exercise

2016: My year of Microadventure by Rosie Walsh

Rosie Walsh on a microadventure, Alistair Humphreys-style

I know a brilliant woman called Clare Hudman. She helped me recover from a horrible illness a few years ago and is one of the most inspiring people I know. Last time I spoke to her she told me she was going to take the 2016 microadventure challenge set out by explorer Alistair Humphreys.

The challenge, she explained, involved sleeping in the great outdoors with no tent - just a bivvy bag - one night a month, every month, for a whole year. 'That sounds awful,' I said.

Then, after a nervous pause: 'I want to do it.'

Of course, it's not awful. It's exhilarating and challenging and fun, and it's forced my partner and I to get out into the open more. We walked the entire coast of Cornwall in 2015, over a gruelling yet magical five weeks - we're hardly couch potatoes - but this challenge takes away the negotiation: we just get out there and do it. 

At the time of writing we've already done three microadventures, and they've been very memorable. There is nothing quite like the experience of waking up under a deep indigo dome of stars with a pheasant grumbling in the thicket behind you. If you're interested in getting involved, check out this page, and keep an eye on my Facebook page for monthly updates.