6 Summer Outdoor Activities Ideas

Hi, Happy Friday! hope you've had a lovely week. Here are some ideas of ways you can make the most of whats left of summer or what little of it we are getting. I love the longer days and warmer weather that summer normally brings, getting outdoors more and enjoy all the natural Vitamin D my body has been craving. Summer for me means socializing with friends and family in outdoor activities mainly centered around good food and drink. Here are a few of my outdoor activity ideas for the remainder of the summer.

Go Camping
Everyone should spend a night sleeping under the stars. Have a mini camping break or just pitch a tent in your own garden. Eat Al Fresco and do a little star gazing.

Have a Picnic
Head to your local park, further a field or even have a picnic in the garden. Its all about the food, but don't forget to take all the provisions such as cutlery, plates and napkins which will make it a less messy event and a nice blanket to sit on. If you plan to have an alcoholic beverage with your picnic make sure you check local public alcohol laws to avoid fines and don't forget to take all rubbish away with you if bins are unavailable.

Go Berry Picking
A classic summer activity and one that I am yet to take part in. I don't think anything else could represent summer better than strawberry picking in the sunshine.

Organise a sporting activity
It could be as simple as mini goal or more extravagant like zorbing. It's more about the element of  socializing in the sun than about what group activity you pick.

BBQ/Garden Party
Again all about the food but with the comforts of home. Invite people to join you for a garden party. Don't forget to put out enough chairs for guests and make sure that you have food and drink to cater for all dietary requirements. Place lighting to keep the party going into the night and get a few bug repellent candles to keep them away.

Go to the Beach
This one requires travel unless you're lucky enough to live at the coast, but what's the summer holidays without a trip to the seaside. Build a sand castle, chase some waves, do some rock pooling, play the arcade machines, have an ice cream or indulge in some seafood.

Hope my tips/suggestions are helpful. What activities will you do doing during the summer?

Sam

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A Catch Up | York Highlights

Hi, I've been back from my camping trip a week now. York was a nice break away from it all, I don't think I took many photo but that's nothing new for me, it's something I really need to work on. Oh well I'll just have to tell you what I did instead, which honestly wasn't all that much other than eat at a few nice places and read continuously for 4 days, bliss.

- York Minster and a map of York -

Sunday
We arrived about midday, after a short drive of about an hour, to a very busy campsite which had only been open for three days. We managed to pitch the tent in a grand total of 15 minuets which I think is a record. After that we went for a little supermarket shop for the essentials (Cider mainly) and then sat in the sun for the afternoon reading. We had some BBQ chicken skewers for tea which were super yummy. This was the night of the storm, proper fork lightening and very heavy rain, a little worrying when you're only in a tent.

Monday
With camping the sunlight wakes you up at the crack of dawn. So reading time pretty much starts then if you can't get back to sleep. Later in the day we headed to the Evil Eye bar and had a drink or two and then headed to the Sam Smith pub The Kings Arms. We opted to eat at Yo!Sushi taking advantage of the blue Monday menu. I tried the salmon and avacardo hand roll, it was so delicious. We had loads to eat and the bill came to just under £30, which for two is a bargain.

- Playing Pool and Beers at Evil Eye -

Tuesday
This was the day that it rained and rained and rained, until about four in the afternoon when we headed out to find some food. We started at the Evil Eye for a drink and then ended up at the Wetherspoons named the punch bowl, where I got the Mexican burger which was really nice. We then tracked down a little pub called the priory which had a pool table so we could have a few games before returning to the tent for the night.

- Pints at the Kings Arms and Cosmo Restaurant -

Wednesday
Another wet day, we headed to Cosmo for tea. It's an all you can eat which servers food from all over the world. You can have Pizza, Carvery, Sushi and curry all under one roof. This was a place we found on our last visit and have been really looking forward to going back. The heavens opened as we left the restaurant so we had to walk back in the very heavy rain. It's not the shortest of walks so we where quite wet but hiding under trees was fun.

Thursday
This was by far the nicest day of the week. We headed into town purely to get some stuff to have a BBQ. We opted to buy from the market as you can buy smaller amounts, we got burgers (I had lamb) and mackerel. I was really happy to have finally been able to have a proper BBQ, the appearance of the sun was also welcome to dry the tent off before our departure and it stayed really warm until late.

Friday
Home time! had a very lazy morning, breakfast and then started to pack up. Again we managed to put the tent down in record time. Packed up everything into the tiny Metro car, I still don't understand how it all fit.

I had a lovely week off and it feels super weird to be back at work but I'm sure that won't last that long. I finished two books and got more than half way through a third, so a pretty productive reading session. I have slight holiday blues now and really want to organize my next trip away for something to look forward too. If you made it this far congratulations and thanks for reading.

Do you have any travel plans?

Sam

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Festival Survival Kit #2 | Toiletries

Hi, Today I'm continuing with my festival survival kit focusing on toiletries. These are the items you will need to keep yourself feeling as clean as possible and feeling good. There are always showers available so the amount of toiletries you want to take is totally up to you but I'd advise as little as possible. Most Festival have a supermarket and other merchant stalls where basic items are available if you decided to stock up at the festival instead of traveling with them, but be aware that festivals have inflated prices so expect to pay more than normal.

Wet wipes are your best friend. I've never really dared to venture in the shower area so if you don't fancy that either wet wipes all the way. I needed these the most to keep clean due to the amount of mud and dust at festivals.

Suncream is very important. You might see a little or a lot of sun but there's nothing worse than a nasty sunburn to ruin the fun. Suncream is one of those items which can be heavy and bulky to carry and will most defiantly be available to purchase at the festival Supermarket, choices will be limited.

Toilet roll is also something you can buy on site but I advise you to take a few packs of tissues with you as well. After the first day you can bet there will be no loo roll anywhere, so have your own ready. Don't forget hand sanitizer.

Dry shampoo is another must, if you're not daring to use the showers, to keep your hair looking fresh. Also bring a selection of hair ties and grips to style your hair, or in my case try and tame it.

If you've got longer hair get a wide tooth comb. I got mine from the Body shop and it saved my hair. When you're not washing your hair normally it gets knotty, this comb saved me from pulling half my hair out, the key is to start at the bottom and work your way to the top layer of hair or you'll just make the knots bigger.

Just because you're not showering doesn't mean you can't smell nice, take perfume samples with you. In the past I've collected a few magazine samples and used one a day to keep myself smelling nice (who am I kidding, at least everyone smells as bad).

Painkillers and plaster for those ouch moments. Everyone over does it at a festival so having pain killers will help you get through the weekend. Also I seem to have an issue with tent pegs and accidents always happen so have some plaster on hand.

Bring a small compact mirror with you, if you don't the only time you'll see your face is in the portaloos, just saying.

Other basic items include a good deodorant, I find rollon are easier to pack. Moisturizer decanted into a small container so it's easier to pack, or buy a miniature product. Lip balm because your lips will chap due to dehydration, no one drinks enough water and on that note drink water!!. A tooth brush and paste, nothing nicer than clean teeth.

Packing Check List

• Wet Wipes
• Dry shampoo
• Moisturizer
• Suncream
• Wide tooth comb
• Tooth Brush/Paste
• Deodorant
• Lip Balm
• Perfume sample
• Painkillers
• Plasters
• Hair ties and Grips
• Small Mirror
• Hand Sanitizer
• Packs of Tissues

So here are my essentials when packing for a festival, which item could you not live without?

Sam

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