Adventure--something that's new and exhilarating, outside your comfort zone. Adventures change you and how you see the world, and all you need is an open mind, bags of enthusiasm, and boundless curiosity.
So what's a microadventure? It's close to home, cheap, simple, short, and 100 percent guaranteed to refresh your life. A microadventure takes the spirit of a big adventure and squeezes it into a day or even a few hours.
The point of a microadventure is that you don't need lots of time and money to meet a new challenge. This practical guide is filled with ideas for microadventures--for you to experience on your own or with friends and family--and over 150 stunning photographs, plus tips and advice on safety and kit.
Whether it's sleeping on a hilltop or going for a wild swim, cycling a lap of the Isle of Wight or walking home for Christmas, it's time you discovered something new about yourself and the world outside your window. Adventure is everywhere, every day--and it is up to us to find it.
Insider tip- listen to the author's podcasts, skip this (particular) book (he has many others).
This book (and the podcasts) taught me I've been a microadventurer my whole life, I just didn't know what to call it. Of course, reading the book slapped a label on the activity, and by naming it gave it life. Consequently I've been inspired to take microadventures to a whole new level and for that I'm thankful.
That being said, the book was very geo-specific (the podcasts weren't). Many of the suggestions, and there are pages of them, are specific to the UK - wish the author or publishers had offered some warning ahead of time. Also, the ideas here are pretty obvious, so I found myself flipping through more pages than I actually read under close scrutiny.
The biggest takeaway is that, many of us have more free time than we think. And we reside close to the unfamiliar. Use chunks of free time to venture to the unfamiliar and bam- you're on a microadventure. Enjoy!
Read as part of the 1000 Hours Outside bookclub, book #1. The micro adventures were very macro for anyone that's not already a bit of an adventurer. Completely England/Scotland based. Made me want to go back to the UK and explore. Felt like the book was also geared toward men and def people without children. I'm moderately inspired to break out of my comfort zone though, so 3 stars it is.
There are big, epic adventures that most of us can only dream of doing. And then there are the small, backyard excursions that deliver the same blast of fresh air and vitality into our lives – if we have eyes to see the opportunities to take them.
Microadventures starts out by running through an enviable list of the author's own adventures - most of which were achieved in under 24 hours - which between them appear to explore every last wild nook and cranny of the British Isles. They're short, cheap, fun and do-able by anyone with a pair of legs and a desire to get outside. The second part of the book runs through the practical stuff, with a deliberate emphasis on making do with what you've got or can easily or cheaply get (as opposed to making excuses about not being able to afford expensive clobber).
Finally, it's utterly sumptuous, packed with fantastic photos, and a steal at only 11 quid (at the time of writing).
Do not expect any of your excuses as to why you're not out there sleeping on hilltops every weekend to remain standing after reading this book.
I didn’t want to like Alastair’s book ‘Microadventures’. Purely for selfish reasons. The moment I saw it I was jealous and wished I’d written it. I’m a huge fan of adventure in all shapes and sizes and spent many years throwing myself into them.
Now-a-days it’s all about grabbing those micro-moments. Making the most of a couple of days precious free time and feeling alive, invigorated and refreshed by nature or just getting some use out of equipment you bought online after a bottle of wine and a reminiscing conversation.
The last few years has seen the Micro-Adventure movement really take off. From camping in the garden to hitchhiking a coastal route. The online conversations I have seen have been championed and curated by Alastair Humphreys. His passion, enthusiasm and attention to detail has been the rallying cry as he has curated and connected, documented and shared.
This collected knowledge, this antidote to modern life has been wonderfully refined and condensed into an amazing book packed with great stories and stunning images. A catalyst for simply getting out and discovering yourself. Heading out in a new direction with a small bag containing all you need to explore, eat and sleep under the stars.
Microadventures is about nurturing imagination and attitude over saving for a plane ticket to a far off land. Buy this book and you will never be able to make the excuse of not having time for adventure.
A wonderful book, so well produced, well laid out and utterly inspiring from cover to cover.
Fantastic guide to adventuring that's accessible for everyone. From sleeping on a hill, cycling for a day to wild swimming and sea kayaking, it's a great guide to British outdoor fun! Includes gear & navigation tips.
I read this for the 1000 Hours Outside Book Club. The book’s premise is great and inspiring, but you don’t need to read much to get the point, and the story telling wasn’t amazing, but nevertheless, more inspired to be creative and get outside.
I picked up this book without knowing anything about it other that the title and subtitle. It was an interesting premise, these little escapes from the mundane.
However, it broke down for me pretty early bc I am from the US, not UK, so most of the pragmatic advice about trip ideas were only interesting but not useful. US private land usage is much more restricted than the UK, and even the public lands are frowned upon to camp at without prior permission.
Also, as a mom with young children at home, there is just no practical way for me to pick up and go exploring either by myself or with the children in the manner Humphreys suggests. I mean, bully for you if you can hop on a train (nonexistent in the rural central US where I live) or ride your bike (again, my area is not designed for bikers) and go sleep wild somewhere at the relative drop of a hat. But it's just not feasible for me.
Which is why I titled my review "wrong demographic." I'm not who Humphreys is writing to. This book is not written for people with children younger than teens, and it's only slightly inspiring if you live outside the UK. Also, if you aren't outdoorsy, are somewhat out of shape (what, you don't mountainbike 100 miles regularly?), or don't relish sleeping on the hard ground in the rain bc you have a bad back and are a light sleeping insomniac, then this book might not be for you.
Now, credit where credit is due, but I am inspired to try camping without a tent (although a hammock sounds like a better option to me) and to further explore the legalities of nontraditional campsites in my state. However, as it's January when I read this, and I am not at all interested in sleeping outside when it's below 50, these things must wait.
I love the idea of microadventures. Living in upstate South Carolina, USA, I’ve been repeatedly astounded in wonder by what is just off the road. Waterfalls, jungle rivers, rocky balds, wildlife galore. Listening to it on audiobook made it feel like the author could have made his point in half the time, but I could see where the physical book would take on the feel of partial adventure log and guidebook. There are several tactics to get you plenty of ideas that are out-of-the-box and thinking laterally about taking adventures. If you can take his experiences and synthesize them to your location, I’m confident a world of wonder will open up for you.
Phew, so glad I am done with this book. I am sadly not the author's target audience. In the beginning of the book, Humphreys tells us that he is going to lay out ideas for microadventures for every age, lifestyle, and physical ability (including those with disabilities). Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. In my opinion, this book is more geared for single, athletic men living in the UK who already have a propensity for the outdoors. Since I personally do not fit in any of those categories, I would've DNF'd this book if it wasn't a part of the 1000 Hours Outside book club. I will press through any book if I have the added book club incentive. Sorry Humphreys, this book just wasn't for me.
Heard about this book on a podcast and it sounded right up my alley. A bunch of bite sized stories on the idea of finding small adventures where you are, rather than just seeing adventure as an expedition sort of activity. Very UK specific (which isn’t so helpful in the “land of the free” that frowns upon wild camping or right-to-roam), but a nice collection of ideas to get the mind percolating
The first 2/3 is like a diary of his micro adventures with alternative similar adventures you can take if it sounded interesting. These mostly work in his surrounding area of the UK, if you like biking, and if you like sleeping in random farmlands around your city. They are cheap and easy, but not particularly interesting to me.
The last 1/3 of the book is a wilderness guide with random info like how to use a compass, how to poop in the wild, a year long adventure checklist, packing lists, first aid, etc. All good basic info, but if you’re already outdoorsy there will be nothing new for you.
I do love the concept of micro adventures. I love that you can still have a great adventurous lifestyle without taking time off work or trying to make some big vacation for yourself. I want to do more of this! I love that he simplifies his adventures and makes each one new, challenging, and out of his comfort zone a little. Great ideas and inspirational…but I got the gist within the first couple chapters and did not enjoy reading the rest of the book.
An interesting guide to creatively getting out into nature. This guide is set specifically in the UK, but most of the ideas and concepts will work elsewhere too. Also included are ideas on gear and supplies and basic training for key skills. The guide is written by a man and as such, I think some of these ideas from a safety prospective would be harder for a solo female to try. Also, clearly many not family or kid friendly, so sort of written to a very specific demographic. But I definitely gained a few new ideas, and fresh enthusiasm to get out and explore!
The pandemic had me thinking of replacing a multi week epic cycling vacation with close to home experiences. Having read Humphreys around the world book, I stumbled on his microadventure YouTube video. It opened my eyes to possibilities.I began charting long weekend adventures. This book helped me understand that a microadventure is what you make it. It could be easy or challenging. The key is that adventure is everywhere and not dictated by the number of days and miles cycled. This was a good read for me to help me venture out on microadventures and not constrain myself from previous held beliefs and limitations.
This book is extremely specific to the UK - BUT there are so many suggestions that sparked a lot of thought for me about what I can do in my own neighborhood. Lots of creative suggestions - choose a radius and travel a circular path around your home, navigate "as the crow flies", have breakfast outside. Humphreys's love for life, and his desire to share it with everyone, is evident.
All the adventures Alastair Humphreys write about and the suggestions he offers are all in the UK. I am not. And still, I am glad I read this book. It was inspiring to be more intentional about adventures and about using my time well.
Since we SHOULDN'T BE TRAVELLING, even leaving your neighborhood is supposed to be ESSENTIAL TRAVEL ONLY. This is an excellent book to read now. How to discover your neighborhood like a tourist!
I would classify this as a collection of short stories meant to inspire you to get out and explore. The obstacles of time, effort, and money are surmountable. While I was inspired to do some out of the box thinking to create my own microadventures, I was let down in the structure of this guide. There was too much repetition. Too many of the stories cannot occur in the place I live. I was hoping for something even more day trip and family oriented and this is not.
As a SAHM of 4 kids (2 under the age of 5) this is not for my season of life. It was a book I read for a book club or I probably never would have picked it up. But the message was good about doing something new and finding adventure in the small moments and to enjoy the nature that is all around us.
That is about all I got out of it because location and lifestyle doesn't allow for these types of micro adventures right now but as the children grow I do hope to partake in some of these.
Wow! This isn't the kind of book that I'd usually choose to read at all and yet when my husband mentioned it yesterday (having been discussed on Radio Four I believe) somewhere my imagination was captured. It arrived today and frankly, what's not to love? It is a beautiful thing that I will bedelighted to have on my bookshelves. It feels nice to hold, it contains nothing but gorgeous photographs of the great outdoors, many with Alistair in the frame too, and the text has a modern and edgy look to it.
What we have here is a man who likes to have adventures - and who has had at least his fair share. He talks about some microadventures he has had and that he recommends we all go out and try. These are the kind of things that one might do with a bit of imagination and if feeling a bit hem med in by everyday life. The kind of thing one could do of a weekend or even after work. The author is quick and clear to say, and repeat, that he knows we all have lives, jobs, commitments, financial restraints and families, and yet he is urging us to find our own microadventures, to find the time and make it work. He is pretty clear that the book he has written is intended to inspire - some people will want to imitate him, others will just take the idea and run with it.
The bottom line is that I feel entirely uplifted and motivated. Anyone who knows me will categorically say that I am not really the micro (or macro) adventure sort. Indeed my teenage daughters think that I have almost certainly lost the plot having spent most of the afternoon either reading the book or scouring the internet for tents and campsites. What this book has done for me is to highlight that even though I have four children, and two of them definitely too young to sleep outside or walk far, I can still take them outside and away to have adventures. We will be starting small, we will be camping on a site - which we have never done - but we will be starting somewhere. I know there will be those reading this who say I have missed the point, I am supposed to want to walk 20 miles with nothing but a sleeping bag and set up camp overlooking a lake, but I am not able to. What I am able to do though is make a start, to get the children into having microadventures so that as they grow our adventure potential will too.
This is great book, I will be enjoying it for some time to come.
The concept at the heart of Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes is a very good one: for those of us with day jobs, our focus during the work week tends to be on the 8 hours spent on the job. Adventurer and author Alastair Humphreys turns the idea around to instead shine a spotlight on the possibilities for adventure of the other 16 hours. These ‘microadventures’ are by necessity short and close to home, but are intended to break up the monotony of daily existence.
With this as an introduction, the bulk of the book consists of examples of short trips that Humphreys has done around his native Britain (note: although the specifics may vary from location to location, the concepts can be modified to be more specific to where you live). They include such things as: - Ride your bike out of town and camp out for the night. - Travel between two points and see what’s there. - Take a train out of town and ride your bike home. - Kayak a local lake or river. - Build a shelter out of natural materials and sleep in it. - Camp out in your back yard. - Ride your bike using gps tracking software and draw a penis. Ok, I made up that last one, but you get the idea. Rather than live for the weekends or the few weeks of vacation each year you can incorporate smaller activities into your daily life. The idea is just to break up daily routine by doing something physical in the outdoors.
The last section of the book is a mish-mash of gear and travel tips, which might be of use to a complete novice, but I found to be largely superfluous.
As to the book, it reads like a series of blog posts, which is exactly what it is. The text is broken up by numerous small, low-quality photos, which really didn’t add much in the way of value. I also felt like the suggested trips were repetitive (most involved simply sleeping outdoors in a bivy bag). The book could have been improved had Humphreys included suggestions for short trips in areas other than his own to make it more relevant to those living in different locales.
I heard about this book via the Art of Manliness website (which is a site I'd recommend for both men and women, thank you very much), and I'm so glad I did. Alastair gives the ins and outs of having what he's dubbed Microadventures--basically localized adventures that are relatively cheap, close, simple, and short. It can be spending the night in a local park. Or going on a two-day bike ride. Or navigating a local river. The point is, you don't have to let limitations of time or money keep you from leading an adventurous life. The first part of the book details a variety of Alastair's microadventures with suggestions for similar outings. The second part of the book is a helpful how-to guide. While most of the suggested sites are in the UK, the advice is universal--and I look forward to applying Alastair's microadventuring to my Ohio habitat.
The premise is simple and intoxicating. escape from our busy and cluttered lives is as easy as walking out the door. Rather than waiting for a giant, expensive ADVENTURE, Alastair Humphreys argues that we should seek relief from modern life by creating simple "microadventures" for ourselves that are inexpensive and easy to replicate.
This book is a treasure trove of ideas for exploring the world nearby in unconventional ways that will likely help us see the world around us and ourselves in a different light. Broken down into discrete microadventure chapters, this book provides the reader with concrete advice about planning and executing trips that should fit into a wide range of budgets and locations. Also included are helpful field-tested tips on gear and logistics.
Immediately upon finishing the book, I reached for an atlas.
I found this book very inspirational -- but be advised that unless you live in England, or in a semi-rural area of another country, you might not be able to simply take a train out of the city into a rural area where you can hike up a hill and spend the night in a sleeping bag. That's why I ended up not finishing it. I live in a large urban area in the U.S., and his specific examples just don't translate to where I live. On the other hand, the book did inspire me to create short, inexpensive, not-routine adventures close to home, and I've already completed one and put another on the calendar.
Great concept I learned about in a New York Times article but the actual source book here was disappointing. While it looks like a list of almost 40 suggested microadventures, it really boils down to only about 3 or 4 ideas with the slightest variation. Something like a dozen differently titled ideas are just different reasons to camp somewhere overnight and another dozen are repackaged ideas about biking different paths, etc. Finally, each story used to illustrate each microadventure was less helpful to the reader and more a story about what the author experienced.