Our journey to more sustainable living: What's gone well? And what can we still improve?

Climate change has been at the forefront of everyone’s minds in the past few years and the spotlight has been on it even more this past few weeks as the governments of the world came together for the COP26 summit.

I’ve always loved being out in nature but, I’ll be honest, my awareness about the importance of living more sustainably and my drive to do so have only really developed in the past few years. For me, you won’t be surprised to learn that it began with health and wellbeing. Keeping fit and healthy, and helping you and others to do the same has been my driving force throughout my adult life. As I began to take people out on adventures in the wilder places around the UK, I noticed how refreshed, energised, relaxed, and happy they became as a result. Nature had incredible powers.

Inextricably linked

Around the same time, I also started to realise how closely bound together our own health and wellbeing was with that of our planet’s. Our food comes from the soil and from the sea. Damage those and we have a big problem. I began to understand how everything in nature lives in harmony, in balance you could say. We need bees and other insects to pollinate our food. In fact, we require all creatures to sustain the web of life and the delicately balanced food chain. It is this complex but amazing interaction between every living thing on earth that sustains the great biodiversity of our planet and ensures that we have air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, and resources for shelter, clothing and everything else we need. The loss of just one tiny element can be catastrophic to our own wellbeing.

I also began to read the research on the impact that time in nature can have on not just your physical wellbeing, but your mental wellbeing too. It blew me away!

It was at this point that I begin to think seriously about my own habits feed into this cycle that damages our soil, our seas, our natural environment and our air. I started to think about how I shopped, how I travelled, how I ate and how much I consumed. I have never been in a position to preach on this topic, and I know from experience when it comes to health and fitness that preaching tends not to help others to change anyway. Instead, I set out to see if I could l change my habits in a way that would protect the environment, to share my journey with you all, and to see if I could find out just how much a difference each of us could make through the development of tiny new habits. I knew well that tiny changes sustained over time could massively impact someone’s health for the better, so I assumed that tiny changes made by enough of us over time could help our planet for the better too.

Do tiny habits make a difference?

I really think they do and here’s why. I recently read Chris Packham and Meg McCubbin’s book, Back to Nature: How To Love Life, and Save It. In it, they explain that the total area covered by our gardens in the UK is 432,964 hectares, an area one fifth the size of Wales and bigger than the Norfolk Broads, Exmoor, Dartmoor, and Lake District National Parks put together. If each single household did something in their garden to better protect wildlife, just imagine what an imapct that could have. If each household grew just a tiny portion of food, what a banquet that would be. If each household composted their food waste, just think how big a reduction in waste that would equate to.

Let’s take another example. How about litter? The sorry stats from Keep Britain Tidy are that two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day. But there are nearly 70 million people on our island. Imagine if just one person in thirty picked up a single piece of litter each day, then 2.33 million pieces would be removed from our streets and parks. Put another way, there’d be 330,000 less pieces than there were the day before. Over two million less in a single week. The tide would start to turn.

What have we changed?

Now you know my motivations for change, I thought I’d share with you what we’ve actually tried to do to play our part and also have a look at where we can still improve in future.

Here’s what we did:

Limit waste to the bare minimum

• Get rid of the waste bins in the house so that nothing went into general waste, even by accident.

• Take plastic bags and soft plastics to our local Tesco where they can both be recycled. (This scheme was originally trialled in Bristol and then extended to the entire South-West. Hopefully it will soon be nationwide.)

• Recycle everything else, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, tins, the usual things that we can all recycle.

• At present, the only waste that ever goes into the black bin is cat litter and anything that comes in packaging that we can’t recycle, although we try our best to purchase things where this doesn’t happen. I think we’ve only put the black bin out for collection a handful of times this year!

Eat less meat

• Stop buying meat from supermarkets for dinners at home. A simple rule that has allowed us to no if we’re sticking to the plan or not. Instead we have fish or vege options.

• Instead, we only eat meat occasionally, either when we visit local farmshops and can source local, organically farmed produce, or if we head out for a meal when we treat ourselves sometimes.

Be energy conscious

• Switch off all appliances, plugs and lights when they’re not in use.

• Keep an eye on the smart meter and set timers for the hot water tank and central heating. Done together, we’ve saved a few hundred pounds a year off our bills.

• Minimise the use of water. We use an eco-friendly spray with a dry cloth to clean the van instead of a hosepipe and make sure we don’t leave taps running. We have a water butt for the allotment and re-use water we collect from a dehumidifer for the house plants.

Choose better products

• We clean the vast majority of things in the house with hot water, distilled vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice. Anything else we buy eco-friendly products from companies like Ethical Superstore and e-cover.

• The same goes for washing powder and washing up liquid, buying products without the harmful chemicals in.

• We’ve started to apply this to bathroom stuff too, including beeswax hairwax and shampoo bars.

Buy more sustainably

• Whenever we need something now, first off I’ll check for secondhand options on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Gumtree

• For things like books, I’ll check out World of Books for secondhand options (they do free delivery)!

• If we can’t get things secondhand, we’ll look for options with sustainable credentials.

What can we do better?

There are some priority areas to work on in future to live even more sustainably:

1. Decrease our impact from car use. At present we have two vehicles. We can both be off in different places for work on the same day and we live in a rural area. Lou’s car is newer and a low emissions model but, when it’s possible, swapping the older van for a more planet-friendly model or even dropping back down to one vehicle will be a big step. In the meantime, we minimise travel by walking to the local shops and use the car more than the van.

2. Purchase litter pickers and get out there! I have my eye on some made from recycled fishing nets that have washed up on our coastlines. They’ll be in stock in the coming weeks and then we’re going to get out there like a pair of Wombles and start making a difference!

3. Buy even better. We can probably still improve on our impact with bathroom products by finding a good eco-friendly conditioner bar and we can continue to try to reduce the amount of packaged food we buy, even if it does all go back to be recycled.

4. Continue to use the fire sparingly over winter. We only lit it occasionally last winter just for the nice cosy feel it brings to the lounge, but we don’t really need to light it, the heating in the house is more than adequate.

5. When we do eventually get our own place again, our biggest impact will probably come from looking into heat pumps, better insulation, water butts attached to all of the drain pipes and the like.

What do you do? And do you have any tips for how we could do more?

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and learn about what you do to try to live sustainably, plus any ideas you have for us on how we can improve our lifestyle to make a difference to our planet’s wellbeing.

X reasons why herbs are great for your health

One of our sage plants in full bloom on our allotment.

The term ‘herb’ describes a huge range of plants. A herb can be described as any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers that are used for flavouring, as a food, in perfume, or as a medicine.

In botanical terms, a herb is any seed-bearing plant that does not have a woody stem and that dies down to the ground after flowering.

They’ve been a huge part of human medicine, diet, and culture for millennia, but many of their wonderful benefits have been forgotten in our modern world of heavily processed foods.

Let’s take a look at some of the key benefits of growing herbs and/or adding more of them into your diet:

Some flat-leaf parsley given to us by a lovely neighbour.

Nutrients

Probably the most obvious benefit of adding herbs into your diet is the vast abundance of health-giving nutrients that they provide. Herbs are amongst the highest antioxidant-containing foodstuffs on the planet. They’re also rich in other phytonutrients (plant goodies)!

Rosemary, for example, is a good source of ursolic acid, which has been shown in studies to shut down a substance in your body that increases inflammation and cell damage. Ginger and turmeric contain similarly helpful nutrients.

And it’s not just decreasing inflammation that herbs are helpful for. Here are some other great benefits that they can boast on their CV:

1. The high antioxidant levels can help to protect against ageing and heart disease.

2. Antioxidants and other nutrients like phytoestrogens may play a powerful role in your body’s ability to prevent cancers.

3. They help to keep your immune system strong and healthy.

4. They also have antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, meaning they can help to prevent infection and aid healing.

I’d say those were some pretty good reasons to add more herbs into your diet. But what else can they do?

Taste without the calories

When we want to add taste to our meals, it’s easy to reach for sauces, mayonnaise, and other dressings. And, whilst they can make your meals tasty, they’re often high in calories. Cooking with herbs or sprinkling them onto meat, fish, vegetables, and salads can give you powerful flavour with a lot fewer calories.

Herbs do, of course, still contain some calories (all foods do), but opting for herbs that are nutrient-rich without being energy-dense is a much healthier choice.

Taste without the salt

One of our other favourite go-to’s when it comes to flavour is salt. There’s nothing wrong with salt of course. It’s a good source of nutrients including sodium, which is essential in your body. But, too much sodium can increase the volume of water in your bloodstream and, over time, raise your blood pressure.

Herbs like rosemary, thyme, or spices like paprika (more on these another time) make great seasonings for meals and improve your health at the same time.

Aromatherapy

Herbs smell good. Wandering through your herb garden, or even just growing a few in pots on the windowsill, is a great way to give your nostrils a hug! The strong aroma of peppermint may help to fight nausea, and lavender is well known for its ability to help you relax and sleep better. Garlic can help in all sorts of ways, not least in fighting off vampires! ;-)

Recipes

Maybe I’ve got you thinking that you might want a few more herbs in your diet. If so, here are a few great recipes I’ve found on the web.

Allrecipes.com - a wide range of salads, sauces, pestos, and chutneys all made with herbs.

10 great herb recipes - something for everyone with mains, snacks, desserts and teas made from herbs.

Making the most of fresh herbs - I love the herbs in ice cubes idea here for extra flavour in your cool summer drinks!

Cycling the infamous Kirkstone Pass

Here are the pictures from our climb up the wonderful Kirkstone Pass during our adventure. Ten kilometres up to an altitude of 1,489 feet (454 metres), with a pleasant average gradient of around 4 per cent, but tougher sections at 12-13 per cent.

This is the longest route up the climb, but there’s always ‘The Struggle’ for those of you who fancy a tougher challenge. Gradients up to 25 per cent will definitely leave you feeling like you’ve earned a drink when you reach the Kirkstone Pass Inn at the top!

Lake Windermere

Lunch by the lake before we take on the famous climb.

Last glimpse

Our last views of Windermere. Next stop Ullswater.

A steep start.

The B-road from Troutbeck Bridge immediately kicks up through the trees .

Into the light.

But the climb is instantly worth it for the views.

Village life

We pass through some beautiful old villages, full of white painted stone cottages and quaint little pubs.

Back on the main road

And the gradient kicks again.

Mountains ahead

England’s green and pleasant (if rather hilly) land.

Full steam ahead

Lou powering up the road after a quick photo stop.

I can see my house from here

Well, not quite, but the views stretch for miles.

An easier bit

The gradient relents, but still we climb.

Poser!

Me proving I cycled up too and didn’t just sit in a car taking photos.

Up we go again

The road kicks once more.

And again

Ok, maybe twice more.

And we're there

Lou pauses for a photo in front of the famous Kirkstone Pass Inn.

Fancy a pint?

A very kind cyclist offers to buy us both a drink, thinking we’re taking on the same challenge as him. We’re not allowed inside the pub of course (due to COVID), but at least the sun is shining.

Wow!

The view over the other side. Downhill all the way to Ullswater now.

And we're down.

The lush green valley on the way into Ullswater, where we’ll be enjoying a rest day.

Not a bad view for dinner

Sat outside the pub, surrounded by mountains as the sun sets and we enjoy burger and chips, washed down with beer and wine (only one each of course!).

Learning to live with less: What life on a bike taught us

How much cutlery do you have in your kitchen drawer?

Before you settle down to read this, go have a quick look. Is it just one or two items of cutlery per person? Or is it choc full of silverware? And if so, how much of it do you really need?

What about t-shirts - how many do you have? Pairs of shoes? Hats? And what about the millions of other items we have in our houses that never get used, that we don’t really need?

When we started packing for life on the road during our adventure, a few things quickly became apparent - firstly that we had a lot of stuff (and compared to many people, we buy very few clothes) and secondly, that not much of it was going to fit in our bags. We needed to make sure we took only what we needed; there was even lengthy debate about how many pairs of pants were required. Apparently, two pairs was inadequate.

After much culling, we were left with a couple of cycling outfits each, and a very limited range of clothing for time spent off the bike. Plus of course, all the camping and cooking kit, bike spares and mechanic equipment we were going to need for a self-sufficient life on the road. Even with ruthless management, when we set off, Lou was carrying over 20 kilograms on her bike, and I had just over 30.

Will I fit in the bags?

“There’s nothing like carrying what you need all day to motivate you to live more simply.”

Lugging all of that weight over the Cotswolds, Malverns, Brecons and Pembrokeshire hills definitely helped to us appreciate the importance of living simply - the bikes were heavy and it was extremely tiring on our legs. Even with our minimalist approach, when we reached our first rest stop at Lou’s dad’s house at the end of day four, we were still able to shed another half a stone of items before setting off again. When you really sit and think about what you need to live, you’ll be very surprised how little that actually is.

A wasteful society

Bear these statistics in mind:

• According to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Britons only recycled 45% of the waste we produced in 2019

• 9.5 million tonnes of food is wasted in Britain each year - 70% of which is perfectly edible, with a value of approximately £19 billion (WRAP - The Waste & Resources Action Programme)

• 350,000 tonnes (around £140 million worth of used but still wearable clothing), goes to landfill in the UK every year (Clothes Aid).

Put simply, we buy, use and waste far more stuff than we really need.

That shirt, again

You may or may not have noticed that in the photographs of our adventure, we were always wearing the same clothes. Lou had one pair of jeans and a few different tops for the evenings, whilst I had one pair of trousers, one t-shirt and my favourite check shirt. She mocked me endlessly for my wearing of that shirt, and if I’m honest, it probably could have done with one or two more washes that it had en route, but it was warm and comfortable, and more than anything it stopped me from having to make a choice about what to wear. That may not sound like a big thing to you, but when you’re tired, the less decisions you have to make, the better.

What shall I wear today?

Less is more

Whilst I might joke about it, there are massive benefits to be derived from living with less clothes, less food and just less stuff in general. It’ll save you money, giving you more to buy the things you really do value, or to spend it on the experiences that matter most to you. It’ll give you more space, something we always desire; it means less things to clean, tidy, sort, and pack if you’re moving house (we can vouch for the benefits of living with less on this front, having recently spent way too much time sorting and packing ‘things’ when selling the house). Having less and living more simply can help to shift your mindset away from materialism - you’ll feel less stressed if you’re not trying to constantly ‘keep up with the Jones’s’ and you may find that money worries ease too.

And these benefits don’t even begin to consider the great things you’ll do for our planet by living with less. Less consumption means less waste, and less waste means greater sustainability, something that’s only going to become more important as the world’s population continues to rise. You may think that what you do is of little consequence, but the balance ethos says otherwise. We truly believe that tiny individual changes can lead to massive results. Ever heard the folklore statistic about what would happen if everyone in China jumped up and down at the same time? It was said that it would cause an earthquake or some other natural disaster - it’s not true of course (it has genuinely been researched and scientists even created formulas to assess the outcome), but the principle is one that we should still take to our hearts. Small actions performed by millions of people simultaneously can bring about gigantic changes.

How can you live with less?

Do you regularly throw certain foods away? Do you have a big pile of clothes that could go into a charity bag, or be taken to the local clothing bank? Do you really need to buy that new item, or could you repair, re-use, adapt, buy second-hand, or even live without?

Living with less certainly bought us closer to balance on our ride. Life felt less stressful, less confusing and simpler. It can do the same for you.

Why plants make me happy, and how they can do the same for you

As we’ve started to settle into this unexpected break from normal life, we’re spending more time than ever at home and, like most people, longing to get out into the great outdoors whenever possible. I am 100% an outdoor person, given the choice its where I am happiest. There are days when I really struggle with the current situation, but one thing that I am so very grateful for are my houseplants and garden, giving me that much-needed connection with mother nature.

Now more than ever it’s a perfect time to start a little house plant collection. Having a bit of the outdoors indoors has some huge health benefits and of course house plants look amazing too! From the healing powers of the Aloe Vera to the air purifying qualities of the Peace Lily, they can bring a little zen to your home and help you breathe easier too. And whether you’re a plant veteran or a new plant parent, there’s something out there for everyone just waiting to brighten up your day.

Having plants indoors also helps to bring you back to nature, which is definitely a good thing right now. When we are feeling a little low it’s amazing how a stroll in the park or woodland, or even just a little time in your garden can work wonders lifting your spirits. Numerous studies show how even just a small amount of time in nature can help reduce mental fatigue, stress and blood pressure, increase feelings of relaxation and bring a sense of calm. Having a few leafy friends around the home is an easy way to reap the benefits.

It may seem far-fetched that having a few house plants could have such huge effects on your well-being, but just the simple act of tending to your plants, watching them grow new leaves, and the look of the beautiful foliage around the house makes a big difference to your daily life. Mine make me smile every day.

So no matter where you live, whether a tiny apartment or a spacious house, an indoor plant will make a world of difference. A plant can instantly wake up a room, literally breathing life into a space and nature into your home.

Some low-maintenance plants to start you off

Not sure where to start? Here are a few ideas of plants that are easy to look after and hard to kill!

1. Spider plant - Chlorophytum Comosum “vittatum”. Spider plants are one of the easiest plants to look after and can grow very quickly in a variety of conditions. A bi-weekly watering will suffice, natural light is essential but no direct sunlight and this cheerful chappy will be more than happy!

2. Peace Lily - Spathiphyllum. The humble peace lily comes with a NASA approved air purification score of 7.5, which is enough to tell you that this little gem is perfect for fighting indoor air pollutants. Very easy to grow, keep them in the shade and water once a week to keep this plant at peace.

3. Snake plant - Sansevieria Trifasciata. This beauty of a plant is easily recognisable by its sharp, pointy leaves, hence the name. You may also know it as Mother-in-law’s tongue! It’s easy to care for, needs very little attention and can go weeks without water. That makes it perfect for anyone who is a new plant parent. It’s also a great green friend to have in your bedroom as it releases oxygen.

4. Dracaena - there are many different varieties in the Dracaena family and they are a great addition to the home, coming in a range of lovely colours! With long striped leaves growing out of a small stem, some members of this lovely looking plant family can grow up to 12ft tall, perfect if you are going for the indoor jungle look! It needs little sunlight and moderate water to thrive

5. Aloe Vera - A Barbadensis. Aloe Vera’s have so many health benefits, from anti-inflammatory properties to air-purifying qualities, plus antibacterial gel inside the leaves. That makes the Aloe a handy plant to have around'; very easy to keep happy with bright light and moderate watering, just ensure it has proper drainage to thrive. Make sure you don’t overwater it and that its never left in standing water.

Have fun, happy planting and I hope you get as much joy from them as I do.

Lou xx

Re-use, recycle, upcycle

“Ending is better than mending…the more stitches, the less riches.”

I’ve recently finished reading A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, a dystopian future novel written in the 1930s where Henry Ford has essentially replaced God as the being that everybody worships. Part of this alternative religion sees mass consumerism placed at the very heart of society; nobody needs repair things as they can simply buy new and by doing so, they keep the wheels of society turning for the better.

Huxley foresaw this when visiting America in the early 1930s, little did he know how accurate his predictions would become. We might not sing songs about the Great Ford, but we do live in a society obsessed with consumerism and aghast at the thought of repairing something when it’s so easy to buy new. We live in the age of Amazon 1-click, of contactless, of computers that are only expected to last a few years before they’re considered ‘vintage’ (this very word was used by a young ‘genius’ on a recent visit to the Apple store where I had the gall to ask if my 2012 laptop might be repairable). New is always better – new cars, new houses, a new phone every year that does pretty much everything the ‘old’ one does, with a few tweaks. We truly are weapons of mass consumption.

But at what price? New things we need a constant supply of resources to produce them…metals, plastics, man-made fibres and all the fuel needed to power the plants and machinery that create them. And what do we do with the old things? We discard them. Into the bin, thrown onto the tip, or in the worst case, dumped by the side of the road or at a local nature spot.

The Savage in Huxley’s novel, a young man who’d grown up in the wilderness, brought up by Native Americans, was repulsed by this modern world and its endless consumerism and leisure time. His voice is beginning to resonate in our own society. Just this weekend I packed for a camping trip and got out my shiny new rucksack, bought to replace the previous incarnation, simply because the seam had begun to tear in the corner. At the time it never even crossed my mind to attempt to repair it. Why would I bother when I could get online and have a brand new one delivered by tomorrow for free? I say free; covered by my annual Amazon Prime subscription of course.

More recently though, I’ve begun to wonder how my shopping habits affect our planet? About how we will eventually run out of the fossil fuels and other resources needed to make and deliver this constant stream of new things. About how my shopping habits lead to deforestation and a continually shrinking habitat for the beautiful animals on our planet. About how my discarded items are sent abroad and piled into vast mounds of rubbish, damaging the health of local children and families, about how all of the plastics I’ve bought begin to degrade and end up in our oceans, filling the stomachs of marine life and ultimately, possibly ending up in my own through the process of the food chain. And about how reusing, repairing and buying second-hand can make a difference and save our forests, our oceans, our animals, our health and our bank balances.

How has this changed my habits?

In more ways than you can imagine…

• I look to repair things when they break and often, it’s eminently possible and works just as well afterwards, sometimes better

• If I need to buy something, I’ll check out Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Gumtree or Preloved for second-hand options. It’s become a bit of an obsession, searching for the best possible bargains and comparing with what it would’ve cost me to buy new

• I’ve found things in the house that can do a perfectly good job; examples include plates and a toast rack acting as soap dishes, a bathroom door bolt used to secure two scaffold planks together to make a raised bed and old towels turned into dusters and dishcloths

• I’ve worked on throwing away less and recycling more, so much so that for the last fortnight I haven’t even had a bin in the house. Wood, hard plastics and metals get recycled at the local tip, paper, card, plastic bottles, trays, glass and foil go into my recycling bins for collection, soft plastics are taken to Tesco stores here in Bristol where they’re melted down and used again for packaging and I avoid buying things in packaging I know I can’t recycle. The bin by the way, has been washed out and will be used to grow potatoes in future.

Your next challenge is simply to take one step towards less consumption and less waste…buy something from a second-hand shop or through online sites like Facebook Marketplace, reuse something in a novel way – a jam jar as a plant pot, cardboard boxes to store clothes or toys, whatever you can think of. Maybe upcycle an old piece of furniture, it could be a fun project, give you a new hobby and help you get active at the same time. Can you recycle more? Check out sites like Terracycle or Recycle Now to find ideas on what else you can do – maybe take crisp packets or toothbrushes to a local Terracycle collection point for example.

Re-use, recycle, upcycle and help our planet find to become fitter, healthier and happier once more.

Bring me sunshine - how the yellow ball in the sky impacts your health

We all enjoy it when we wake up, peek through the curtains and discover that the sun is shining. Just what is it that makes catching a few rays so good for us? Here are seven great reasons:

1)   Sunlight boosts your stores of vitamin D, which works with calcium to give you healthy teeth and bones. What you may not know is that it also plays a role in keeping your eyes healthy and may help protect against heart disease, cancers, diabetes, arthritis and MS.

2)   Exposure to sun and heat improves your body’s ability to sweat efficiently, enabling you to stay cooler better. Effectively it helps you develop a better air conditioning system.

3)   Sunlight has also been shown to boost testosterone levels in men, which may help to improve muscle growth and increase your sex drive.

4)   It boosts your body’s natural defence mechanism; your immune system by improving the function of special cells whose job it is to protect your from illness.

5)   Sunshine increases levels of a substance known as Nitric Oxide within your body. This causes your blood vessels to widen and can lower blood pressure as a result.

6)   Ever wondered why you feel so happy and relaxed on sunny days? Well, one reason may be that it boosts levels of serotonin, a chemical in your brain known to elevate your mood and regulate your appetite. This may also be why we find it easier to eat lighter meals in the summer.

7)   It’ll help you remember everything you’ve just read! Exposure to sunlight has been shown to improve memory and help you get better sleep. Getting more of the latter also improves memory.

The clear message – be sure to get some sunshine as often as you can. Be sensible though; too much in one go on very hot days can lead to sunburn and may increase skin cancer risk in the long-term; as with all things it always comes back to balance. 

balance on……the great outdoors

I’m sat writing this blog in a little holiday house on the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. Out of the window I can see the sea, the sun shining down onto its tranquil waters through gaps in the cloud above that looks dark and heavy with rain.

I’ve just come back from a walk/run/play along the beautiful coastline. This morning I was up just after sunrise and typed out a few thousand words of my book, eager to make the most of the day with the deadline fast approaching at the end of this month!

Whilst I was out and about I got to thinking about what exactly it is that makes exercise outdoors so appealing. I’ve been writing about this topic recently for the book and it is something that fascinates me, why does an exercise session in nature feel so much easier and more enjoyable than one facing a wall in the corner of the gym?

I imagine there’s a myriad of reasons, different for everyone, but here are mine:

• Sunshine – ok so us Brits certainly won’t get this every time we exercise, but when we do it makes a massive difference. This morning was grey and paired with a constant drizzle, but when the sun finally shone through, my mood seemed to lift just like the clouds had done. Skipping across the rocks that led to the beach and down the grassy coastal paths as the surprisingly warm rays of October sunshine soaked me in their warmth made the whole experience more pleasant. And it isn’t necessarily the sun that really matters; it’s the natural light. These days many of us, myself included spend hours at a desk sat inside, and from now until March this means we won’t actually get to feel much natural light on our skin. Even a 20-minute walk at lunchtime could make a difference, and now is a beautiful time of year to get amongst nature, with the mix of green, gold, orange, purple, brown, red and yellow on show.

• The call of the wild – I don’t know about you, but as I jumped over big rocks, sprinted up steep grassy slopes, wove my way along muddy zig-zag paths surrounded by high-sided hedges, giving the impression I was moving twice as fast as I actually was, and played on the beach and in the sand dunes, I felt like an ancient warrior, at one with nature but with adrenaline coursing through my veins in the fight for survival. After reaching the highest summit I could find and looking down across the bay, I felt like the ruler of my kingdom, even though I was very out of breath and the sheep were looking at me like I was a little weird.

• Sensory awareness – it isn’t just the sights that make the countryside, or any green space for that matter, an enjoyable place to be. There’s a host of smells and sounds that heighten the senses, sending the olfactory and auditory nerves into overdrive. And it appears that the brain likes this as serotonin, dopamine and all the other substances that make us happy come flooding through. The sound of the sea is a particular favourite of mine and it appears that I’m not alone, with research from Exeter University suggesting that people find exercise near water more enjoyable. Equally the smell of cut grass, or of tress wet after a recent downpour, comes top of many lists, including mine. OK, so the countryside may also have one or two unpleasant sights and smells and research does show that these decrease mood, but the beauty of nature in most cases far outweighs these.

• Fresh air – the feel of a light breeze on your face is far preferable to the sensation that occurs when the air-con gets switched on in the office; it’s just not the same. People often talk of ‘fresh air’ and getting outside to ‘blow the cobwebs away’, it’s as if the wind literally rushes through your ears and nostrils and blows the bad thoughts of the day clean out the other side.

• Fun! There’s so much more temptation to play when we’re outside. The child in you just seems to want to come out and re-live your youth. In between jumping over things, sprinting flat out and climbing over rocks, here’s a little stone stack I built on the beach. :-)

There’s clearly something to this outdoorsy thing, as an ever-growing number of people have shunned the gym in recent years in favour of the natural gymnasium. These include: Boot Camp – go to any reasonably-sized park on a Saturday morning these days and you may catch a glimpse of people in coloured bibs being shouted at by a couple of people in army combats. The group environment, the lack of kit needed and the ready-made motivation appeal greatly to some and there are whole companies dedicated to just this style of training. · The Green Gym – this conservation project has become increasingly popular with exercise referral schemes for those with mild medical conditions. The physical nature of the gardening and landscaping work is ideal for a wide range of abilities, gives something back to the community and has a big social element to it. Some areas run Blue Gym schemes where the focus is on exercise in and around water. · Running, cycling and triathlon – these are among the fastest growing sports in the UK, with triathlon in particular booming in recent years. Why not try a tri if you want to break the monotony of the gym? You’ll find events for all levels across the UK. Sports - think beyond the traditional games of football, rugby and netball. These days you’ll find a host of sports accessible at all levels including baseball, rounders, hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, and orienteering. Reading through a piece of research recently, I was interested to discover a piece of research that had discovered that people said they were far more likely to repeat an exercise session if they did it outdoors compared to indoors. Maybe their elevated mood from all of that fresh air, and possibly a bit of sunshine if they were really lucky, helped them to enjoy it. I myself will be up early tomorrow for another trip to the beach, may do a run and then build a sand castle! Balance your life, balance your scales. Paul