Londoners – Get Outdoors

moove2london on 09 Jun 2010

According to a recent survey carried out on 3,000 British people by Go Outdoors, 1/3 of those questioned admitted to having never tried an ‘outdoor activity’ such as fishing, camping, horse-riding, walking, have never used a compass, stood on a mountain top or swum in natural water. Of those admitting the above, 59% claim that they’ve never partaken in any of these activities because they’ve never had the opportunity.

Now, here at Moove2London, we don’t consider this to be a reasonable excuse and depending on whether you’ve recently moved to London, or are thinking about doing so in the near future, you don’t need to use London as an excuse not to get out there and experience a non-city environment once in a while!

So have a look at these things to do, many of which are extremely affordable, for those of you on a budget.

Walking
London is surrounded by the home counties and in each of them, there are some truly beautiful walks and picturesque villages to visit on a daytrip from London. If you don’t drive or own a car, then that shouldn’t stop you, as TimeOut have published two books

• TimeOut Book of Country Walks – 52 Walks within easy reach of London
• TimeOut Country Walks near London v2

Both of these books list walks starting from a train station within an hour or so of London. They are graded by difficulty and include great places to stop off for a pub lunch along the way.

London Kayaking
You don’t even need to leave London to try this outdoor water sport. This kayaking trip starts from Regent’s Park and takes you down a gentle and scenic canal route. It’s suitable for beginners or those with experience. The kayaking tour, which is available either during the day, at sunrise or sunset, lasts for around 2 hours. You’ll totally forgot you’re in London!

Horse-riding
25 minutes from London Paddington train station and you can be in Reading, Berkshire for a day of horse-riding. You’ll be out of the stables for 5 and a half hours which will include time for a 3 course lunch around a big table in the farmhouse living room. This is totally suitable for novices. After a half hour lesson in the farm grounds, you’ll have the option to continue your lesson in the grounds or go out on a ‘hack’ which is a walk and trot around the countryside.

Paintballing
Merge yourself into the countryside by decking yourself out in army gear and camouflage cream for an afternoon of paintballing. The Ministry of Paintballing has locations dotted all over the South-East. It’s a great day out, although you might wake up a little sore the following day!

Orbing
Tumble down the pretty Sussex countryside at 30mph in a giant ball – go orbing! Near Brighton, you and a friend will be safely harnessed inside a giant hamster ball which will be rolled down a hill. You’ll probably find yourself screaming and laughing at the same time. It’s a great fun, which can only be topped by adding a bucket of water inside to make the Aqua Orb. Afterwards, take a walk or go camping in the beautiful countryside!