An edited version of this review was published on the National Student website on the 7th Jul 18
Popularity can have negative impacts on tourist honeypots, as one can see in Venice and other tourist honeypots fighting back against AirBnB’s hostile takeovers and resultant gentrification, and the ecological damage that overcrowding can cause sites of natural beauty. Instead of crowding into Florence, Ho Chi Mihn City, and New York, there is an alternative which is less damaging to tourist hotspots, your wallet, and the planet - especially the latter two when you don’t have to fly! I’m referring to micro-adventures, taking the time to explore your locale as if it were a holiday destination.
Now, I know that you can’t cloy the hungry edge of appetite by bare imagination of a feast, and that’s not what this is about. However, it’s worth remembering that the people in the far-flung cities that we find so exciting are just people pottering about their day like people anywhere else (and a smattering of tourists of course, as you’ll know if you ever tried using a pavement in London), and with the right frame of mind you can make your own hometown feel far-flung.
Before I say anything else, my first micro-adventure is quite simple – take your headphones out. I’m not saying leave your phone at home, I’m not a madman. But, even if you’re doing your normal commute, take your headphones out and let the world in. Now let’s begin.
City Slickers
Cities and towns are the living, breathing remnants of the people that built them. As they grow, they respond to challenges and meet needs. History itself is baked into the city’s buildings and layout. Walking through your city or town, you’re walking through the present inhabiting the past, a vibrant living organism which lives always in its own fossil.
I guarantee there are places designed to be experienced that you’ve looked over even in your home town, such as local libraries, museums, and art galleries. Often public buildings, particularly in the case of museums and galleries, secure their application for Arts Council or heritage funding by portraying some authentically regional. For example, the Liang Gallery in Newcastle-upon-Tyne often hosts the works of the Northumbrian Romantic painter John Martin, and I know savvy regional theatres also like to take an interest in local history. My local, the Nuffield Theatre, recently put on a play about the making of the Spitfire, built by Supermarine in Woolston during the Second World War, and hosts an annual festival called NowHere about the history of immigration in the city.
Besides these public edifices, there are always quirky things about your town set up by private individuals or organistions – basically, people are weird and into a lot of different things, and just a short walk away from your usual haunts can turn up something interesting. During the Great Blizzard of 2018 my girlfriend and I made the foolhardy attempt to take a train from Birmingham to London and naturally, our train broke down, and plonked us in the shimmering cultural metropolis of Milton Keynes. Making the most of our situation, we went for a little explore up the main avenue. A little while later, we were trying to choose between a Spoons and a Turkish restaurant, and as we stood dithering on the pavement a couple came out of the Turkish restaurant, saw our deliberation and fervently informed us that we had to try the Turkish restaurant. We were not disappointed. You never know what your micro-adventure may turn up.
Country Bumpkins
Ah, the countryside. What need I say – the great outdoors! Countryside! Encountering other nature! Britain has plentiful rural cycle routes footpaths and the OS Maps website has some 500,000 routes available. I know this from personal experience, ‘cause I was brought up on the Isle of Wight (I would put finger-gun emoji here if NS would allow me to), although of course back then OS rambling guides came in books not on this new-fangled digital faff.
I guarantee there’s more going on in the countryside than you think, as social media has made it easier to connect across the social-Siberia of the British hinter. I’ve just discovered that there’s a fortnightly hot-jazz/blues club that plays out of the café at Sandown train station on the IoW’s mostly-defunct rail network. Especially for those of us who have migrated to the shining city for what we thought were better prospects, it’s easy to forget the arresting feeling of actually being able to see the horizon from the top of the hill, or the joy of encountering wildlife besides surprisingly, often scarily, ballsy city-pigeons, rats and grey squirrels. The grass is always greener, eh.
As university students we have a bit of an advantage when it comes to micro-adventures in our hometown, in that absence makes the heart grow fonder (after the initial f-yeah of freedom and adventure that is). To quote Britney Spears, ‘You never, you never, you never, you never know what you got til it’s gone (gone) (gone) (gone) gone (gone) (gone) (gone)’, and it’s true of your hometown too. I certainly resented growing up on the rural backwater of the Isle of Wight, but cresting the downs at dusk in my mum’s car and seeing the sunset reflecting on the channel has certainly given. So there, the world, or at least the 10-miles radius around your house, is your oyster, so go find your own micro-adventure.
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