Outdoor & Creative Therapy
Step out onto a unique path we can walk together.
Ecotherapy / Walk and Talk Sessions
Walk and talk sessions are often known as eotherapy, and it is simply taking sessions outdoors. We are using the ecological world around us as our backdrop for health, metaphor, insight and seeing ourselves in the wider concept. I walk with clients in and around Tring, Hertfordshire in pre-risk assessed areas.
Walking side by side in nature can make it easier to talk, giving you space to think and process things at your own pace. Sometimes, being outside helps ease anxious thoughts, reduce stress and bring a sense of clarity when life feels overwhelming.
The gentle rhythm of walking can also make conversations feel more natural, and a change of surroundings can shift perspectives in a way that sitting in a room sometimes can’t. The spaces I use are chosen with care; peaceful, accessible, and private enough, so you can feel comfortable opening up whilst we walk.
Weather
Occasionally the weather can interrupt the session. Suitable clothing may be needed to protect ourselves from the elements, as part of the experiential nature of the work is to be immersed in the landscape. Please be aware that we will generally walk in all weather conditions (unless there is heavy rain or thunder and lightning). However, you do have the choice of swapping a booked ecotherapy session for an online session if it suits you better.
Confidentiality
I understand that this can be a concern, so it’s worth considering how you might deal with bumping into someone you know and we can discuss this at the start of our sessions together.
Dogs
In order for us to focus on you, your furry friends are politely requested to stay at home during our sessions. Even the best behaved dogs need attention and they too are allowed to have their down time, so we get the best out of the session.
Parking is free for all locations.
College Lake
Run by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust - Upper Icknield Way, Bulbourne, Tring, Herts, HP23 5QG
This is a 2 mile looped walk, man made from an old cement quarry, which closed in 1991. The space is beautiful and enables us to take in an abundance of birds, sheep and other wildlife. There are a number of alternative routes to take around the lake, as well as benches and bird hides, giving you plenty of choice along the way. This space is also appropriate for wheelchairs.
NB College lake is closed on Mondays
Click for Meeting point - We meet lake side.
Tring Park
Run by Woodland Trust Wood Group - Hastoe Lane, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 6AW
This is a 264 acre park with varied terrain situated just behind Tring town, home to a variety of trees, including beeches, pines and chestnuts, as well as birds and butterflies. There are flat and steeper sections to explore with a large open space before reaching the woods giving open space grazed by friendly cows.
The park is not appropriate for wheelchairs or those who are unsteady on their feet.
Click for Meeting point - We meet at the gate, which is the entrance to the park.
Ashridge Woods
Run by The National Trust - Moneybury Hill, Ringshall, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 1LX
The estate features a diverse array of landscapes, including beech and oak woodlands. It is home to an abundance of wildlife, offering carpets of bluebells in spring, rare butterflies in summer, and many herds of deer all year round.
Meeting Point - We meet at the entrance to the café.
Northchurch Common (near Berkhamsted)
Run by The National Trust - New Road, Hertfordshire, HP4 1PS
This peaceful stretch of chalk grassland and ancient woodland offers wide open skies, a fairly flat walk and views across the Ashridge Estate. Skylarks, kestrels and fallow deer are often spotted here, and in spring, wildflowers brighten the landscape.
The large grassy area of the common was ploughed for crop production during the Second World War and is now managed as a grassland site for wildlife.
Meeting place - a small car park opposite the common.
We walk in all weathers, except thunderstorms or very heavy rain or if a weather warning has been iasued by the Met Office. You can choose to opt out of a booked ecotherapy session due to adverse weather, but you will need to replace it with an on-line session, if less than 24 hours before the session. There are free car parks at all 4 sites.
All sites have been risk-assessed. Please ensure you wear suitable clothing and bring any allergy medication and epipens where needed.
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking” - Friedrich Nietzsche, Philosopher
Creative Therapy
Not all therapy looks the same.
We might use metaphor, story, images, diagrams or simple objects to help make sense of what’s happening. I also create bespoke visualisations based on your unique experience. These aren’t meditations or scripts – they’re co-created moments of insight, gathered from your sessions, that let you step outside the old narrative and look at things in a new way.
Clients often find this helps them connect thoughts, feelings and behaviours more deeply and open up real movement where they were stuck before.
All of this is done safely and with care. There’s no pressure to try anything that doesn’t feel right for you and if you want to purely talk, that’s okay too.
