Nature and Well-being

The health benefits of nature-based travel are of increasing interest to researchers, perhaps as a reaction to the artificiality of modern life. Theories drawn from positive psychology can be used as a lens to understand these experiences in greater depth. In this chapter, three travel texts written about nature-based experiences – John Muir’s My First Summer in the Sierra (1911), Gavin Maxwell’s Ring of Bright Water (1960) and Robyn Davidson’s Tracks (1980) – are analysed in terms of the well-being outcomes. Findings suggest that these experiences are powerful and transformative. Both eudaimonic and hedonic forms of well-being appear to be present as a result of the immersion of the writer in natural settings. There is scope to broaden this study to other travel narratives, particularly those involving different genders and cultural backgrounds.