Microadventures in the Marches

In 2024 I had a bit of a midlife crisis ahead of the birth of my daughter and first child, Molly. I was 43 and felt that life so far perhaps hadn’t been as adventurous as it could have been. I bought a little tent off Amazon and decided I was going to camp in the woods near Ledbury, Herefordshire, where I live. I'd then get up and walk 10 miles to Malvern via the Worcestershire Beacon, the highest point in Worcestershire.

I had a proper stinker on my first attempt. I took too much stuff and got nowhere near enough sleep thanks to all the disturbing noises from animals in the dark woods. In the morning I just walked home. I was exhausted and I’d pretty much bottled it.

I couldn’t let that failure go, so I went back the next weekend, slept better and made it to Malvern. It doesn’t sound like much, and I laugh about it a bit now, but at the time I was absolutely buzzing. I’d been up to the summit of Ben Nevis before, but this felt like a far bigger achievement to me. That was my first microadventure.

“Microadventure” is a term coined by adventurer and author Alastair Humphreys. He wrote a book full of ideas for adventure-hungry people who might not have the time to disappear to the ends of the earth. I hadn’t actually read the book at the time and wasn’t familiar with the term, but it’s now something I try to do as often as I can.

My wife occasionally goes away for weekends with her sisters while I take on full parenting duties. In return, I get to occasionally disappear for a microadventure of my own in the local area. I can’t recommend it enough. I get some peace, some time to myself, some healthy activity, and a huge sense of accomplishment.

On my one-night camping trips so far I’ve followed a river from source to confluence, slept on the highest hill in my home county, found an unmapped waterfall and named it after my daughter, and even taken one of my dogs along for the adventure.

Below are some of my most memorable microadventures in Herefordshire and the Marches.

Ledbury to Malvern with a Woodland Wild Camp

Wild camping in the Frith Wood in Ledbury 

This was my second attempt at this walk and wild camp, which got me hooked. 

Read about it here. You can also read about my failed attempt here

Finding a Waterfall to Name After my Daughter

A beautiful waterfall in Herefordshire 

A camp on farmland and a walk in the Black Mountains to find a waterfall. 

See how I got on here

Sleeping on the Highest Hills in Herefordshire

Wild camping on Hatterall Ridge

A 23 mile hike from Hay-on-Wye to Abergavenny with a wild camp on Hatterrall Ridge. 

More detail here

Wild Camping in the Malvern Hills

Sunrise from a tent on the Malverns

Swerving by-laws with a wild camp on an Iron Age hillfort in the Malverns, with epic sunset and sunrise views.

The full story here

Camping with a Dog

Wilf wild camping

I took my dog Wilf on a permissive camp on family farmland, with a long walk over Garway Hill in the morning

See how Wilf coped here

Adventures in my Postcode 

Wild camping in Ledbury

More woodland camping in Ledbury and a memorable walk to the Berlin Wall in the morning. Well, a bit of it. 

See what I'm talking about here

Escaping Without Disappearing 

Incredible views while wild camping in the Brecon Beacons

A quick night away on a historic and interesting hill in the Brecon Beacons.

All the details here

Walking the Full Length of a River

Walking the River Monnow

Completing the Monnow Valley Walk on a 2 day hike with a couple of my best friends.

See how we got on here