Microadventures by Alastair Humphreys. Book review

Some books totally inspire you to do something new. This is one of those books. As a result of reading Microadventures by Alastair Humphreys I now want to try sleeping outside in the countryside in a bivvy bag. This is something that I have never really considered before, but this book makes me want to.

Alastair Humphreys is best known for cycling around the world in an epic 4 year adventure. He wrote two amazing books about his journey. I have read them both and would thoroughly recommend them:

In the introduction to Microadventures Alastair Humphreys writes that he will have failed if you read this book and do not do at least one of the things in it. He has produced a book that captures your imagination and it is very difficult to read all of this and not want to try out his suggestions for adventure.

The concept of the Microadventure is that not all of us have time, money or the inclination to embark upon huge expeditions on the other side of the world, but we can still have an adventure right here, in Britain. We have wonderful countryside, some of it remote and as Humphreys points out, some of it very close to cities. He argues that this makes it easy to escape your daily life and go on an adventure. He proposes the idea of a "5 to 9" Microadventure where you finish work and head off into the countryside for the night and then return to work the following morning. He also writes about walking a lap of the M25 in one week to show that even in the most boring places an adventure is possible.

Humphreys gives plenty of ideas for easy and accessible adventures that involve cycling, taking to rivers and hiking. The book is a glossy, colourful format filled with great photographs of the Microadventures and the short chapters make it easy to dip in and out. The rear pages of the book give advice on equipment, how to identify trees, how to learn birdsong, how to read stars and how to navigate. Once I started reading I could not stop. The whole concept of Microadventures really captured my imagination. 

One of the Microadventures is simply sleeping outside in your own back garden. The idea is to encourage us all to try a Microadventure no matter how small it may be. Humphreys guarantees that we will enjoy it and it will bring us closer to the joys of nature.

A major theme of the book is about connecting with nature, even in a simple way. Sleeping outside in a sleeping bag inside a bivvy bag is Humphreys main suggestion throughout the book for getting back to nature and having an adventure. He is very convincing and as a result I have recently bought a bivvy bag and am looking forward to trying my first night in the countryside during my next cycle trip.

If you want to be inspired to get out there and have an adventure then treat yourself to this book. I loved it and I hope you do too. Click on the box below to purchase the book from Amazon:
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