Starting life as an Adventurer

You came back for more!

Thank you for that, its much appreciated. Today I thought it might be a good idea to give you some background into my adventures so far, how I got to do them and a little bit of reflection.

Not all my adventures are big expedition size, most are what people might call micro-adventures. Some have been officially organised expeditions where I had to be selected to be part of the team, some on my own, some with amazing friends and some with my awesome kids. Like most people, I'm on a really tight budget and we try and keep costs down wherever we can, I'll share my tips on how to do that as we go along.

About 4 years ago, I suddenly woke up to the realisation that my life had become boring. I didn't do anything any more that was outside of ordinary and my life was plagued by routine. So what did I do? I got a dog. We had family dogs growing up, but this was my first dog. I researched the kind of dog I was looking for. I wanted a dog with stamina and energy, but one that was quiet and kind. The breed I was looking for was a Bedlington Terrier. We found a litter relatively locally and Honey soon became a firm member of our tribe. Soon after Honey arrived, we were also joined by Bob, a Jack Russell Terrier. Having these two soon kick started my love of walking and they have both been loyally by my side ever since. We must of walked thousands of miles over the last 4 years. Part of me wishes that I knew exactly how far I'd walked, maybe I should start keeping a log now!!

Interestingly, I knew I wanted to get out into the big outdoors, but my motivation was not to get slimmer, it was simply to have adventures. This ambition so far has come true. I really haven't got any slimmer, though I do feel much fitter and I've had lots of adventures. Since getting the dogs, we have climbed Snowdon 3 times, completed the 36 mile South Loch Ness Trail, completed the 79 mile Great Glen Way and we're slowly ticking off sections of the 229 mile Shropshire Way. I've also completed an organised week long woods survival expedition with Love her Wild. This is in addition to lots of smaller challenges on the way. These will be discussed in more depth in later blogs.

This summer I am planning the biggest adventure yet. Me, the kids and the dogs are completing the 227 mile Severn Way. This follows the UK's longest river, from source to sea. We are hiking, canoeing and mountain biking the entire length. Yes, that's right, I will actually be riding a bike over a significant distance. Not bad for a fat bird – she says with mumbling confidence. In all seriousness, there is good chance with any of these adventures that I / we might not complete them. I don't start them knowing we cannot complete them, more believing that we can complete them, but it is going to be tough. It wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy and fearing failure is not a reason to not try. Having the fear of failure has been almost paralysing at times in my life and its taken me to relatively recently to realise that the true failure is not even trying.

I'm also completing a child-free challenge this year. In April, I have been selected to part of a crew that will sail a tall ship. I've never even sailed a dinghy before and I get seasick watching the boats from the safety of the beach. Cue a well rehearsed quote from my kids “you're going to die”. I'm not going to die, its going to be ace and I cannot wait. I'm really excited to share a write up of this adventure with you once I've done it.

It is half-term this week and due to storm Dennis and extensive local flooding, we've ditched our excursion plans and completed some smaller challenges, a couple of which are completely new to me and I've loved doing them. I'll enlighten you in my next blog. 

Until then, keep being courageous, yet stay safe xx