Get Up Go Outside

Looking For Local Adventure

For 28 years I have lived in the same town. Surrounded by industrial estates, and busy roads. It would take me 4 or 5 miles to escape the busyness of life and find my way into the countryside. Now having moved to a small rural village, it takes me less than 5 minutes on foot.

My Morning on a Hill

I’ve accepted I’ve not been writing enough. New Job, new home. Too many distractions. Willing myself to write more I bought a new notepad, and as the sun rose on a cold morning in March, I headed to the top of a nearby hill.

A Cup of Tea in the Garden

It’s been a while since I sat down and wrote anything. A consequence of not spending enough time outside, I feel, having let work and other big life changes draw me into the comforts of instant gratification. Usually, in the form of sitting on the sofa, Netflix keeping me company.

Isolation

I’ve heard a couple of people tell me now, that if you can avoid any symptoms then isolating because of Covid-19 can be a good opportunity to relax and take a break.

But what about if your idea of relaxing is far from putting your feet up and bingeing through another Netflix series. What about if your relaxation is a coffee outside watching the sunrise, feeling the flood of endorphins after a run, or an evening walk through the woods.

My First Ultramarathon

I remember being a fresh-faced 16-year-old on my first day of a sports course in college. In typical first day fashion, we had to complete some ice breakers. I was asked what sporting achievement I wished to complete when I was older. When I answered running a marathon, everyone in the class laughed. They probably had good reason too. I was the only kid in the class who was overweight.

Write.

Its been over 3 months since I wrote anything here. Yet I feel like I’ve written plenty. I’ve written emails and reports at work. I’ve written pages and pages of case studies for grants. I’ve written policies and procedures. Yet, I’ve not written for fun very much.

Walk: Stanton – Snowshill, The Cotswold Way

It’s a sunny bank holiday and we’re not being told to stay inside. Everyone I know who isn’t at work is probably at home nursing a hangover from the weekend. As I’m lying in bed at 8 am, I have no plans. Nowhere I need to go, nothing I need to do. Brief thoughts of a trip to the Peak District are quashed by the prospect of spending 4 hours sitting in the car on a motorway in one day. Most of my local walks are now well-trodden after months of ‘staying local’.

I looked further. The Cotswolds caught my intrigue. I had been only once before when cycling to Bath, and even then I had not seen much of it thanks to a friend leaving his bike in the middle of a petrol station, to be run over by a car (the bike, not him).

Wild Retreat: Hitting Reset.

Since the UK government announced its road map to leaving lockdown everything has been so busy. Overtime at work, late nights, and less time to be outside. Add the weather warming up, more people spending time outside and my local quiet, secluded spots in nature have become busy and crowded.

The Rise of Wild Camping

Sipping cocktails on golden beaches abroad seems like a distant dream as summer approaches. Travel restrictions are leaving everyone uncertain about whether they are going to be able to jet off on holiday this year. This is encouraging people to holiday closer to home, which is great for several reasons, mainly supporting local tourism and giving people an appreciation of exactly what is on our doorstep. But with limited campsite space, we are already seeing a rise in people out wild camping in national parks and green spaces. However, the rise of fly camping (camping and fly-tipping everything after) and wildfires have come with it.

Camping in a Cave

Lockdown is easing and overnight stays are permitted again in the UK. After months of staying local, I have been given the freedom to stretch the legs further afield in my search for adventure. I wanted to do something different, something I hadn’t done before. After a little bit of browsing online I settled on the idea, camping in a cave sounded like it could be fun.