Los Balos, El Medano

Alastair Humpreys, a British adventurer, author and blogger, has spent over 4 years cycling round the world, a journey of 46,000 miles through 60 countries and 5 continents.

More recently Alastair has walked across southern India, rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, run 6 marathons through the Sahara desert, completed a crossing of Iceland, and participated in an expedition in the Arctic, close to the magnetic North Pole. He has trekked 1000 miles across the Empty Quarter desert and 120 miles round the M25 – one of his pioneering microadventures.

This is the year of the microadventure: a whole year when, instead of exotic foreign adventures, I am committed to trying to encourage people to get outside, get out of their comfort zone, go somewhere they’ve never been, go on a microadventure. An adventure that is close to home, cheap, simple, short, and yet very effective.

You do not need to fly to the other side of the planet to do an expedition.
You do not need to be an elite athlete, expertly trained, or rich to have an adventure.

Adventure is only a state of mind.
Adventure is stretching yourself; mentally, physically or culturally. It is about doing what you do not normally do, pushing yourself hard and doing it to the best of your ability.

And if that is true then adventure is all around us, at all times. Even during hard financial times such as these. Times, I believe, when getting out into the wild are more enjoyable, invigorating and important than ever.

I am going to spend the year chasing adventure close to home. I will not go on overseas expeditions. I will explore my own country, and I will seek out short, interesting, rewarding adventures right here on my doorstep.

Why don’t you have a go yourself?