'A world of sound opens up': how 10 minutes in nature reaps rewards

Sir David Attenborough's advice to spend quiet time in woodland is revelatory, once you get past the drone of the A40

Sir David Attenborough's latest advice for restoring our damaged relationship with nature is reassuringly straightforward. One of the simplest things that you should do if you get the chance, when you get the chance, is just naturally to stop," he told the Call of the Wild podcast.

I am wandering through Horsenden Wood in far West London, looking for a good place to stop. Although it's a tightly circumscribed parcel of nature - 10 acres in total, and all that remains of the ancient forest that once dominated these parts - I am, in truth, a little bit lost. Walking in aimless circles will do that to you. I could not, at this moment, even point in the general direction of my car.