I can’t get enough mini-adventures. I absolutely love having the opportunity to try something new, achieve something, do something a bit different. Don’t get me wrong; I adore big adventures too – but generally speaking my adventures tend to be quite small in nature, at least in duration. They are one-off experiences that give me a chance to try something new, achieve something, or get a bit of an adrenaline fix on a Saturday. They are my way of keeping my adventurous spirit happy (I’ve always said I’m a surfer chick on the inside…), while keeping up with my mortgage repayments!
I guess I refer to my adventures as “mini” or “small” because of how I see them in comparison with some of the adventures I read about and that my friends are going on. They’re not actually small, I know that, they are big, and each and every one leaves something behind that helps shape me as a person. I may not have cycled around the world, run an ultra marathon, taken a year off to travel the world or sold everything and gone to work in another part of the world; but in my own way I still feel adventurous. In fact I’ve had so many little adventures that I often forget about some of them – which is the very reason I am permanently attached to my camera.
Why am I telling you this? Well, Blacks and Explore.co.uk have asked to see some of my adventure-related snaps for a competition they are running. They want to give away £2,000 of adventure travel and as I quite fancy that (pretty please), here is my entry. They’ve provided four topics, and so I’ll try to take each one in turn…
Wild
I’ve not had many adventures with wildlife but I have had the privilege to take in views in very wild places. This is Glencoe in Scotland, one of my favourite places in the UK – in the world. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting many times, most recently during the Graham Homes Memorial Motorcycle Ride last year when we travelled to the four compass points of mainland Great Britain and naturally had to ride across Glencoe. This shot, though, was taken during our trip up into Scotland in 2012.
If you’re in Glencoe and fancy a bite to eat head to the Glencoe Mountain Resort where there is a fabulous cafe with some amazing home made cakes… every adventure needs a reward!
Fast
Theme parks are perfect places for one-day mini-adventures, don’t you think? Okay so they’re not quite the same as training for a marathon or hill climb or going on a week-long motorcycle tour, but they offer an opportunity for quite bursts of speed and spinning and laughing and fun. Adventure doesn’t have to involve much exertion! This is The Incredible Hulk coaster at Universal Islands of Adventure in Orlando – a standing start providing a brief but real adrenaline rush.
Panoramic
Some people tell me there are mountain view people and there are sea view people – I know I’m a bit of both. Climbing hills was our Sunday afternoon tradition as a family when I was small, and I always enjoy reaching the top and being able to see for miles around. But then there is also the pull of the sea, the sound of the waves – good for the soul. I took this shot last summer when I took myself on a little road trip to see the sea because I hadn’t seen it for a while and I had a day off work. If you’ve never visited the north Norfolk coast you are missing out. There are loads of walks to do. This is Wells-next-the-Sea, an absolutely gorgeous little seaside town.
Epic
Epic is a difficult one. What is epic? Is it the biggest adventure you’ve ever had? The most challenging? The most unusual? It’s not a word I use very often. But having been there twice, I would describe Ruka in Finland as “epic”. It is so cold my nose froze on the inside and I had ice form around my eyes. But so beautiful as a direct result of the cold. This is the Ruka Peak: cold, icy, white, blue, baron.
I have to say that writing this post has made me remember (and realise) once again how lucky I am and what awesome things I’ve been able to do. It has also reminded me I need to take more photos! I love adventure, and want more – I can’t wait to share with you my next mini-adventure here on Splodz Blogz.
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