Two weeks into November already – the time is FLYING by! I’ve been very fortunate to have a week off work this week, which has given me the freedom to take my One Hour Outside challenge a little further afield. But we’ve also had some horrible weather here – it’s turned very cold and has been quite wet – which doesn’t help with the motivation or desire to leave the house.
Walking in a local coppice.
Here are a few of my highlights from the last week…
I didn’t have the car every day this week so a couple of days I had no choice but to stay local. We were blessed with some beautiful autumnal skis on Monday, and so I made the most of it on the trails close to home. It’s nice to have the time to explore near home, we are all very good at heading out for a day, but how well do we know our local area?
Keep out? Nah!
Donna Nook, where one of the UK’s biggest grey seal colonies choose to breed, is over on the east coast of Lincolnshire, and I like to visit there at least once a year if I can. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to spend an hour observing wild animals going about their daily lives, and something I would definitely recommend. There are some more photos here.
Seal pup at Donna Nook.
Even when it rained the whole day (and I mean – every minute of the day – horrid!) I decided to get myself out for a walk for an hour. I wrapped up warm and headed to a trig point along the Viking Way in Lincolnshire. It might only be at 86 metres above sea level but it still counts!
Local trig point in the rain.
Walking in Lincolnshire in the rain.
I had winter tyres fitted to my car one day this week, and rather than sit in the comfortable waiting room with a nice coffee and watching the television, I took myself off for my One Hour Outside walk while the technicians did their thing. It’s amazing what you can find even in the middle of a built up area; this lake is in the middle of a large area for housing and industry, and offers something of an oasis for people and birds.
Millenium Lakes, Lincoln.
It is no secret that I love to be by the sea – sometimes I can do no better than spend my One Hour Outside sat on a bench watching the boats eating fish and chips with a friend. Just perfect.
Whitby Harbour, North Yorkshire.
We really did hit the weather jackpot when we headed to the North Yorkshire coast; we spent the afternoon at Runswick Bay, a quiet and idyllic little village by the sea that is also one of the best places in the UK to go fossil hunting. I think this deserves a blog post all of its own another day, but here’s just one of the photos I took as a taster.
Runswick Bay, North Yorkshire.
How is your own One Hour Outside challenge going? I’m still enjoying your shares over on twitter and instagram using the hashtag #OneHourOutside keep them coming!. Has anyone been using the printable record sheet with your family? I’d love to see a snap of it so far if you are!
And if you’re not already following me over on instagram, I’d love to make friends over there – I’m certain there will be plenty more outdoors photos posted there this month.
If you need some inspiration, check out my 50 Things To Do Outside in November post. Want to know why you should take part in the challenge? Here are some Benefits of Getting Outside. Basically, stop just thinking about it, or making excuses, and just join in with the challenge starting now. Your time outside is time well spent. Go enjoy!
Katy
I’m still keeping up with it, but I’ve neglected the tweeting about it somewhat.. must start doing that again!
Splodz
Glad you’re challenge is going well 🙂 🙂
Ashley Beolens
Sounds like you’ve had a great time of it. I’ve just about kept up with it although I must admit one day of it was only because I had to wait 40 mins for a bus or I would have failed that day. And sadly too much of it has just been walking to and from work.
Splodz
I certainly did. This week is proving much more difficult, though. It is certainly not an easy challenge.