One weekend in the Autumn of last year I had hoped to get to the beach but a morning spent studying meant that I wasn’t ready to leave until later than practical. Wanting to ensure I got out  I decided to go nearer to home instead…to a wooded stream.

Which is nice after all.

A chance to get out into nature, sit by a bubbling stream, listen to the breeze in the trees. Quietly reflect.

And it was autumn so the leaves were golden and red.

That’s good right.

But that missed opportunity to go to the beach played on my mind.

My plan for a walk along a windswept beach (and one that was new to me), had been a full day just being on the beach, I perceived that time and space would be hugely restorative. So this meant that on the trip to the wood, this shorter time out I saw as less than…less interesting, less restorative, less.. well just less!

And it got me thinking whether our expectations of restorativeness play a part in how restorative a landscape will be.

Restorativeness of a landscape is not fixed, it is not an either/or, it is relational and an inter-play between the person and the landscape and all that we bring to it.

We have moved away from the idea that landscapes are intrinsically therapeutic or restorative and understand that there is a relational aspect. Different people may view a landscape positively, ambiguously or as anxiety inducing.

(there are a couple of interesting articles linked at the bottom of the page although you may only be able to read the abstract unless you are subscribed to the journal).

But what about differences within a person.

Will the same person always view a landscape as restorative and what factors influence this.

If we think a landscape that we intend to visit will create a restorative effect will that make a difference.

What if we are feeling particularly stressed, and do not feel much will have an impact, will that make an impact?

This is something I want to explore further and so I am developing some journal questions to ask myself before, during and after visits to blue space to explore whether different factors influence my experience.

Have you noticed any influencing factors? Or have you found research that discusses factors within individuals that affect restorativeness?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829205000146

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617307001?via%3Dihub