Adventure doesn't have to be big
A guest post by my mum!
This week, while I’m up in Scotland, I want to encourage you to simply seek adventure. 2024 is a leap year, so this month we’ve been gifted a WHOLE EXTRA DAY! Why not use it to try something new?
Back in 2019 I asked my mum to write something on the subject of adventure for a magazine I was running at the time, called the Procrastination Paper. I asked her if I could republish her article here to encourage all of you to seek your own adventures, and to reassure you that an adventure doesn’t have to mean travelling hundreds of miles or hiking up a huge mountain. Your adventure could be simply involve seeing what new things you can notice in the immediate vicinity of your home.
Have fun!
Adventure doesn’t have to be big
A guest post by Sarah Webb
‘ADVENTURE’ - a BIG word suggesting BIG things, daunting things, maybe utterly unachievable things; but, take it from me, adventures can be had on any scale you choose, from those not even requiring you to get out of your seat to those which you know you’ll remember for the rest of your life. You just need to look... and listen...
I lived in London for nearly 30 years and look back with relieved gratitude on my relationship with the great outdoors and the adventures it provided. Even in the heart of the concrete jungle there are vital patches of green to be discovered, offering countless wildlife treasures – if you look... and listen... I shared my city adventuring for 15 years with a border collie and a bicycle and hold them largely responsible for many close encounters with kingfishers, shooting stars, bats and foxes, not to mention sightings of fascinating mosses, flowers and life-giving trees. I honestly believe my sanity was kept afloat by this preoccupation with nature (though some might dispute this!).
These days I’m lucky enough to live in Scotland, where my doorstep provides more than I could ever have dreamed of... I only have to open my eyes and look out of my bedroom window for the adventure to begin – red kites soar above the house, bulls roar like stags in the neighbouring field, red squirrels and great-spotted woodpeckers visit the bird-feeder a stone’s throw away and, at night, the Milky Way sparkles across the coal-black skies. Thousands of acres of ground are available for me to explore (temptingly there’s no law of trespass in Scotland) – and yet the short walk I do most often still brings the most satisfaction and the biggest thrill.
I leave my door and walk up the lane, then go through three steep fields up to what I now dare to call ‘my’ trig point (not heard of trig points? Allow me to redirect you…). Sometimes I see nothing particularly remarkable but I always register - on some level - that it’s beautiful out there, despite (and sometimes because of) the weather. On other days I’ll see and hear spectacular birds soaring above me, a hare hurtling off or even a deer. I’ll feel the strength of the wind or the rain on my face, I’ll struggle to reach my goal and I’ll revel in the achievement when I reach the top. Weird though this may sound, the trig point is a sort of talisman and I always place my hand on top and say ‘thank you’. I then take time to admire whatever view the day provides, before heading downhill towards home.
I must have done this quick 30-minute round trip hundreds of times. It’s always different... always an adventure.
PS - Don’t tell anyone, but on one occasion I scrambled shin-scrapingly up on top of the trig point. Quaking like a jelly I stood there very briefly, completely alone and with arms outstretched, to experience the full thrill of ‘my’ small summit...
Sarah’s Tips for Adventurers
Find a detailed paper map of the area you live in – you’ll become fascinated...
Borrow a dog (and probably its owner!) - they’ll take you places you never knew existed...
Set yourself small outdoor challenges: further... faster... different... slower even (you may see more!)
Get some really comfortable shoes/boots and adopt a mantra, such as “It’s only weather”!
Take a camera to record your adventures for yourself. If you have an old-fashioned one, great! If you’re using your mobile phone, consider putting it on flight mode or Do Not Disturb so you don’t get distracted.
Remember - going for a walk is the ultimate procrastination technique as it’s never not good for you!
About Sarah
Happily for me I’m Zabby’s mum: rather less excitingly I’ve also been a copywriter, a chef, a cleaner, a health visitor, a hypnotherapist and many things in between. Small adventures are in my blood, with a mountaineering grandfather, a sailing mother and a racing driver father all to blame. Now I have two holiday cottages in South West Scotland and l love nothing better than finding adventure in the natural beauty which surrounds us here.
Recommendations from Zabby
I’m trying something new where I share some links to things I have enjoyed, read, found or learnt recently… Let me know if you want more!
It’s easy to feel helpless when it comes to the atrocities happening in Gaza, but there is power in using our voices and it has been heartening to see and experience so many people showing up for the people of Palestine. Keep marching, amplifying, writing to your MP, boycotting, donating… in whatever capacity you can.
I believe that craft can be a powerful tool for activism too, and I discovered a project recently that I thought was a clever and accessible way for people of all ages to get involved. It is called Birds of Gaza.
“Birds of Gaza is a community art project for children to craft unique birds to remember every child killed in Israel's war on Gaza. Through the power of collective art we're highlighting the atrocities that have led to over 6,500 children (and counting) being mercilessly killed.”
The Happy Newspaper Adventure issue
Adventure is on my mind more than usual as I’ve been editing issue 33 of The Happy Newspaper over the past few weeks and ‘Adventure’ is the theme! If you feel like you need some Happy News in your life right now, you can subscribe until Saturday 24th Feb (I don’t receive any money for telling you this, I’m just the editor and know how needed a bit of light in the dark can be).
Trees For Cities
Trees for Cities emailed me recently to tell me about their volunteer days. Tree planting days generally take place between October and March and there are a couple of dates left in London, at Mile End Park and Ashburton Playing Fields in Croydon - get involved if you’re local and look out for more events later in the year…
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As always a great piece.