Do people who love the outdoors really need a label?
At a recent Christmas knees up, someone asked me what I did a living and I explained that I run this website part time for people who love being outdoors and active. “Oh, it’s for outdoorsy types then?” they replied, which got me thinking about what that term actually means.
A quick poll around the office has thrown up various definitions. For some, it conjures up images of tough-as-nails explorer types who love nothing better than sleeping rough in a forest cooking up some squirrel for dinner. For others, it means keen-bean ramblers with beards who speak only in OS grid references.
This came as a surprise to me, as my intention when I started this website was to provide ideas and inspiration for anyone who loves being outdoors, no matter where they live, how old or young, fit or erm, less fit… The FAF ethos is that you don’t need to own any Gore Tex or have scaled Ben Nevis to be ‘outdoorsy’, but simply share an enthusiasm for breathing the fresh air, and getting out and about in our ‘green and pleasant land’.
I’d love to know you think ‘outdoorsy’ really means? And do you think it applies to you?
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You can gaze up at the stars from a tent or your bedroom window, and watch the sun set from a mountainside or the front seat of your car.
Outdoor pleasures don’t have to be the preserve of “outdoorsy types”.
But if the suggestion/advice comes from an outdoorsy type then it’s harder to get that point across!
I think we were all built to be outdoors. I wrote a similar post surprisingly enough yesterday. You can read it here http://www.deathrailwaywalk.com/blog
The outdoors is where we are all meant to be!
I like walking, hiking, camping, cycle-touring and generally being out of doors in lovely surroundings. I wouldn’t, however call myself ‘outdoorsy’ ; but then again maybe I am when I think of my friends whos’ idea of ‘sensible shoes’ is three inch heeled boots with ‘grippy’ soles…
I reckon ‘outdoorsy’ is just a term used by people who aren’t
Thanks guys. Think it’s so important to debunk the myth that being ‘outdoorsy’ is only for extreme, hardcore types. Do you think where you were brought up has something to do with it?
This interview with the Head of the National Trust says that the younger generation are growing up ‘terrified of the countryside’ because they are spending more time indoors and in urban environments:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/30/britons-countryside-national-trust?intcmp=239