I just can't help it. Around this time every year I feel a surge of excitement at the prospect of winter walking among the Irish hills. Regular as computer pop-ups, visions assail my consciousness of trekking beneath wide western skies on leaf-kicking November days, or Yuletide rambles when the frosted peaks are resculpted into dazzling white tapestries and the icy air is crisp and invigorating.
The reality is, of course, quite different. Mostly, I head for the hills under windswept, sullen skies trying not to think about the absurdity of struggling up a mountainside in the certain knowledge that the summit will be enveloped in an impenetrable blanket of murky mist. Lunch usually involves getting chilled behind some draughty rocks, and the day often ends with an alfresco change out of sodden waterproofs in driving rain.
But there is one surprising of all this. I have somehow managed to survive two decades of saturations and near hypothermia on wintry hillsides without contracting emphysema, acute pneumonia or, to my knowledge, even a common cold. Indeed, while wearing my mountain leadership hat, I have accompanied literally thousands of walkers over the Irish, Scottish and European mountains, often in atrocious weather. And in all this time not one person has ever complained of contracting as much as a sniffle from these outings. Instead, many spoke of the psychological benefits, of a profound "feel-good factor", with the added bonus, for some, that chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis improved markedly.
Now we all know that exercise is a key to good health and that doctors exhort couch potatoes to replace Match of the Day with a brisk country walk. But behind such breezy advice on pulse-raising self-improvement lies an interesting question. Aside from the well-documented benefits of any form of exercise, does exerting ourselves in an outdoor, "green gym" environment offer extra well-being? Is it possible to capture the elusive butterfly of health and happiness by exercising regularly among the hills, whatever the weather? Can we, as our forefathers did, find peace in simpler, non-materialistic experiences - marvelling as at the intricate fall of a mountain stream or delighting in the ever-changing colours of a windswept western hill?
Wilderness therapy is a growing body of knowledge grounded in the idea that the answer to the above is a firm yes. It holds that we have an innate craving for contact with nature - the result of from millions of years of evolution in a natural environment. Industrialisation and urbanisation have ignored those instincts and detached us from nature, leading to a host of psychological, emotional and physical problems. And so, just as our bodies are unable to adapt to the surplus of calories caused by the invention of the motor car, our minds are unable to acclimatise to the peculiar stresses of high-density urban living.
In the great outdoors, we can - for a while, at least - leave behind a world filled with log-jams and psychological pressures, entering instead a natural space where the tasks facing us are simple, logical, necessary and above all physical. Wilderness therapy proposes that not only are there measurable biological benefits to be gained, but the psychological dividends as well.
All this may sound at first glance somewhat "alternative" and "Californian," but the theory has recently gained scientific credibility. Research carried out by the University of Essex on the physical and mental benefits of "green exercise" found a strong positive relationship between well-being and wilderness experiences. The researchers concluded that "nature can make positive contributions to our health, help us recover from pre-existing stresses or problems, and have an 'immunising' effect by protecting us from future illness". The Essex Project now represents hard evidence supporting the widely held belief that recourse to wild places actually does lead to long-term health benefits.
Some people will doubtless continue to argue that such notions flirt a little too closely with New Age idealism - a hill for every ill, as it were. Few, however, will deny that it is good for us occasionally to step away from the stressful modern world and we reconnect physically with our natural inheritance.
This weekend presents with an ideal opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with nature. The inaugural Upperchurch Walking Festival takes place today and tomorrow in the heart of Tipperary's Slievefelim country and comes with an interesting programme of winter walks designed to get even the most committed couch potatoes off their posteriors. The event is aimed at people who want to take some exercise while learning from knowledgeable guides about the flora, fauna, culture and multi-layered history of the Tipperary uplands. And the good news is that all the walks are provided free of charge.
For further information, telephone 0504-54284 or 086-0518934, or visit www.upperchurch.ie.