And so, only 10 days into the year, I broke my only New Year’s Resolution … to not make any resolutions, set any goals or undertake any new challenges. I’d only seen the #microadventure challenge yesterday morning, and only a few hours earlier Holly (aged 6) had asked if she could sleep outside and, well, it just kind of happened as the best mini adventures so often do.
It almost didn’t happen. It was already dark and cold, the tarp was buried along with the rest of the camping stuff at the back of the cabin down the end of the garden and I could only find one sleeping bag. But, it was too beautiful a night and too good an impromptu opportunity to pass up, so I handed Holly a hat, gloves and thermal PJs and told her to get ready for bed.
The grass was wet and muddy, and I didn’t feel inclined to scour the lawn with a head torch to remove any fox poo that might be present.
The grass was wet and muddy, and I didn’t feel inclined to scour the lawn with a head torch to remove any fox poo that might be present.
So being tarpless I chose a section of the patio, next to a wall, amongst the plant pots. Our bed comprised an old blanket, a thermarest mat each, a fleece blanket for me and a sheepskin rug for Holly to insulate us underneath (had we been in the wild, a la Bear Grylls, we’d have skinned our own sheep with a pocket knife), a sleeping bag for me, a duvet for Holly and an extra double duvet across the top of us both. It was toasty! Only our noses felt the chill, but that's easily fixed by snuggling down under the covers.
Holly grabbed a couple of apples for a snack and at around 9.30pm we bunkered down for the night, chatting about the stars and making up our own constellations while the apples were munched. Holly fell asleep before I reached the end of our made up bedtime story about ‘Gerbil, the girl adventurer’.
Holly grabbed a couple of apples for a snack and at around 9.30pm we bunkered down for the night, chatting about the stars and making up our own constellations while the apples were munched. Holly fell asleep before I reached the end of our made up bedtime story about ‘Gerbil, the girl adventurer’.
She slept soundly, snoring gently for the remainder of the night. I woke every so often to a different view as the star formations changed, literally watching the earth move on its axis. We went to sleep with the Little Dipper above us and woke with the Big Dipper above us.
The only sounds were those of the wind chime and the rustle of trees. The 3 quarter moon drifted from East to West and the occasional shooting star, wispy clouds and faint satellites animated the night sky.
At 4.50 Holly stirred, said I love you and went back to sleep. She woke again at 6.30. We played I Spy in the pre-dawn half light and watched an aeroplane bumping into the stars.
What a night! Neither of us was dragged off by wolves or mauled by badgers. Our bed wasn’t peed on by cats or pooed on by chickens and neither of us suffered hypothermia. Our first #microadventure was a resounding success.
The only sounds were those of the wind chime and the rustle of trees. The 3 quarter moon drifted from East to West and the occasional shooting star, wispy clouds and faint satellites animated the night sky.
At 4.50 Holly stirred, said I love you and went back to sleep. She woke again at 6.30. We played I Spy in the pre-dawn half light and watched an aeroplane bumping into the stars.
What a night! Neither of us was dragged off by wolves or mauled by badgers. Our bed wasn’t peed on by cats or pooed on by chickens and neither of us suffered hypothermia. Our first #microadventure was a resounding success.