Finding Wildness: Temperate Rainforests and the Wonders of Everyday Nature

The UK has so many hidden natural gems, but perhaps none are as rare and enchanting as its temperate rainforests. These ancient woodlands, often covered in emerald moss and home to rare ferns, lichens, and bird species, are remnants of a time when much of our landscape looked this way. They are often found tucked away in the damp corners of Devon, the Lake District, Wales, and the west coast of Scotland. This wild, humid environment feels worlds away, like stepping into an untouched, mystical forest—a place where nature rules quietly yet profoundly.

There’s a remarkable book titled The Lost Rainforests of Britain that captures the history and heart of these magical forests. It paints a vivid picture of their importance, their rare beauty, and the efforts being made to protect them. The book invites you to lose yourself in the possibility that rainforests aren’t something far-flung but rather in places you may have traveled through many times without ever knowing the hidden wonders nearby. This notion—that wildness exists just around the corner—makes me look for it in the quietest, most ordinary places.

Wildness doesn’t have to be found only in dense forests or sweeping landscapes; it’s everywhere if you slow down enough to see it. For me, autumn is a season that brings out that wild beauty in even the simplest things: the weeds finding their way through cracks in pavements, dappled sunlight filtering through tree branches, the whisper of leaves shifting in the wind. When I pause to notice, these things serve as gentle reminders that life is happening in all its wild splendour around us.

In a busy world, finding these spaces of rest—even in the everyday wild—is essential. I hope to help others carve out a bit of stillness, to slow down, to wander mindfully. Because whether in a rainforest or a simple walk through your neighbourhood, moments of wildness help us to feel connected, inspired, and recharged.