First Microadventure

 

My First 5-9 #microadventure

 

Our view. Photo courtesy of Sgt S

 

Escaping the 9-5 life is often a life's ambition but we reverse that. What if you become content with the 9-5, accept that it exists then look to add adventure elsewhere?

That I feel is the principle behind the #microadventure. A concept made famous by Alistair Humphries. The aim is to do adventures that fit into the 5-9. The 16 hours that we are free from work.

I found Alistair's book microadventure in a great wee shop in Dunkeld. Anna indulged me by buying it. The idea appeals hugely. Shift work means I often have gaps of time available that I have the potential to do more with. The idea of going on mini adventures that allow me be outdoors more is always going engage.

"Act child like, not childish"- Alistair Humphries

There seems to be a movement towards named outdoor fun such as 'Adventure running' and 'Wild swimming' probably even 'Microadventure'. Richard Askwith talks about it in his book Running Free and describes it as a way of adults giving them selves permission to so something that would have been taken for granted as a child. I think he hits the nail on the head. When I mentioned the plan for my first #microadventure Anna's reply was "Isn't that just camping?" She's right, but doing it on a school night makes it feel like your stealing some fun and freedom from the monotony of the work day. Getting a little dirt in your shoes and sand in the soul. Just like we did as kids.

Sold on the idea of the #microadventure all I needed now was the adventure and to decide if it should be done solo or with pals. I thought I'd try and sell some ideas to some friends and see if I could hook them. Luckily enough I managed to convince a few folk on the idea and then set about trying to think about where and when.

This part would be easy, I'm lucky enough to live in the greatest place in Britain. I'll argue this to anyone that is willing to listen, I'm blinded by it's beauty. Dundee is blessed with a huge variety of outdoor spaces that can be reached quickly. So the choice was either beach, Hills or Forrest. I decided to go for Forrest and Beach with the joy that is Tentsmuir being so close to me. With the place and then the date set Sgt S from the Blair Atholl post was able and willing to join me. We were raring to go.

I had bought an Alpkit Hunka bivvy bag earlier in the year with the aim of doing some two day running which ended up being turned into the Blair Atholl to Aveimore walk so I ended up not using it. So with that and my Rab sleeping bag I was ready to go, some last minute rain meant we also took along a tarp incase the weather turned foul. I meet Sgt S after he finished work at 16:00. I had spent the day playing on the Tay in a squib so ended up being the one that was running late.

Having already experienced the Sgt's perception of minimal kit we decided that we would get some fish and chips in Tayport and use it as a way of making sure this was microadventure was enjoyed rather than endured by not taking any unnessecary extra kit.

From Tayport we headed out and followed the path between the Tay and the Forrest. Tentsmuir has so many paths in it that you could easily go a huge number of routes and experience a huge number of different things.

Walking along the dunes. Photo courtesy of Sgt S

After about an hour of walking we decided to try and find somewhere to set up our tarp as it had been raining fairly consistently most of the day. we initially settled on some trees at some moorland but after wondering along to the beach it was stunning and totally deserted. In fact we only saw one other person the whole trip.  Both of us felt it would be stupid not to take advantage of the views near the water. But, knowing that the tide is  a big issue in this area we decided to use one of the dunes that rose to about 6 feet up from the beach. I was fairly sure the tide was out on our arrival.

The Beach view. Photo courtesy of Sgt S

a relaxed life. Photo courtesy of Sgt S

We ended up getting the tarp set up pretty quickly using some drift wood and although not storm proof we were convinced it would stay up the night. Having already had dinner and set up the tarp we then just mucked about with the camera and had a couple of beers as the sun set. Once it was dark it was a little strange being so close to home, you could see the lights of Dundee from over the dunes. Without TV or the internet you sleep pretty quickly. The sand makes a great bed with my Alpkit Aero underneath to keep me warm.

The moon looking amazing. Photo courtesy of Sgt S 

Sleeping in a Bivvy is a weird thing if you've spent time in a tent in the wild. As new age as it sounds you do feel more connected and exposed to elements, probably because you are. I zipped up my bivvy so no draft got in and fell asleep easily waking up occasionally and then drifting back off to sleep.

Suddenly BOOM, the first asteroid hit. I was convinced we were living the first strike of independence day. After saving Dundee and trying to figure out why they would strike the Tay first I realised it was 4am and the noise was actually the waves crashing, and the water lapping the bottom of the dune we were camped on. It was still fairly dark and the waves were impressive, breaking 50 metres from where we were. After a couple of nervous checks every 10 minutes I managed to drift off to sleep for a while. At 05:20 we ended up deciding it was time to put everything away while Sgt took a few more photo's. Some biscuits for breakfast and a great walk out through the Forrest meant we were back at work for 07:30, in time for a shower to freshen up. That day I was doing a sponsored walk from Ninewells to St Andrews which I'm doing a separate blog post about.

The Gamma Head torch

Overall I felt great and strangely refreshed. I know it sounds a little weird and new age but being outdoors overnight refreshes the soul and invigorates you. It isn't something that's easily explained so please just go out and try it. You don't have anything to lose.

The View on the walk back. Photo courtesy of Sgt S

The barriers that stop you don't actually exist, and it's fun. How often do we do something low tech and genuinely fun? So please just go do it give it a try, it's an evening that you'd normally spend watching Eastenders or Corrie and you can get them on demand.

I'm sold on microadventure and can't wait to do another one despite the ribbing that you get when you tell people you spent the night with another bloke, in the woods, camping.

Beer and (a short lived) fire. What more do you need. Photo courtesy of Sgt S

Have you done a microadventure? Do you have any ideas? Is there anything stopping you?

Or if you're reading this and you have any ideas from more microadventures in this area please let me know. If you have any questions etc  just ask in the comments section and I'll do my best to get back to you.

Woop Woop