Over the last month, our microadventurers have used the “explore a border” theme to get out and see some amazing sights and have some wonderful experiences. This is particularly true for those of us in the UK, where it was summer (or, gloomier people than me might say, where it was meant to be summer).
National borders
Many people’s first response to the theme was to think of borders between countries.
Abigail and Kieran managed to time their trip to Edinburgh to fit in perfectly with the August challenge. It was surely nothing to do with the dates of the Edinburgh Fringe. Surely. Kieran says, "Crossing the border into Scotland by train is now a more mental than physical event. No announcements, no passport checks; just get off at the other end and go on your way. This quiet transition still feels like a holiday, though. The ocean's always bluer on the other side!" Abigail writes, "Visiting Scotland, we didn’t so much explore the border as explore across the border, in the beautiful, craggy, bustling city of Edinburgh. We caught the last few days of the Fringe, ate and drank artisan Scottish chocolate, and rummaged around reputable and dusty Edinburgh bookshops. "But climbing up to the top of Arthur’s Seat (the main peak in Holyrood Park, at the centre of Edinburgh) we could see, in miniaturised and panoramic splendour, the buildings and hills about 800 feet below; where we couldn’t help but be reminded of borders. We picked out (or did our best to guess) the border between the district of Leith - where we were staying - and the city. We saw the crest of Edinburgh Castle amid the rambling streets, shops and peaks of houses; its history embroiled in the struggle between bordering nations. And we saw the vast lustre of the Firth of Forth, where the border of the land begins to melt into the sea. "On our train home, we passed a sign to the north of York - Edinburgh 200 miles. It seemed surreal that we could be so far away, so soon." |
Blue, Scottish sea, photo from Kieran.
Kieran examines the horizon for borders, photo from Abby.
Q: If Abigail can fly, why take the train? #jumpstagram photo from Kieran.
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Dan and I also took up the national borders idea, though our walk across Wales was more about spanning the distance between borders than about crossing them. We started on the beach at Aberystwyth, the border of land and sea, walked up over the Cambrian Mountains, then followed the River Wye to the point where it becomes the border of Wales and England, near Hay-on-Wye. Here's a short film showing some of the trip.
Walk Across Wales from In Which I on Vimeo.
As Gillian discovered, you don't have to travel far afield to enjoy the flora of different countries. A visit to Glasgow Botanic Gardens gave her the chance to venture into the glasshouses, where "geographical borders were blurred, continents bestrode", and where she "explored rainy August borders" outside. If you can't make it to Glasgow yourself, why not enjoy a virtual tour of the Kibble Palace greenhouse online?
Skipping from continent to continent in the greenhouse, photo from Gillian.
Soaked sundial, pretty poppy, bees and jingle bell berries, photo from Gillian.
Natural borders
One obvious border, especially to those who live on islands, is the sea. While the border between England and France might be an invisible line somewhere out in the Channel, for many people the border zone starts closer to the shore. It is always in flux. On a macro scale, sea levels change, shingle moves, cliffs crumble, the littoral zone alters. Tides move in and out, revealing more land that might be "ours", then taking it back, swelling higher and sinking lower at certain times of the year. And then on a micro level, each wave or ripple claims a strip of sand or handful of pebbles for the sea.
Allysse spent time at this liminal space and created a beautiful, meditative short film titled Moment of Zen. Allysse says, "The end of England, the border between land and sea. It wasn't quite a microadventure as there was no sleeping outside (but in a hotel room instead). I did quite a few walks along the coast, explord the antique shops in the area, ate good food, and generally lazed about on pebbles and sand dunes."
Allysse spent time at this liminal space and created a beautiful, meditative short film titled Moment of Zen. Allysse says, "The end of England, the border between land and sea. It wasn't quite a microadventure as there was no sleeping outside (but in a hotel room instead). I did quite a few walks along the coast, explord the antique shops in the area, ate good food, and generally lazed about on pebbles and sand dunes."
Moment of zen from Allysse Riordan on Vimeo.
County borders
Clare went on a county border crossing extravaganza on one of her very long training walks along the Stour Valley Path, from Cambridgeshire to Suffolk to Essex. "We cross the border to Essex," Clare writes. "Essex! It takes ages to drive to Essex and I’ve just Bloody well walked here! Incredible! My mind well and truly blown. Go me!"
Dan and I also explored some borders closer to home. We went swimming in the River Rother where it marks the border between East Sussex and Kent, and went for a long evening walk along the Sussex Border Path between Hawkhurst and Flimwell. It’s interesting to think about times and places in which features like rivers and ridges and woods have acted as easy to read (and easy to enforce) borders for a non-map-using population. |
Welcome to Essex, photo from Clare.
Sussex Border Path waymarking.
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Border interpretation
Our monthly themes are always open to interpretation and Mags went all out with this one, including county border crossing, a cute dog and a visit to Pevensey Castle. "The original structure was a Roman Saxon shore fort built around 290AD," Mags says. "Once the Romans had left it was reoccupied by the Normans in 1066. It was abandoned again at the end of the 16th century until the ruin was acquired by the state in 1925."
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Inside Pevensey Castle, photo from Mags.
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Border policing
Mags notes in her post that she spent much of the month dealing with various international bureaucracies to obtain visas for international students to come to the UK, and it isn’t possible to talk about border crossing adventures and border exploration without being aware of the ways in which borders are only open in some places, to some people. Our explorers’ abilities to cross or bump up against borders without any negative consequences mark us out as people with particular privileges, who are relatively free to move around these particular borders.
Nikki writes, "Last month in Melbourne, the government announced an initiative called Border Force, an operation that would allow authorised officers to request the visa documents of "any individual we come across". Any person with a hint of decency could see this initiative would result in harassment of people of colour on the streets of Melbourne and a snap protest was arranged within an hour (mostly via Twitter) - I had the good fortune to be available so went along to show my support. The good news is the protest was a 100% success with first the press announcement being cancelled, and then the entire operation. It was pretty great to feel part of something that made a difference."
Nikki writes, "Last month in Melbourne, the government announced an initiative called Border Force, an operation that would allow authorised officers to request the visa documents of "any individual we come across". Any person with a hint of decency could see this initiative would result in harassment of people of colour on the streets of Melbourne and a snap protest was arranged within an hour (mostly via Twitter) - I had the good fortune to be available so went along to show my support. The good news is the protest was a 100% success with first the press announcement being cancelled, and then the entire operation. It was pretty great to feel part of something that made a difference."
Protest on the steps of Flinders Street Station, photo from Nikki.
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One of the signs at the Border Force protest, photo from Nikki.
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September microadventure theme: sunset/sunrise
The microadventure theme for September is sunset/sunrise (dusk/dawn), partly in honour of the equinox (spring in the southern hemisphere, autumn in the north). Perhaps you’d like to cycle along the coast and watch the sun set over the sea. Maybe you’ll get up early to watch the sunrise from a hill or a tall building, or to make breakfast on a camp stove in the woods. Perhaps you’ve been planning to go for an evening walk to spot bats or other nocturnal creatures. Or maybe you could record the dawn chorus where you live, to share with others around the world.
Sunset in East Sussex, from our Cuckoo Trail microadventure.
Thanks to everyone who took part in the challenge during August. For September, broad interpretations of the theme are welcome - and don't feel you have to stick to the theme if you've got a different adventure planned. Send your images, videos, texts, links or audio my way at the end of the month and I’ll collate another round-up post. Have fun!
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