Blog Archives

52 Microadventures

31/12/2015

This time last year, I set myself the challenge of having an adventure every week in 2015. Most of them would be very small adventures. Mini adventures. Microadventures.

Inspired by Alastair Humphreys, I wanted to do things I hadn't done before, have fun, explore and enjoy wherever I happened to be. These adventures couldn’t be expensive, because I wasn’t making much money. They also had to be doable wherever I ended up living, because back in January 2015 I was still waiting for my hard-fought-for visa to stay in the UK, uncertain I’d be in the same country at the end of the month, let alone the end of the year. I wanted to discover things close to home, wherever that was.

The year began with a list of challenges and fun things to try (some too expensive or time-consuming . . . at least for now!) and I continued to add to the list until at last count I'd collected over 120 ideas. I'll have to keep going if I want to try them all!

Here is a selection (in no particular order) of 52 things I did this year, usually accompanied by my lovely partner, who was very kind to indulge me in my plots and schemes! If you'd like to add them to your own list of microadventure challenges, feel free. Perhaps you could also go on . . .

A microadventure every week for a year!

Walk all the way across a country
Sleep among bluebells
Make hedgerow jam
Watch a meteor shower
Visit a hill fort
Go barefoot
Travel without a map
Organise a big, open-invitation picnic
Go for a walk by the light of the moon
Attend a festival or other interesting event
Walk along the beach from one town to another
Go swimming in a river
Walk to work
Explore a border
Take part in bonfire night celebrations
Be a tourist in a(nother) city
Camp in your living room
Perform at an open mic night
Visit a place of historic interest
Climb a tree
Enjoy an old fashioned day at the seaside
Forage for a new (to you) wild food
Sleep in a cemetery
Camp at a proper campsite
Do 30 Days Wild
Walk along a canal
Cook a new recipe with a new (to you) food
Make an ephemeral piece of art
Follow a Roman road
Go moth trapping
Volunteer
Hire a (tandem) bike and go cycling
Make a DIY camp stove from a drinks can
Sleep in a wood
Sleep on a hill
Go cherry picking
Explore a river from sea to source (or vice versa)
Take a day trip to another country
Do the Big Pathwatch
Spend the night in a folly or ruin
Walk to the coast
Close eyes, point to map, go
Take a friend on their first microadventure
Follow a disused railway line
Watch the sun rise
Watch the sun set
Take afternoon tea under a tarp in the rain
Go wildlife spotting
Holiday on a boat
Do a lunchtime microadventure
Swim in the sea
Sleep on a mountain

This was a very enjoyable challenge! If you’re inspired, perhaps you could do the same thing in 2016. I’d love to read about your adventures - please do leave a link in the comments.

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Spicy Peanut Stew

18/12/2015

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There are times when many of us look at our food budgets and despair. A relentless parade of jacket potatoes, rice and baked beans stretches out into the future and we wonder if we’ll ever cook anything interesting ever again.

I know the feeling, so I was pleased to find this dish, which is simple, quick, and tastes unlike almost everything else on my “fairly cheap vegan recipes” list. Perhaps it could make an interesting addition to your family cookbook, too. This quantity serves four quite easily. My recipe is adapted from a recipe on cookieandkate.com.

Ingredients

4-5 cups of water
1 stock cube
1 red onion, chopped
5 fat cloves of garlic, chopped finely
A decent knob of fresh ginger, chopped finely
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup tomato puree or paste
A few good handfuls of chopped green leafy veg (e.g. spinach, kale or spring greens with hard stems removed)
Chilli sauce (I use Sriracha)
Salt (optional)
2 spring onions, chopped (optional)
Lime or lemon (optional)
White rice and water to cook

Method

Add 4 cups of water and stock cube to a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
Add onion, garlic and ginger to the stock and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the rice as per packet instructions (I usually use about half a cup of uncooked rice per person).
In a heat-proof bowl, mix together the peanut butter and tomato puree. Transfer a few ladlefuls of hot stock into the bowl and mix thoroughly, then pour it all back into the saucepan.
Stir the greens into the stew and allow them to wilt. Add a few squeezes of chilli sauce - I usually add 3+ tablespoons depending on my mood. Add another cup of water to thin the stew if you like, and a pinch or two of salt if you think it needs it.
Serve piping hot over rice with an optional sprinkle of fresh spring onion and squeeze of lime or lemon. (I say this is optional, but fresh lime juice takes this dish to a different level of deliciousness.)

I wrote about this dish a year ago in the Hastings Independent. I didn't blog about it at the time and then it wasn't the right weather for stew . . . but it's a perfect winter dish, so here you go!

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Do the November microadventure round-up pasodoble

12/12/2015

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"Whether the weather be fine or whether the weather be not; whether the weather be cold or whether the weather be hot; we'll weather the weather whatever the weather, whether we like it or not!" Here's how people took up the November microadventure challenge.

Mags

Red earth . . .

November was a busy month with travel between 3 continents. I thought that this would provide me with an opportunity to incorporate the November microadventure challenge of 'weather the weather'. Perhaps more of a macro than micro adventure in this case!

Nepal has 8 out of 10 of the highest mountains in the world, courtesy of the Himalayan range. A bit of useful knowledge gained from visiting the country many times is which side of the plane to sit on to gain an amazing view of the mountain range when flying into or out of Nepal.

Blue sky . . .

[Read about Mags' weathering of weather in the USA, India, Nepal and the UK]

Jonathan and Dan

It snowed in November! But it only snowed for about ten minutes. I just had time to go outside and try to catch a few fluffy, drifting flakes on my tongue before it turned to rain. That was the day that winter properly arrived, so you would think we’d have plenty of opportunity to weather the weather whatever the weather. But alas, we mostly failed at microadventuring in November. We had plans for a sleep out with a friend, but they fell through. Then we were going to sleep in the woods, but the gale-force winds put us off: we didn’t fancy getting squished by falling branches or trees. Even some true wild camping stalwarts gave it a miss that weekend, so I didn’t feel too bad. (Though braver people than us have ventured out in the wind since then!)

Snow! This was the view out over our neighbours' gardens.

We did manage to camp out, in the end. It was the kind of camping where you drag all your duvets (doonas) and pillows down the stairs, blow up your camping mats and snuggle down in front of a crackling wood fire. Where you make instant noodles for dinner just because you can, just because it reminds you of walking across Wales in summer. Where you sit on the floor wrapped in a blanket, drink smoky lapsang souchong tea and listen to the wind flinging itself down the chimney. It might not be a hardcore outdoorsy microadventure, but it has a certain cosy, charming appeal!

Toasty wood fire: good for sleeping beside!

[More from Dan / More from Jonathan]

Stephanie

This month's theme for microadventures was "weather the weather." This is easy for a cyclist. This month I raced the train on a beautiful day, battled uphill on a day so windy that trees were losing branches, and cycled along the beach in the rain. So I decided that my microadventure couldn't take place on my bike.

The sky was looming, but it was low tide and everything was in place, so threatened by occasional heavy drops of rain I ventured out for my very first exploration of a rock pool.

Rickett’s Point Marine Sanctuary is down Port Phillip Bay, and I grew up in Perth so it was a totally new area for me. I forgot my gum boots but I always wear my swamp boots, so my feet stayed dry.

Shells from Stephanie's adventure.

Stephanie keeps her feet dry on the beach.

Things I saw:

Moon snail egg masses (amazingly gross)
A totally poisonous conus shell
Totally not poisonous conus shells
Sea spiders (not actually spiders)
Neptune’s Necklace

Two hours later, I looked out to where I'd been from under my umbrella, and there was nothing but water. I didn't realise that even in a bay the tide can rise fast.

[More from Stephanie]

Clare

I went geocaching (of course!) in Storm Abigail with my friend Abi - battle of the Abigails! Horizontal rain, much wind. The usual big skies were big grey skies.

Clare weathers the weather.

Big grey skies courtesy of Storm Abigail (a - big - gale . . . get it?!)

There was a brief appearance from the sun when we stopped to explore St Mary's church in Great Eversden. And finally, just as we were about to head home, a rainbow over the last cache - surely there's a cheesy treasure/pot of gold gag in that!

St Mary's in Great Eversden.

Rainbow marks the pot of gold/cache.

[More from Clare]

December microadventure theme: revisit!

As the (Gregorian calendar) year draws to a close, it's time to wrap up our year of microadventure. I've chosen the theme "revisit" for December. This might mean revisiting a special place (perhaps somewhere you often go for the holidays?) or revisiting an activity you've only done once or twice before. You could also revisit one of the themes from our year of microadventure - whether or not you've taken part! It could be one you missed at the time, one you loved so much you want to do it again, or one you're inspired to do after seeing someone else's adventure. To jog your memory/give you some inspiration, here are the themes from the year:

Misty Morning Bear Lake Reflection by Andy Smith (Creative Commons)

Thanks as always to everyone who took part in November's challenge. I'm excited to see what everyone chooses for their revisit in December. Remember to leave me a message here, email me or tweet me with your words/images/blog posts for the round up!

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52 Microadventures

A microadventure every week for a year!

Spicy Peanut Stew

Ingredients

Method

Do the November microadventure round-up pasodoble

Mags

Jonathan and Dan

Stephanie

Clare

December microadventure theme: revisit!

In which I

In which I tag

In which I archive