Microadventure #1 - Overnight in a Scottish bothy

"Adventure is a state of mind...

... a spirit of trying something new and leaving your comfort zone.It's about enthusiasm, ambition, open-mindedness and curiosity."

Alastair Humphreys - www.alastairhumphreys.com/product/microadventures

In 2001, Alastair Humphries left his home in Yorkshire to cycle around the world. It took him nearly 5 years to complete and led to many more big adventures - rowing oceans and walking across deserts - "chasing the spirit of adventure" across the planet. 

Now back in the UK, he is an adventurer, author and motivational speaker. I've enjoyed reading many of his books and heard him speak at various events, but my favourite by far is his 'Microadventures' book, that encourages "normal people to find brilliant adventures closer to home... a refresh button for busy lives".

Over the last 15 years I've been incredibly fortunate to experience more than my fair share of 'Macroadventures', but as I move out of the international development sector and into my London-based job at The Smarty Train (www.thesmartytrain.com), I'm determined to explore different interpretations of adventure. So in 2018, I've decided to have at least one 'microadventure' every month, starting with a long weekend in Aberdeenshire...

Microadventure #1 has fulfilled a long-held ambition of mine to spend the night in a bothy, described by the Mountain Bothies Association (www.mountainbothies.org.uk) as "simple shelters in remote country for the use and benefit of all who love wild and lonely places". You don't need to book, they're never locked, and they don't cost anything to stay. Some have wood burners or open fires, some even have wooden sleeping platforms, but you never know who you might meet and exchange stories from the day with over a wee dram of whisky or hot chocolate.

Walking and overnighting in the Scottish mountains in January requires a bit more kit than the summer months. Fortunately for me, my friend and VSO colleague Gaby is also a qualified mountain guide and sent me a kit list of epic proportions as well as lending me some of her winter mountain equipment. Good thing the sleeping bag went down to -7, because that's exactly where temperatures hovered for the whole first day!

Gaby, her husband Jamie, and I headed out into the Cairngorms from their flat in Aberdeen on a perfectly clear sunny day. Open skies meant it was colder than when I went to northern Sweden in 2016, but the blue sky and snow covered mountains were absolutely stunning. No stranger to adventure either (and currently planning an expedition to kite board across Greenland), Jamie headed off to ski tour while Gabs and I walked to Loch Callater near Braemar (not far from the Queen's residence in Balmoral)...

It starts getting dark by 4pm in January in Scotland, so the last bit of our walk to Bob Scott's bothy was by moonlight. And as we arrived the stars were out in force...

Photo credit: Jamie Anderson

By the time we arrived, there were already 6 guys there and the fire wasn't just lit, it was roaring! So roaring in fact that we were soon peeling off layers and opening a window. The insulation and roofing were so efficient we were toasty all night, and barely needed our sleeping bags until the middle of the night. Dinner was rehydrated spaghetti bolognese with chunks of chorizo and cheese followed by chocolate. Call me crazy but I'd choose that in the atmosphere of the bothy over a michelin-starred restaurant any day...

Photo credit: Jamie Anderson

The next day we walked out of the mountains and headed back to Aberdeen for a night of home comforts before Gaby and I headed off for a bonus microadventure, driving up the coast, stopping off at Newburgh to see the seals before setting up camp near Pennan. We managed to get a fire going with some driftwood - enough to roast some marshmallows after a veritable feast of sausages and flageolet beans cooked over a primus stove. A bit too chilly to bivvy outside (I'll save that for a summer microadventure) we slept on comfy mattreses in the back of the van, waking up to the sound of the sea. Bliss!

On the way back to Aberdeen we visited Glen Garrioch distillery and climbed Bennachie hill with panoramic views of Aberdeenshire and the snow capped mountains of the Cairngorms in the distance.

Still time for one last microadventure on the way back to London (and my last 2 days of work at VSO), we got the Caledonian Sleeper train home, arriving at Euston during rush hour the next morning, a million miles away from the peace and tranquility of the Scottish mountains and coastline. It's incredible to think the amount of adventure we squeezed into 4 days without even leaving the UK. Already excited about where February might take me...