You know me. I love to get outside. And I love a challenge. Combine those two things with being a little bit silly, and you have me down to a tee. So here I am, announcing my GetOutside Activity Challenge. I figured if I just got on and wrote about it, it would mean I was some way to making it happen!
Ordnance Survey have designated Sunday 30 September as National GetOutside Day 2018, and each GetOutside Champion is being encouraged to use it as an opportunity to demonstrate the ways we like to spend time outdoors, in order to encourage and motivate others to follow suit.
There are walks and other activities being organised up and down the country, all of which look a whole heap of fun. There will be family days out, trig bagging hikes, runs, cycle rides, scrambles, climbs, bush craft skills workshops, and all kinds of things. And you can join in by spending your Sunday outdoors doing whatever activity you fancy – everyone is welcome, wherever you happen to be.
Now my problem is that the reason I am involved in the GetOutside campaign is because I love to be outside doing all the activities. Not just one thing. My personal view is that we should each try to spend one hour outside every day, doing whatever kind of activity takes our fancy at the time – walking, cycling, running, swimming, visiting a castle, reading a book, drinking a coffee – anything really. I therefore thought I’d use GetOutside Day 2018 as an excuse to set myself a bit of silly challenge that has been brewing for a while. I’m going to see just how many different outdoors activities I can do in one weekend.
My GetOutside Activity Challenge is, basically, a challenge to take part in as many GetOutside activities as I can between work finishing on Friday and heading back to the office on Monday morning. My aim? To demonstrate that the outdoors can be all kinds of things to all kinds of people, and there are so many things to choose from.
In my head this sounds like a touch of brilliance. It couldn’t be more me. I get completely giddy with excitement thinking about all the things I could do. Just think – wild swimming, mountain biking, having a picnic with friends, trig bagging, watching the sunset, walking a llama, horseback riding… (okay, definitely not horseback riding, and I don’t have a llama). I mean, I say “challenge” but surely it is just two full days of outdoorsy fun with a night camping in between? No bother!
But when you start to think about the amount of planning and logistics that need to go into such a weekend, to squeeze in as many different GetOutside activities as possible, it is certainly going to be challenging. To keep things in the spirit of the everyday outdoors, taking my One Hour Outside campaign to heart, I want to keep costs down, travel to a minimum, but the frequency as high as possible. Activities also need to be accessible to the masses – it is important that I take part in activities that can actually be booked and organised by anyone on a Sunday afternoon or Tuesday morning. I want to show that we don’t have to spend loads, have loads or go far to get outside.
At the moment my GetOutside Activity Challenge is no more than an ridiculous sounding idea in my head that has gradually been spilling out into notes and plans and pitches; I’ve got no idea if it’ll actually work out. I know it’s not a challenge like running a marathon or climbing a mountain or similar, but something to hopefully bring home that there are so many ways to enjoy the outdoors. A bit of fun. A weekend of silliness. Some great memories and stories to tell.
There is so much inspiration out there, so I’m making the most of the National Trust’s 50 things list (I know I’m not a grown-up!), Ordnance Survey’s new ebook, my own 50 things list, and a whole host of ideas from my family and friends. I’ve got some semblance of a plan and a huge list of potential activities to try and organise, I just need to get on with it now.
So, here we go. I am using National GetOutside Day 2018 as an opportunity to demonstrate that you can spend time outdoors doing any and all activities. Yes you can hike, climb mountains, cycle around the world. But you can also go for a walk the in park, spend time on the beach, meet friends for a picnic, go camping. How about messing about on or in the water, singing around a campfire, or maybe even learning a new skill or ticking off a bucket list activity? This is my challenge. I hope you’ll follow the story to see how I get on!
Find out more about National GetOutside Day – including how you can get involved – here.
Got an idea of something you think I simply must include in my activity challenge weekend? Know someone who might help fill a whole morning or afternoon in one go? Let me know!
