Guilty of thinking that outdoor adventures are only for the long days of summer? Maybe you find thinking of things to do on short dark days difficult? OR… think that you have to be super hardcore to do any kind of adventure at this time of year?! Well this is a post for you. I’m sharing a few ideas to hopefully fuel your adventurous spirit, and to encourage you to have an outdoor adventure this season.
Adventure is for all seasons – we might just need to think slightly differently when daylight is limited. Following on from my ten tiny things you can do outside today post, I wanted to write a sister post with a few more ideas, this time including things that might involve some planning and preparation, last a bit longer, or just push things just a little bit.
Most of these outdoor adventure ideas are one-off, one-day (or shorter), included here as inspiration for your Tuesday afternoon or Sunday morning. But there are a couple of ideas for things you could do that might take a little longer, too.
Complete any of these and you will smash your One Hour Outside for any given day – maybe you’ll even find a new long term outdoors hobby. And, you could absolutely do all of these things in mid-summer too, if you like, but you get what I’m going for.
What is Adventure?
You know from this post about adventure that I have a strong personal reason for shouting about adventure being very personal, and nothing at all to do with what someone else considers it to be. So, please do take my use of the word “adventure” as it is intended – to describe a collection of outdoor activities that involve a certain level of challenge and, as a result, a sense of achievement.
Outdoor adventures are yours – I only hope that the things I include in this post inspire you to get outside and have a bit of fun this autumn and winter.
Outdoor Adventures for Short Days
01 Sunrise and Sunset
Get out to see sunrise and sunset on the same day. Even better if you get somewhere with a great view of said sunrise and sunset – a hill with a view to the east in the morning, and to the west in the evening.
At the time of writing, that means being out at around 7.10am, and again at 4.30pm – that’s doable, right?!
You can, of course, make this as easy or as challenging as you like, as how you get to your viewing spot is completely up to you. Walk, run, cycle, or anything else you fancy. It could be before and after work on a weekday, or choose to spend an entire day outside starting at sunrise and ending at sunset.
Here’s hoping you pick a good weather day when the sky puts on an amazing show for you!
02 Cook Outside
Cook breakfast, lunch or dinner outside – on a fire if you have safe access to one, on a coal or gas barbecue, in that pizza oven you spent all that money on, or simply using your little camp stove. Sometimes we’re guilty of thinking that cooking in the garden (or at a campsite) is just for summer, when it’s light well into the evening, but there is something really wonderful (and a little bit adventurous) about eating food you’ve cooked outdoors at this time of year.
If you have access to a fire pit or can create a safe campfire, one of the easiest meal options is to assemble a tin foil pouch of your favourite veggies (chopped) with curry spices, and put that in the embers until it’s cooked through. Easy and delicious. And then you can finish your meal with toasted marshmallows, which has to be THE best thing to eat outside!!
Want to up the ante? Cook entirely outdoors for 24-hours. Even if you’re doing this in your back garden it will feel like an autumn adventure.
03 Dark Night Camping
Your tent doesn’t have to be confined to the loft once the clocks change. Camping at this time of year provides a different kind of experience than it might in summer – the long night provides opportunity to rest, relax, think, and take a purposeful timeout.
Pick a campsite that allows campfires (and has a hot shower!), pack plenty of extra layers to make sure you’re comfortable, bring extra batteries for your head torch and your favourite food, and embrace the darkness. I mean, you’ll likely be in bed by 8pm, but that’s half the fun of camping at this time of year!
The best bit about camping in late autumn? The long, slow, and quiet mornings. Plan this one on a day you have time to enjoy a leisurely start. With campsites being much less busy, you’ll likely have that sunrise view to yourself.
I think of the things in this list of outdoor adventures for short days, this is the one I should try and do myself in the next few weeks.
04 Cold Water Swim
The benefits of cold-water dips are well documented now, and I would absolutely consider having a short swim in the sea, a lake, or a river, to be an adventure-filled activity. There are swimming lakes and lidos up and down the country (some with heated changing rooms!!!), and you are never that far away from the sea here in the UK.
Be sure to keep yourself safe – swimming in cold water is something to build up to (please don’t just jump in without any preparation). But with the right build-up, extending your outdoor swimming schedule into the autumn months is worth the effort.
Full-on immersion a little too much for you right now? I’m a big fan of a paddle in the sea. Get those shoes and socks off!
05 River Adventure
Maybe getting in the water is not for you. But being on it, that could be it. Messing about on the river can encompass so many different water-based adventures – kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, rowing, even motorboating.
My local get-in spot has been very quiet the last few weeks. Autumn can be the calmest, prettiest time to explore our rivers and canals. If you are one of the thousands (and thousands) of people who bought a SUP or kayak over the last couple of years, make it your aim to use it this month.
Explore a stretch of your local river, combine it with a weekend away and tick off a bucket-list lake, or try a two-day river-based outing.
06 Try Something New
As outdoor adventures are very personal, this one should tick all the boxes – you can pick your own. Try a new-to-you activity, whether it’s joining a friend for their favourite outdoor hobby, or giving a buy-an-adventure experience a go. Not only is this a great way to spend some novel time outdoors, but doing something completely new is also hugely empowering – and exciting.
The list here could be endless, and totally based on your own bucket list. Rock climbing, horse riding, mountain biking, caving (does that count as an outdoor adventure?!), via ferrata, Go Ape, zip lining, or even sky diving (!) – to suggest just a few. All of these activities are perfect for short autumn days.
07 Summit a Mountain
Hill and mountain walking is such a great one-day adventure. What makes it so enticing is that there is an obvious goal to aim for – the summit. In Great Britain we have the recognisable trig pillar or summit cairn to aim for, which is a physical marker to go alongside the promise of big views and that oh-so-satisfying ache in the legs.
There are so many hills of all shapes and sizes here in the UK, and all around the world. Honestly, you could make this your outdoor adventure of choice and do it every weekend for the rest of your life without running out of hills and mountains to get up!
Take on the hill you can see from your house, challenge yourself to touch all the trig pillars in your county, or go further afield and tackle one of the biggest peaks in the country. Whichever hill or mountain you choose, go prepared with your map, torch, and warm layers, and enjoy an autumn adventure in the hills.
08 Forage for Food
Free food? This sounds like an outdoor adventure we should all get involved with! In autumn, foraging is all about mushrooms and nuts. A purposeful woodland wander in November will present oyster mushrooms, winter chanterelles, beech nuts, hazelnuts, sweet chestnuts and walnuts, amongst other things.
The pre-adventure preparation here (or maybe it’s part of the adventure…) is learning the ropes so you are foraging for tasty treats and not inedible morsels. The best way is to hire a guide to take you out, or join an organised group foraging walk. Even better if that organised activity includes a real demonstration of how to prepare and cook your finds.
I should add two important requests to this one… Please only eat what you recognise; if you don’t know what it is, don’t eat it! And, please only take what is plentiful – take just some of what you find so you leave enough for wildlife and so the plant can still seed.
09 Go Long Distance
This is an adventure idea designed to make the most of being close to home (at any time of year), as well as the short days of late autumn.
Is there a long distance walk you’d love to do but can’t get the time off work? A famous bike-packing route that would involve logistics you don’t have the time or money for? A river you think would be cool to paddle from beginning to end?
Autumn is the perfect time to try a closer-to-home version of one of these adventures. Work out the mileage, and then chip away at it day by day using your chosen human-powered transport until you are done. Use your lunch time walks, cycling commutes, evening runs, or Sunday paddles – or something else entirely.
During lock down I walked the UK Coast to Coast around the block, and I know people who’ve climbed the height of Everest and paddled the length of the Nile. Use your imagination… Could you mountain board the height of all the FIS downhill courses combined, skateboard Land’s End to John O’Groats, or even unicycle your way around the M25?!
Challenges like this might not seem quite as good as the real thing on the face of it, but they are great motivators, fitness improvers, and habit formers. An adventure that commitment that can easily lead to other adventures.
I hope this list of outdoor adventures for short days provides a little inspiration. Let me know if you decide to try any of them.
If you need some more ideas, there are a load covering big and small things in my GetOutside Activity Challenge long list.