in nature.
Kwesia | Host of the Get Birding podcast
Give us a bit of background on yourself – what do you do and what part of the city are you based in?
I’m Kwesia, also known as City Girl In Nature. I grew up in Deptford, an area of inner city London, and I’m currently based in New Cross. Growing up I faced many challenges, including losing my friend to knife crime, losing my auntie to an honour killing and being a young carer for my grandmother who had Parkinson’s disease. I also faced other challenges generally, whether it was school or the community I lived in. I had the opportunity to go to the Amazon through a scholarship type scheme, which transformed my relationship with nature and was very healing.
What prompted you to connect with nature in the way that you do?
I had a three week expedition with the British Exploring Society in the Peruvian Amazon that completely transformed my life and enabled me to change the trajectory I was going in. It really made me understand how healing nature is.
What benefits have you experienced through spending time outdoors?
There are many benefits to spending time outside. It’s been proven even spending 15 minutes outside can completely transform your mental wellbeing. For me personally, I’d say it brings peace of mind. It enables me to understand that I’m bigger than just myself, I’m a part of something much bigger. I’m in awe of the birds, wild flowers, edible plants, trees and just how the eco system operates – I’m in awe all the time. Meditating outdoors, yoga outdoors, all of these things really promote my spiritual wellbeing.
Where are some of your favourite places to spend time outside, both in London and further afield?
In London my favourite place is Burgess Park, which is a local park to me. It has a lake and there are lots of birds – it’s quite vast considering it’s inner city. I also like the commons, whether it’s Clapham or Tooting. I like Richmond Park because there are deer, it amazes me to think there are deer in London. I love woodlands, like Sydenham Hill Woods. Further afield, I love Glasgow – Loch Lomond is a beautiful spot, as well as the Devil’s Pulpit. I really like Caerphilly, there’s a lot of really cool little spots that I found there. Finally, I recently visited Iona, which was a really cool remote spot. And Staffa Island was amazing! I got to see puffins, which was great.
Do you have any tips or advice to encourage other Londoners to get out into nature?
Definitely come out of your comfort zone. Nature is on our doorstep, you don’t need to go further afield, whether you live in a flat, or in a house, you can look out the window, you can look at the birds, you can stargaze, we can connect with our natural world in so many different ways. We can bring it indoors, we can have plants, you can grow foods, these are all ways to connect with nature. We are nature, and when we start to understand that and build a relationship with nature, we start to become one with our surroundings and ourself. You can start off small, just by taking a walk and being mindful and looking at things around you, connecting with your senses. Maybe you like to be around water, go to lakes or the river. There are so many ways to do it.
Connor Wan | Due East
Give us a bit of background on yourself – what do you do and what part of the city are you based in?
Due East is a grassroots hiking group that was founded in the summer of 2022 in reflection on the marginalisation of ESEA voices in the outdoors industry. We aim to create a safe space for people of East and South East Asian heritage to (re)connect with and explore nature in the UK. We host accessible and friendly rural and city hikes with varying levels of difficulty. Our team is based all over London but the inception of the group formed in a community centre in Hackney.
What prompted you to connect with nature in the way that you do?
I really got into hiking on my own after moving out for university and always just pick up and go for my birthday. Being an active member of the ESEA community I noticed after my trip to the Peak District a lot of people were asking me about the trip and advice on how to get into the outdoors. Realising there was no exclusive space for ESEA peoples in the outdoors and being inspired by the acts of organisations like Black Girls Hike and Muslim Hikers I decided to start Due East to fill that gap.
What benefits have you experienced through spending time outdoors?
I feel like there’s a distinctive calmness of the outdoors that is very hard to replicate in towns and cities. I lose all inhibitions about day-to-day life and feel guiltless in being able to sit with myself with no real plan or effort to complete any tasks. Even if you have a moment of quiet in a city, there’s so much mental background noise you start developing a guilt that I’m not spending this time more productively whereas the outdoors literally gives you room to take a breath and slow down without burden.
Where are some of your favourite places to spend time outside, both in London and further afield?
In London one of my favourite outside places is Battersea Park. Outside all the National Parks are amazing but Dartmoor is always going to be the first one I fell in love with.
Do you have any tips or advice to encourage other Londoners to get out into nature?
Money and time is always one of the biggest barriers for people to try and explore the outdoors but we live in a time where there are so many amazing groups that help so many people from different backgrounds to help access the outdoors. I’d check All The Elements comprehensive directory to see what can help you!
Oveta McInnis | London Caribbean Trekkers
Give us a bit of background on yourself – what do you do and what part of the city are you based in?
I’m Oveta McInnis, I’m based in Enfield, North London. I was a science teacher and deputy principal of a large secondary school, that was my last job, I did a short spell as an interim headteacher at a school in Haringey and prior to that, I taught in Haringey for many years. I retired six years ago but have been walking with the London Caribbean Trekkers for eleven years, it was our ten year anniversary last summer, which is fantastic. It was a shock really that we’ve been walking that long.
What prompted you to connect with nature in the way that you do?
Well I’ve always loved nature. Originally I was a biology teacher and part of that was because I’ve always loved plants and animals, especially plants. I’ve always had houseplants when I didn’t have a garden and then as soon as I got a garden, wherever I’ve lived, I’ve had what I consider a beautiful garden with a range of flowers and some vegetables as well. But I’ve also always loved walking in the countryside. When I was in Stoke Newington as a young woman I used to walk in Springfield Park, walk along the river and then walk further afield, but in my fifties I just felt that I wanted to see more of England, I wanted to walk outside of London and enjoy the shires but I didn’t know how to do that. How do you walk in the countryside? It was a place I didn’t have access to because I didn’t know how to walk around the countryside so that was a conundrum I had to solve.
I had a lifelong friend who often always walked with friends and I thought, “Dave’s always walking outside of London”, he’d go to Cornwall or the Norfolk Broads and see the countryside and I was quite jealous. One day I said to him, “would you be willing to take me and some friends on a walk in the countryside because you obviously know how to do it?”, so he said “yes as long as you can do five miles, I’m not getting out of bed for less for than five miles!” So me and my closest friends practiced walking round the park and we were so puffed out. I realised that even though I was going to the gym, I was so unfit and just walking around the park five times was hard work but we felt we could do it. The first walk was in March 2012, Dave took us out into the countryside and that was it, I was hooked. The views, the beauty, the variety, listening to the birds, and it was a beautiful day.
I realised that people of African and Caribbean heritage here don’t go to the countryside. We all live in towns and cities mostly and find the countryside inaccessible, and sometimes people aren’t very friendly, so going by yourself is quite a challenge. That’s why I started the group and why it’s called the London Caribbean Trekkers, so when people hear about us, they know it’s for them and they’ll be comfortable and supported. So I enable others to access the countryside who’ve always wanted to and I tell you, the joy people feel is lovely. Over the years new people have come and people have dropped off for health reasons. When I look back and look at the photos of the original group, there are three members of the original six but we have about 25 who walk regularly and on any given walk there’ll be about 15.
What benefits have you experienced through spending time outdoors?
The companionship of having a group that you do something regularly with is really nice and we’ve become really good friends through the walking group. The countryside is so beautiful and varied – we’ve been to Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, and we’ve done three or four residentials where we’ve gone away for three or four days together, like the Black Forest near Devon, Sheffield, the Cotswolds, and I’ve invited the walking group to go to Ghana with me this November, so fifteen of us are going to Ghana. The thing about being in the countryside is that it’s very spiritual, we get a lot from it being together outdoors. The natural environment is so special, you just get fed from it, which is so wonderful. Some of the group have learnt the names of plants they didn’t know before and you get to watch the different times of the year, the ground in the forest is covered in bluebells in the spring, the different animals we’ve seen in the summer, and watching the leaves turn in the autumn. I find the natural beauty personally very spiritual. And of course, it’s really good exercise.
Where are some of your favourite places to spend time outside, both in London and further afield?
There’s a circular walk around London that starts in Highgate and goes through Muswell Hill and Woodberry Down, going along the railway track in Crouch End and you end up at the wetlands. That’s a walk I’d recommend but we don’t do cities really, we don’t do inner London because we live in inner London. I love Hertfordshire, it’s easy to get to lovely places. I love the Lakes and I loved going up to Sheffield and the Peak District. I loved the Black Forest and I particularly love Kent. We walked around Chartwell where Winston Churchill used to live, and the other place that’s very beautiful is around Chequers, the prime minister’s residence. We subscribe to walkingworld.com and they have walks throughout the whole of Britain and parts of Europe, and people just put their walks up. They’re properly detailed with directions and images, and you get a map, so we’ve learnt to read compasses as often there’s no signal in the places we go.
Do you have any tips or advice to encourage other Londoners to get out into nature?
I think if you’ve not done walking outside of London, finding a group is probably the best thing because it’s not that it’s dangerous, but it’s easy to get lost if you don’t know what you’re doing. Once you get a bit more experience, learn to map read and download a walking app. Start with small walks that are linked to stations because you can do walks that go in a circle back to the same station. Find a group and get involved and you’ll get exercise, beauty, friendship and spiritual experiences – you can’t beat that.