Nature writing can feed the myth of the outside as a cure – but my own work has helped me reframe my illness

The 'test' or skeleton of a heart sea urchin, found on a beach at Rye harbour, East Sussex. Louise Kenward, CC BY-NC-ND

Wild swimming and forest bathing have gained in popularity, all in a bid to improve our health. With “green prescriptions” now being issued by doctors instructing patients to spend time outdoors, ideas of “nature cure” – spending time in the natural world for healing purposes – may seem like a recent development.

But ideas of a change of air and sea cures were popularised in the 19th century. Escalating rates of tuberculosis were exacerbated by poor sanitation and overcrowding. Patients were sent to the coast for convalescence in open-air wards – offering an antidote to these contributory factors, but not a cure for the disease itself.