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The benefits of spending time outdoors are well known. It can boost vitamin D levels, improve our mental wellbeing, help us sleep better, and even enhance our creativity and problem-solving abilities.
However, if you’re bored with your regular walking or cycling route and fancy learning something new, you might be wondering how else you can make the most of the Great Outdoors.
For inspiration, here are six skilled activities you can learn outside while also having fun.
1. Take up whittling
Whittling is a simple form of wood carving that, at its most basic level, only involves a knife and a piece of wood. With these, you can carve whatever you please: bowls, spoons, figurines, and chess pieces are popular among the whittling community.
Besides being an enjoyable activity that exercises your creativity and coordination, whittling is considered to have a variety of therapeutic benefits. Research suggests it can help with mindfulness, reduce stress, and encourage positive emotions.
Plus, a successful whittling project leaves you with a tangible result, making it a highly rewarding way to spend your time. Whittled objects can also be gifted to loved ones or used to decorate your home or garden.
Although whittling doesn’t necessarily need to be learned or practised outside, working with wood is a wonderful way to connect with nature, and carving outdoors only improves this connection.
You can also collect your own wood on nature walks and hikes. However, most modern whittlers choose to buy softwood blocks that are specially selected for whittling. Amazon also has plenty of varieties of softwood that can be delivered to your door the very next day.
When starting your whittling journey, there are plenty of great resources online, such as BeaverCraft and Green Wood Guild. These websites offer comprehensive advice and tutorials for beginners so you can get straight down to creating your masterpieces.
Alternatively, why not check our beginner’s guide to carpentry or list of 12 practical things you can make from wood?
2. Paint landscapes outdoors
We’re incredibly lucky to have an abundance of natural beauty to enjoy here in the UK – from sun-soaked countryside and enchanting forests to sprawling coastlines and awe-inspiring mountains.
Wherever you live in the UK, there’s undoubtedly a beautiful natural scene for you to admire, so why not put brush to canvas and paint what you see?
Painting landscapes outside (or ‘plein air’, as it’s referred to in the art world) offers you the unique experience of physically and creatively engaging with nature.
Landscape painting is a skilful yet enjoyable activity that encourages you to live in the present and notice the smallest details around you. You could even consider going on ‘painting trips’, where you combine your artistic skills with a nature walk or hike.
Painting from a real-life scene (rather than a second-hand source, like a photograph) can also help you hone your talent because it presents challenges, such as changing light and weather. These obstacles force you to adapt and plan, but they can also inspire you artistically.
To get started, all you need is paint, water, brushes, paper, and a portable easel. However, for a more comprehensive guide to the equipment you might need, take a look at this plein air painting checklist from Liveabout. And for some help getting started, have a look at this plein air painting guide from Outdoor Painter.
You might also like to check out our beginner’s guide to painting.
3. Become an angler
Angling (a method of fishing with a rod and a line) is a popular pastime, with an estimated 3 million anglers in the UK. Between canals, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and, of course, the ocean, everyone in the UK is only a stone’s throw away from a fishable body of water.
Angling is a fun activity, but it’s also an excellent excuse to get out amongst nature and observe other kinds of wildlife (kingfishers are always a popular sight among anglers). Plus, it’s deeply meditative and offers a chance to practise patience, perseverance, and mindfulness.
There are many types of angling, but in the UK, popular kinds are…
- Coarse fishing – Coarse fishing is the most popular type of fishing in the UK. It’s practised on freshwater bodies such as lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and canals. Coarse fishing involves returning fish safely and unharmed to the water after you have caught them.
- Sea fishing – Sea fishing is pretty self-explanatory. In coastal waters, you can fish for species such as mackerel, bass, and cod.
Though the pure enjoyment of catching fish can be traced back hundreds of years and remains popular, concern is growing over the UK’s key fish populations – with haddock, mackerel, and langoustines being the only species currently at healthy numbers.
With this in mind, it’s important for anglers to be as environmentally conscious as possible, not only to preserve the health of the UK’s fish populations, but also of the wider environment.
Many anglers develop a love and respect for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and inherit the responsibility of protecting them. For example, anglers are often the first to report environmental issues that need addressing, such as pollution incidents.
Fishing responsibly involves using tackle that’s biodegradable and will cause minimal harm to fish. You’ll also need to make sure you practise proper bank-side etiquette – like leaving no trace of your presence and treating fish with great care. For more information, check out this eco-friendly fishing guide from Angling Direct.
Or, if you’re new to angling and looking to get started, consider taking a look at Go Outdoors’ guide to fishing for beginners. You could also think about joining the Angling Trust to access up-to-date news, information, and advice on angling and related topics.
4. Learn some bushcraft skills
Bushcraft isn’t so much a singular skill, but rather the practise of a set of skills that can increase your comfort when you’re in the ‘bush’ or the ‘wild’.
While there’s no definitive list of skills that fall under the umbrella of bushcraft, here are some popular ones…
- Shelter construction
- Fire building
- Finding water
- Plant identification and foraging
- First aid
- Navigation
- Knot-tying
While many people might call these ‘survival skills’, ‘survival’ and ‘bushcraft’ are slightly different practices. The main distinction is that people learn them for completely different reasons.
People learn survival skills in preparation for a time when they might need them to live in a natural environment cut off from civilisation. Whereas people usually engage in the art of bushcraft as a recreational activity to connect with nature, take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and perhaps even reflect on how dependent we’ve become on the comforts of modernity and technology.
To start learning, check out this bushcraft guide from Bushcraft Buddy, or this beginner’s guide from BushcraftInfo. You don’t need to go out into the wilderness to begin your bushcraft journey. Instead, you can practise some of the skills at home or in your garden.
Once you’ve got your head around some of the basic essential skills, you can organise a camping trip or hike to put your skills to the test.
5. Take up kayaking or canoeing
If you’re interested in learning a new skill that’ll take you on a journey through nature, why not consider kayaking or canoeing?
Both involve paddling a waterborne vessel. However, the vessels, gear, and techniques used in each activity are slightly different.
Canoes are usually open-top vessels in which the paddler either kneels or sits on a small seat. When canoeing, you use a single-bladed paddle.
Meanwhile, kayaking involves using a closed-top vessel in which the paddler sits with their legs outstretched forward. When kayaking, you use a double-bladed paddle.
You can kayak and canoe pretty much anywhere with a sizable body of water, as long as you have permission from the owner. Here in the UK, you’re never very far from a canal, river, reservoir, lake, or ocean.
As well as centring around nature, kayaking and canoeing are effective forms of exercise. Better Health tells us they improve cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength. They’re also low-impact, which – compared to other high-impact physical activities – can reduce the risk of injury, as well as wear and tear of joints and tissues.
To get involved in kayaking or canoeing, the best way to learn the proper techniques, as well as any relevant safety information, is to join a paddling club. You can search for clubs near you here.
6. Learn how to create a wildlife-friendly garden
One of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of spending time outdoors in nature is spotting wildlife.
However, with continued urbanisation, agriculture, pollution, and climate change, the Natural History Museum tells us that 41% of the UK’s animal species have declined since the 1970s and that hundreds of species are at risk of disappearing altogether.
One way you can help with conservation – as well as enjoy the benefits of observing wildlife at home – is to learn how to create a wildlife-friendly garden. Here are a few relatively easy and inexpensive ways to make your garden more wildlife-friendly…
- Create a pond – Pretty much any body of water will provide some sort of value to animals in your garden, from being a source of drinking water for birds and mammals to providing a small habitat for amphibians and snails.
Making a pond can be as simple as using a buried bucket, or you might like to create a larger pond, complete with plants and other accessories. For a step-by-step tutorial, take a look at this pond-building guide from the RSPB.
- Plant trees and shrubs – Planting trees and shrubs can be a simple way to help conserve wildlife and attract animals to your garden, as they provide all kinds of species with shelter and food.
- Create animal houses and hotels – You can create a wide range of homes in your garden for animals like hedgehogs, birds, and bees from wood or old containers. Animal houses and hotels protect creatures from predators and give them places to breed, helping boost their numbers.
For help on how to build your own animal homes, check out the RSPB’s guide to building a nestbox, and the Woodland Trust’s guide on how to build a bee hotel.
- Make a compost heap – Composting mimics and accelerates the natural process of decomposition. This can help to reduce the amount of waste our households produce and create nutrient-rich food for our gardens.
However, by making a compost heap or pile, we can also provide a refuge and feeding area for animals such as hedgehogs, frogs, and insects.
For more tips, check out our article: 11 ways to make your garden more wildlife-friendly.
Final thoughts…
Whether you’re naturally outdoorsy and want to add a new skill to your repertoire, or simply looking for a fun, new way to get your fix of fresh air, hopefully this list has inspired you.
For more ideas on outdoor activities, check out our article: 10 fun outdoor activities to try today. Or, if you’re looking to improve your connection to the natural world around you, you might like to read our list of 32 ways to connect with nature and feel inspired.
Have you learned any new skills outdoors recently? Or do any of these take your fancy? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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Find out why so many people love playing bridge.
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