2019-06-01 Country Homes & Interiors

Spendingtimein

naturehelpsusto

clear our minds

My favourite view...

Glengarra wood, ireland

AtthefootoftheGalteeMountains

inTipperaryis GlengarraWood.It’s

thisbeautiful,slightlyunkemptwild

forestwhereI’vebeengoingever

sinceI metmyhusband,Roy,who

grewupnotfarfromthere.It’slush,

fullandalive,withbabblingstreams

anda riverrunningthroughit.When

you’rewalkingaroundit feelsso

removedfromeverythingelseinlife.

I spenda lotoftimeonmy

phone,especiallyonInstagram,

butalthoughI willtakepictures

whileI’mthere,there’snowi-fior

phonesignal– I’mdisconnected.

Soit givesmea kindofheadspace.

It’sa wonderfulplacetoswitchoff

andtrytobea bitmoremindful.

I’mmildlyobsessedwithtrees,

especiallyinsummerwiththeway

thelightcomesthroughtheleaves,

casting shadows. I have a book

calledShinrin-Yoku:TheArtand

ScienceofForestBathingandit’s

allabouthowspendingtimein

forestsreducesstressandimproves

wellbeing.It alsotalksaboutthe

therapeuticpowersofnatureand

howweshouldbeconnectingto

theenvironmentthatway.SoI quite

liketheideaofgoingfora ramble

intheforestandfeelinglikeI’ve

donesomethinggoodformyself.

RoyandI gotmarriedunderneath

agianttreeandaswesatthere,after

exchangingourvows,thesunshone

throughthebigcanopyofleaves

andtherewasthisdappledlight

overeverything– it wasjustperfect.

Sonow,wheneverI lookupand

seethesundriftingthroughtrees,

it conjuresupfeelingsofthatday.

Igrewupinthecountrysidein

County Meath with three outdoorsy

sisters.We’dbeoutmucking

around,buildinghutsandlittle

ditchesinthefieldsuntillateat

night.It wassonormalforusthen,

butwhenyouliveina city,aswe

nowdo,naturelooksveryidyllic.

I havea oneyearold,Ruby,

andI wanthertogrowupwith

thesameloveoftheoutdoorsthat

I have.WewenttoEppingForestin

Essexrecentlyandsawhersenseof

wonderatbeingabletophysically

connectwiththetreesandplants.

It makesmerealisewhatI tookfor

grantedwhenI wasyoung.We’ve

gottomakeanextraefforttospend

timeinnature,ratherthanjustcity

parksandgardens,sothatshegets

toexperiencetheworldina similar

waythatRoyandI didgrowingup.

AngelaScanlonis hostingYour Home

Made Perfect on BBC2. FEATURE

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PHOTOGRAPHS

ALAMY STOCK IMAGE (MAIN IMAGE)

my FAvOURiTE viEw