By Magni Haakon
The weekend is a great opportunity to explore. These consecutive days offer a break from routine and give individuals and groups the opportunity to escape their schedule in exchange for adventure. To do this, however, one only needs a destination and an activity.
Instead of letting the weekend pass you by, we’re sharing four great activities that will encourage and inspire you to seize the moment, swapping carpet for soil and ceiling for open sky. So, pack your bag and read on!
A Wild Weekend
Gaining the ability to source foods from the wild, knowing your fungi and harvesting seasonal plants, is an exciting and empowering experience. This is why wild weekends have become more popular, being celebrated not only by foodies who want to expand their palette but also by those wanting to improve their health and wellbeing by getting closer to nature.
One needs little in the way of equipment, aside from a pair of scissors and a basket for collecting food, but many will also choose to bring field guides and identification books with them too, so as to help them forage more sustainably and safely.
So, if you’re looking to reconnect with nature and learn more about how to survive in the wild, then a wild weekend might just be the perfect endeavour for your next break.
River Paddle
When taking your paddleboard out on the water, your exploration isn’t limited and you can return to land in an entirely different location than where you left. Many paddleboard enthusiasts, in fact, choose to embark on river paddle adventures, which involve packing a bag and choosing a long river stretch that allows you to explore the wilderness by camping along the way.
Be sure to begin your adventure with a river that suits paddleboarding and camping, while only endeavouring to make progress when the conditions are right.
Wilderness Expeditions
Whether you choose to travel by foot or by boat (or both), expeditions are an amazing way to entirely immerse yourself in nature, learning a range of traditional skills, such as flint-making and woodcarving, while journeying across lesser-explored areas.
For those starting out, there are a number of group tours available, which can be useful for those finding their feet in the outdoors. These ticketed excursions also offer opportunities to join experienced tutors out in the wild too.
However, for those wanting to separate entirely from the urban and social world, expeditions can easily be enjoyed with small groups or entirely solo. Just be sure to tread with caution!
Road Trip
Whether you are hoping to travel further afield or want to enjoy the open landscapes, a road trip is an amazing way to entirely escape your usual schedule and exchange your local area for a wild expanse. While it would take longer than a weekend to traverse the entire country (most give themselves a week), you can certainly open your weekend up to a number of other exciting cities or locations. Though, some will simply choose to revel in seeing nothing but open skies for their trip, stopping off at the tiny towns in between stretches for food and entertainment.
