Getting outside

A lot of blogs, Instagram accounts and twitter feeds focus on the grand adventure, and the exotic. They share images and stories of far-off places, and feats of physical endurance.
When I spend time outside it's a bit more modest...
There's plenty of interest within 10 minutes of where you're sitting right now if you head out...

The 2018 BBC Countryfile calendar had the theme of "the call of the wild"
The picture that was chosen by the public to be the front cover picture is shown below. It was taken by Jarek Kurek, and wasn't taken in a wilderness area or National Park (well, not yet anyway....)
It was taken in Bushy Park, in London.

Our work with Mission:Explore (and our award-winning books) was a reminder that there is plenty of interest on your doorstep. We worked with National Geographic in the USA back in 2013, to produce a guide for young people to explore their neighbourhood and complete some challenges to earn 'badges'. These played with ideas of scale and travel, and story-telling. This was part of the US version of Geography Awareness Week.
 
Follow the link to make sure that you buy your copy of the Countryfile calendar - proceeds to Children in Need.

There is plenty to look at in your local area, and that includes the place where you might work or go to school.
- Get off the bus a few stops early and walk the last part of your journey
- Rather than dining al desko, head out for some fresh air at lunch time
- Go home a different way to usual - take the unusual turning, and try going down that road you've never been down before but driven past a hundred times...
- Take your dog for a walk, or let it take you for a walk (and borrow a dog if you don't have one)
- Head out to take a photo of what is one minute to the N, S, E and W of where you are

There are plenty more ideas of course, in the Mission:Explore books and elsewhere...

And if you fancy it, there is still time to apply to be an Ordnance Survey Get Outside Champion for 2018..

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