Sometimes finding an adventure just means finding a new walk for the dogs.

Finding a little bit of extra energy in a day when you don’t feel like there’s anything left in the tank.

Sometimes the only way you can feel like you are having an adventure is to get lost in a place they call Short Wood, knowing that you have a satellite map in your pocket, and that despite having a terrible sense of direction, you have a pretty good chance of making it back to the car before dark.

There’s a new advertising campaign for the Wildlife Trusts called Have a Mild Adventure, and it’s one of those campaigns I wish I had come up with. (“Go Wild. But only a bit.” Bravo 🤩)

I’m in a Wildlife Trusts wood right now, and I feel like I’m the only person here, although I did possibly just hear the rustle of a crisp packet, which might slightly spoil that illusion. As an aside, reading too many murder mystery books is not conducive to a relaxing walk!

I can hear Chiff Chaffs, which I’ve identified thanks to the Merlin app, and I can hear the usual suspects of pigeons and the occasional Red Kite, ubiquitous in our skies.

I can hear the wind through the trees, which is as close to the sound of the ocean I’m going to get here in the Midlands, about as far from the sea as it’s possible to live on this island.

And there is a sense of mindfulness, of calm, that I can only get while I’m physically moving.

And yes, I won’t really ever be lost, unless my phone battery dies, which is possible as I’m using it to audio-transcribe this post. And it wouldn’t be the first time I got lost in a wood that only covers a dozen hectares. (The last time being when I was supposed to be getting on a plane later that day, which was a little bit hairy.)

But I’ve been on this planet nearly 50 years, and it does feel a little bit like the last 20 have been lacking in wild adventure.

Certainly not the white water rapids (transcribed as rabbits, which is brilliant!) and climbing mountains sort.

But maybe Mild Adventure is enough.

Maybe sometimes it’s just taking that little bit of extra effort to walk the dogs somewhere new, to risk getting tired and lost and uncomfortable.

Maybe it’s okay to know that I’m only half an hour away from a cup of tea and a comfy chair.

Maybe that’s enough just now.

There may be more mountains ahead. My knees kinda hope there aren’t, but my brain is certain there will be.

There’ll certainly be more oceans, even if I have to drive there on weekends.

But for now, I’ll do a bit of tree bathing among the stinging nettles and the brambles and throw a stick for the dog.

And hope I don’t get too badly lost.