Nature - Scotland, Capel Mounth
Getting out in nature is about as close to an overall tonic as I can imagine. It combines exercise, sunlight, grounding, microbiome top-up, and simply being lost in the moment. I like to combine those with a connection to what came before by understanding something about the place I’m in.
I find that, together, those things can induce a real sense of calm. I’ve included below a series of photographs from a recent 14-mile hike I did with my son in Scotland.
Exercise
It doesn’t matter where I am, a beach, a coastal walk, in a wood, climbing a hill, or wandering around a city park, I’m exercising. I may be simply walking, I used to trail run and now I like to mountain bike. In this context, the exercise is simply a means towards an end, rather than an end in itself. I don’t register that I’m exercising.
Physical activity is something we are adapted for, it is good for us [1], and what we now call exercise is the modern-day version. Regular exercise improves our overall metabolic health [2, helps us think more clearly by improving blood flow to the brain, and increasing brain size [3], and ultimately improves our chance of living longer [4].
Sunlight
These days, exposure to sunlight often immediately induces a negative reaction because of the long-term fear of skin cancer. I’ve found that I don’t get sunburned the way I used to because I’ve mostly eliminated seed oils and their harmful effects on my skin. Natural sunlight helps us to properly regulate our sleep, improves blood flow, and produces vitamin D3 [5].
Grounding
Also referred to as earthing, this practice requires direct contact between us and the ground. I’ve done this by walking barefoot, running along a beach, and even sitting down for a break or a bite to eat. Incidentally, barefoot gardening and just mucking around with our hands in the soil has the same effect.
The point is that connecting the body to mother earth’s electrical charge has a beneficial effect. These benefits may include metabolic stability, reduction in inflammation, pain, and stress, improved blood flow, energy, and sleep, and overall greater well-being [6].
Microbiome top-up
Whether we care to admit it or not, as we move around, we are taking in microbes from our environment. We can breathe them in and transfer them from hand to mouth and eye. Those microbes can stick to our skin, mouth, nose, eyes, lungs, and be transferred with saliva to our gut. Their interaction with our immune system will then determine their ultimate fate. The more diverse the environment (e.g., natural versus urban) the more likely we are to be exposed to a diverse array of microbes and the more likely our interaction will be mutually beneficial [7].
“...there’s more to nature than what we can easily see, hear, and smell”
Sights, sounds and other things
I defy anyone (well, maybe not those of us suffering from a socio-pathology) to tell me that they have never been captivated by a sunrise, a sunset, sun streaming through a forest canopy, a mountain vista, a gurgling river, crashing ocean waves, the scents from flowers in the sunlight, a lightning storm, the sight of the first swallows, or bird song in the spring. It’s impossible not to be drawn to and even filled with wonder by them. Those natural things represent where we have come from and what we are part of.
But there’s more to nature than what we can easily see, hear, and smell, because all living things are sentient. Put another way, all living things are capable of sensing what’s happening to them and communicating with each other. We know that trees, other plants, and microbes can sense their environment and communicate with each other either directly or indirectly through their neighbours [7,8,9]. They communicate by secreting chemicals and emitting electrical signals. We may not be consciously aware of those messengers, but if we’re in their vicinity, we’re exposed to them and I’d warrant they are affecting us.
Connecting with those who came before
For the best part of 30 years my wife and I lived in America. I’ve dived, walked, run, biked and camped in and around MA fishing communities, FL sink holes, NV gold mining towns, PA coal mining towns and the fabulous NJ Pine Barrens. The nature and connections to the past in those areas are outstanding.
We retired to Scotland in 2020. This means firstly my nature fix is now a daily event because we live by the sea. Nevertheless, I make time to explore the hillier and more remote regions and in particular remnants of the ancient pinelands [10], remnants of the region’s temperate rain forests [11], the drove roads [12], and the mounth passes [13].
“One of the best ways to re-balance and re-energise is to spend time in nature”
Summary
Much of what we do is (for most of us) subconscious. I’m referring to things like breathing, heart rate, digestion, etc. Our subconscious state is determined by our autonomic nervous system (ANS), and when it is in balance, we feel energized and good about life. It can become unbalanced when our flight-or-fight responses outweigh our rest-and-digest responses to the world around us. This often happens as we raise families, manage careers, pay bills, and choose to live through social media. All of those things can make us anxious, chronically stressed, even paranoid.
One of the best ways to re-balance and re-energise is to spend time in nature. I recently did that by hiking for 14 miles along part of the Angus Glens into the Cairngorms and along an old road called the Capel Mounth.
Enjoy the photographs.
Figure 1: Adjusting a backpack on the bank of the River South Esk. Cairn Broadlands on RHS
Figure 2: Climbing from Bachnagairn towards Loch Muick. Cairn Broadlands in distance
Figure 3: North end of Loch Muick from the ridge below Sandy Hillock
Figure 4: South end of Loch Muick with Allt an Bubh-loch running between Creag an Dubh-loch and White Mounth Eagles Rock
Figure 5: Looking back up the trail from Creag Bhiorach. We lunched by the Black Burn (out of sight) in the middle of the picture
Figure 6: From Capel Road looking across boggy terrain towards mountains above Loch Muick
Figure 7: Capel Road below The Winnochs looking at heather on ridges above Moulzie Burn before quad-burning descent down Capel Mounth
References
Lieberman, D. (2014) The Story of the Human Body. London, Penguin Books
The ultimate guide to exercise and human health https://www.levelshealth.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-exercise-and-metabolic-health
Fabienne A. U. Fox, Kersten Diers, Hweeling Lee, Andreas Mayr, Martin Reuter, Monique M. B. Breteler, N. Ahmad Aziz. Association Between Accelerometer-Derived Physical Activity Measurements and Brain Structure: A Population-Based Cohort Study. Neurology, 2022; 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200884 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200884
Kim, Y., White, T., Wijndaele, K. et al. The combination of cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength, and mortality risk. Eur J Epidemiol 33, 953–964 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-018-0384-x
Hussey, S. (2020) Understanding the heart: Surprising insights into the evolutionary origins of heart disease – and why it matters. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing
Menigoz W, Latz TT, Ely RA, Kamei C, Melvin G, Sinatra D. Integrative and lifestyle medicine strategies should include Earthing (grounding): Review of research evidence and clinical observations. Explore (NY). 2020 May-Jun;16(3):152-160. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2019.10.005. Epub 2019 Nov 14. PMID: 31831261.
Montgomery, D. and Bikle, A. (2016) The hidden half of nature: the microbial roots of life and health. New York: W.W. Norton and Co.
Wohlleben, P. (2016) The Hidden Life of Trees: What they feel, how they communicate: Discoveries from a secret world. Vancouver: Greystone Books
Phillips, M. (2017) Mycorrhizal planet: How symbiotic fungi work with roots to support plant health and build soil fertility. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing
Bain, C. (2013) The Ancient Pinewoods of Scotland: A traveller’s guide. Dingwall: Sandstone Press
Bain, C. (2015) The Rainforests of Britain and Ireland: A traveller’s guide. Dingwall: Sandstone Press
Haldane, A.R.B. (1952) The Drove Roads of Scotland. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons
Marr, G. (2017) The Mounth Passes: My journey on old roads in Speyside, Deeside and Atholl. Ballater: Deeside Books