50 THINGS TO DO OUTSIDE THIS SUMMER

I love this time of year. It has so much potential for adventure at home and away – it’s warm (ish!), dry (ish), and just feels like there is more time in the day to spend at least some of it outside. But sometimes it’s hard to come up with ideas when you spend so much time busy with work, chores and the other things. So I thought I’d write another one of my 50 things to do outside posts to hopefully provide you with some inspiration.

This list is designed to provide motivation and inspiration to get you outdoors at home. The fact is that adventure doesn’t have to mean going deep into the wilderness, or having loads of specialist equipment. Some of my best outdoors memories are based not far from my own front door, and UK based fun can be equally as memorable as heading abroad. I mean, you can probably do all of these things a long way from home, but the point is that you don’t have to.

Find time this summer to spend at least an hour outside every day – here are some things you can do without a roof over your head.

50 Things To Do Outside This Summer

01. Build a sandcastle on the beach.

02. Explore some castle ruins and learn about the people who once lived on the site.

Ruins in Coventry.

03. Pick your own strawberries at a local farm.

04. Roast marshmallows over a wood fire (you’ll need to create the fire first!).

05. Have a picnic in the park.

06. Sleep under the stars – in a tent or not, in your own back garden or somewhere else.

07. Get up early and watch the sunrise from the top of a hill.

Sunset over the Pacific at Ocean Shores.

08. Watch the sunset over the sea.

09. Go for a long walk barefoot along a sandy seashore.

10. Go rockpooling – see how many crabs and types of seaweed you can find.

11. Create a mini wildflower meadow in your back garden (or come and create one in mine?!).

12. Try a new watersport such as SUP (nice and relaxing) or fly boarding (NOT relaxing!).

Fly boarding at Tattershall Lakes.

13. Cycle (or walk) around a lake.

14. Swim across a lake.

15. Get out on a river or lake in a rowing boat or canoe.

16. Tick off one of the most adrenaline fuelled entries on your bucket list such as Zip World, Bungee Jumping or even skydiving.

Trig pillar at Kinder Low.

17. Bag all the trig points within an hour’s drive of your house.

18. Climb a mountain. An actual mountain – such as Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike or Snowdon here in the UK.

19. Follow a river or stream to its source.

20. Scramble behind a waterfall.

Yosemite falls.

21. Host a scavenger hunt in your local town and park for your friends and family. You could even use this to raise money for charity.

22. Grow some herbs or salad leaves in your garden or window box and use them in a homemade meal.

23. Make an insect hotel in your garden and keep a diary of the critters you see.

24. Make a bird table or feeder and record all the bird species that come to visit.

25. Climb a tree.

26. Go camping!

Tea and camping. Perfect.

27. Go on a photo walk. If you’ve got Instagram, use stories to show everyone else what you are looking at as you go. And tag me @Splodz so I know you were inspired by my post!

28. Find an outdoors exercise class (I’m told that British Military Fitness sessions are pretty good) instead of going to the gym.

29. Go colour hunting. How many colours can you spot in nature in one hour outside? Can you tick off all the colours of the rainbow? Or that song from Joseph?! (Not sorry for the ear-worm!)

30. Go bird watching at your local nature reserve.

31. Find all the free geocaches in your local area. How many are there?

32. Visit a Cathedral or large church and climb the spire or steeple staircase to take in the view from the top.

South Lincoln from the top of Lincoln Cathedral.

33. Take a photo from the same place every day for a month and watch the season change.

34. Do the Gruffalo Trail at your nearest Forestry Commission site.

35. Take a day trip to a city you’ve never visited before and explore.

36. Invite friends to visit you and take them for a walk in your local town. Show them all the secret bits only you know about!

37. Hold a sunflower growing competition with your family or work colleagues. You’ll need photographic proof that yours is the tallest!

Sunflowers at Vine House Farm.

38. Do a tree top adventure course such as Go Ape.

39. Hold a beach themed party in your garden. Complete with paddling pool (yes, for adults!).

40. Learn to hula-hoop. Or skip. Much better outdoors than in!

41. Play Frisbee. Can you actually catch it?!

42. Play crazy golf.

43. Take a board game to the local park and sit and play all afternoon.

44. Go for an early morning walk and stop for a breakfast picnic.

45. Take a nap in a hammock.

46. Go for a 5pm to 9am micro adventure – go straight from work off into the countryside (by any means), sleep under the stars, and head to work from there in the morning.

47. Try a target based based experience such as archery, axe throwing or clay pigeon shooting.

Axe throwing with Southern Pursuits.

48. Have an ice cream party. You provide the ice cream, guests bring their own favourite toppings to share. If you invite me I’ll bring marshmallows and maple syrup!

49. Buy a new book and head to a bench with a great view to read it.

50. Find a wifi spot outside and work through your email inbox or write that article you’ve been meaning to write for ages.

Hopefully these ideas will keep you busy for the next month or so – but as we can always do with more inspiration, please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments below!

What are your favourite things to do outside at this time of year? 

And if you want an extra challenge, I am re-launching One Hour Outside (#OneHourOutside) for June this year. Come back towards the end of the month to find out more. It would be brilliant to have you join my little outdoors revolution this summer.

(If you’re reading this later, in winter, check out my 50 Things to Do Outside in November post – it might be more suitable!)