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My wild life

Growing up in rural Leicestershire, I was lucky to experience a wild childhood, scouring every tree, every park, every field and every hedgerow for adventure, running (relatively) wild and free.

As I got older, things changed; that innate love of nature faded (although it never disappeared) as I discovered boys, make-up and the shackles of modern school curriculum. When I was thirteen, my mum got very ill with cancer. She died three years later. As I’ve grown older, I’ve realised that I didn’t start to grieve properly for years: not until I was at university. I now believe that this grieving process was triggered, and ultimately overcome, by rediscovering my love of nature: a love that I’d forgotten until then.

In my twenties I began to reconnect with nature. I met my now husband, Rob Lambert, who is a hardcore birder and twitcher, inevitably falling down that rabbit hole myself. By the age of 28 I’d seen over 400 different species of bird in Britain (Rob has seen well over 500!). The more I immersed myself, the more I learned about the challenges facing our modern environment. I knew I wanted to make a difference. This sense of purpose, more time spent outdoors, a love of the natural world and an increasing knowledge of it, helped to bring the peace of mind that I had lacked since losing my mum.

Now, a handful of years later, my whole life revolves around nature. I have fallen in love with new landscapes – the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, the Isles of Scilly, the Somerset Levels, North Norfolk. And my wild life has become even more exciting with a new little traveller to share adventures with. I wrote this book while I was pregnant, and in September 2018, Rob and I welcomed Georgiana Tean Lambert into our lives. Georgie already has a wild life of her own, visiting Kent to see a beluga whale in the Thames at one week old; exploring the Isles of Scilly by land, air and sea at a month; and watching for birds and wildlife every day. She has enriched our wild experiences and lives.

I work for a wildlife charity called The Wildlife Trusts, engaging hundreds of thousands of people with wildlife and helping them to fall in love with it, too. As part of my job, I helped to set up the annual campaign 30 Days Wild to encourage people to do something wild every day for 30 days. This book takes that campaign a step further – why not live all 365 days of the year with nature in mind?

I hope that this book will give you plenty of ideas for your own wild adventures. Wildlife and wild places are much closer than you think, so have a fabulous time finding your own wild life.

The Wildlife Trusts

No matter where you are in the UK, there is a Wildlife Trust standing up for wildlife and bringing people closer to nature near you. Their work is returning wildlife to our towns and countryside and touching the lives of millions of people, young and old, from all walks of life. Each of the Wildlife Trusts believes that everyone can make a positive difference to their local environment – whether schools, councils, farmers, businesses or individuals – and that by working together we can achieve nature’s recovery on land and at sea.

Visit their website at wildlifetrusts.org.

Wildlife Watch

Wildlife Watch is the junior branch of The Wildlife Trusts and the UK’s leading environmental action club for kids. Taking part in Wildlife Watch is an exciting way to explore your surroundings and get closer to the wildlife you share it with. And the best thing about being a member is that by joining Wildlife Watch you’ll be helping your local Wildlife Trust to care for the wildlife where you live! Visit wildlifewatch.org.uk.

The 30 Days Wild Campaign

Setting up the Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild Campaign inspired me to write this book. The campaign encourages people to get outdoors every day in June by providing them with inspiring ideas: ‘Random Acts of Wildness’. Once June is over, we ask them to stay wild and The Wildlife Trusts are there to help. Put simply, The Wildlife Trusts believe that all our lives are better when they’re a bit wild.

You don’t have to do something every single day, but by becoming more aware of your natural surroundings, enjoying the wonders nature can bring and occasionally even giving it a helping hand, most people will find that they feel better. It becomes unconscious, too: people always ask me, ‘when do you find time to go birdwatching?’ The simple answer is that I am always birdwatching and enjoying wildlife: whether I’m on a train, at work, at home or spending time with friends. And it’s wonderful.

What is a Random Act of Wildness?

A Random Act of Wildness is any little thing that you can do as part of an average day, that allows you to experience, learn about or even help nature near you. It can take a few seconds – like taking a moment to smell a wildflower on the way to work; or a few hours – like creating a whole area for wildlife in your garden. Some Random Acts of Wildness don’t have to take any time at all, but instead are all about making little changes to your daily routine that will ultimately be better for wildlife, like buying a re-usable coffee cup or using products that are good for the environment. To help you, I have pulled together my top 365 Random Acts of Wildness, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get creative and make up your own. The best Random Acts of Wildness immerse you (if only for a few seconds) in nature, setting your senses alight. Smelling freshly fallen rain, tasting the sweet explosion of a fresh blackberry as you pop it in your mouth, wriggling your toes in the icy waters of a stream, waking up to birdsong. It’s not just about seeing, but experiencing the wild in every way possible.

Wild, happy and free

When it comes to letting the wild into your life, a little will go a long way. That’s why Random Acts of Wildness are perfect: they’re quick and simple to do, and when put together they add up to a big change – for you and for wildlife.

We all instinctively know it: spending time outdoors is good for us. After all, we are part of nature, so it makes sense that getting your daily wildlife fix will do you the world of good. There’s lots of science out there now that underpins this, too: spending time in nature makes us happier and healthier. Just like eating a balanced diet and exercising helps our minds and bodies, wildlife and wild places help us to get active, encourage us to be more social, improve our confidence and creativity, and help us cope with stressful life events. Nature can help us recover from illnesses, cope with grief and loss, and even help people to manage mental health problems, like anxiety, stress and depression. In many ways, it’s the ultimate medicine – and it’s free.

There’s no excuse for not getting the whole family involved, too. Nature is great for all ages and can have the biggest impact on the young and the elderly, so take the kids, grandma and grandpa and anyone else you can find on this wild adventure with you.

Everyday wild

Random Acts of Wildness aren’t about trekking to distant wild lands, climbing mountains or getting lost in dense jungles – they are about the wild near you. If you want to experience nature every day, it has to be local. It’s also been proven that doing something wild every day can have a significant impact on your health and happiness: this isn’t about an annual nature fix by going on an exotic holiday, it’s about discovering how amazing the nature on your doorstep already is.

Wild places are all around us. Each one is home to very different kinds of wildlife, but all of them can be fun to explore. I want to help you make the ordinary extraordinary. As an introduction, I’ve pulled together some of my favourite wild places and I hope that as you begin your wild adventure, you’ll get to experience some (or all) of these landscapes. They can all be found right here in the UK: proof that you don’t have to look far to find your own wild life.

Wild places

Gardens

Finding the wild every day has to start close to home, and every garden has the potential to become a wild place, no matter how small. If you don’t have a garden, you could work your magic on a balcony or transform communal spaces with your neighbours. Domestic gardens in the UK are thought to take up over 430,000 hectares. Imagine the difference we could all make for wildlife if every garden was wildlife-friendly: we could create the UK’s biggest nature reserve!

There are a few key things that you can do to make sure your garden is a wild garden. Some of these are full-blown Random Acts of Wildness, so they’re covered in detail later on, but think simply about what wildlife needs to feel safe, secure and at home: food, water and shelter. A garden bursting with bugs will also attract birds and other animals. By making sure that your insects have some cover (grass, log piles or compost heaps, for example) and plenty of food (nectar- and pollen-rich plants), you’ll be encouraging other wildlife in, too. Avoid using slug pellets and pesticides. If you have room, even the smallest of ponds will bring huge diversity, and you can support wildlife by providing feeders and nest boxes.

In the spring and summer, look out for a whole range of beautiful butterflies fluttering among the flowers, like painted ladies, peacocks or small tortoiseshells. A healthy population of moths and beetles will attract bats to your garden, too. Birds like house sparrows, starlings, blackbirds, robins, wrens and dunnocks are quintessential garden species that can be seen all year round, and you might also attract a variety of tits and finches. If you’ve got a pond, common frogs and common toads might make themselves at home, and a small hole in your fence will make your garden accessible for hedgehogs.

Parks and churchyards

I’ve always loved the way that parks can bring people together. Whether a children’s play area or a vast, green common, these places can be great for getting your daily wild fix. The same can be said of churchyards. Quiet places of tranquil reflection, the peaceful atmosphere in a churchyard can help you hone in on birdsong. In the winter, scan the tops of berry-laden trees (like rowan or holly) for thrushes, which will feast on these tiny fruits: song and mistle thrushes love these areas, and redwings and fieldfares may stop over, too. An open grassy park will be great for green woodpeckers. Hedgehogs love to rummage around in fallen leaf litter, while baby rabbits might be seen taking their first unsteady steps. Even foxes and badgers use these areas to explore. A park or churchyard can be a magical place at sunrise, so wrap up warm and experience the dawn chorus, or welcome in spring by noting when you first see snowdrops or daffodils shooting up.

Towns and city centres

With so many people living or working in cities now, it’s important to be able to find the wild in the urban jungle. Surrounded by concrete, glass and high rises, it can be hard to imagine how any wild animal could find a home here, but trust me when I say that cities can be unexpected places in which to have a really wild experience. Birds will use the tall buildings as makeshift cliff faces, building their nests and raising their young high up to avoid predators. Gulls, ducks and pigeons all use this tactic, and now peregrine falcons have adapted their lifestyle, too. In many of our major cities, peregrines can be seen swooping and diving among the buildings. Foxes, deer and hedgehogs make the most of our cities, and being so used to people you can often get much closer to them. With so many towns built on rivers, otters can occasionally pop up, and cormorants and herons may choose to fish along the banks. Flowers will grow in pavement cracks and overgrown, abandoned sites (known as ‘brownfield’ sites) can become quickly colonised by a range of birds, bugs and mammals.

Woodlands and forests

I was lucky enough to grow up near to a woodland, where I was allowed to play and explore with my friends. At the time, it seemed like the biggest forest in the world, full of hiding places, trees to climb and hidden treasures. ‘My’ woodland is in fact little more than a spinney, but with its criss-crossing paths and hidden wonders it isn’t any less magical. In the spring, it’s carpeted with bluebells; the trees are covered in budburst and birds bellow out their chorus. In the summer, it’s alive with butterflies, and as the autumn sets in, fungi erupt from every tree or rotten branch, and mushrooms sprout from the leaf litter. It’s a typical broad-leafed woodland, with dappled light, lush undergrowth, a strong earthy smell and a healthy population of crows, rooks and jackdaws. Smaller birds, like finches, are regulars, along with great spotted woodpeckers, treecreepers and nuthatches. In the spring, wild garlic fills the air with a pungent smell. If you take time to explore a woodland near you, you might also spy tawny owls, jays, muntjac and other deer, as well as badger setts and fox dens.

Little copses and spinneys like this can be found all over the place, but there are of course much bigger forests to explore. Trees are either deciduous (lose their leaves in the winter) or evergreen, which hang on to their leaves or needles all year round. Depending on the kind of woodland you’re in, you’ll see different wildlife wherever you go. The Forest of Dean in the southwest is home to wild boar; while forests in the north of England and Scotland might contain red squirrels, pine martens or specialist birds, like the capercaillie of the Caledonian pine forest in Inverness-shire. Forests in the south of England can be home to beautiful butterflies like purple emperors or white admirals, and wildflowers like red campion and orchids. No matter how big or small, woodlands are perfect for a wild adventure.

The coast

Britain is a coastal country. From stretching sand dunes to pebbly beaches, foreboding tidal mudflats to rocky cliffs, as an island nation we love to be close to the sea. Living in the Midlands, I try to get to the coast as often as possible for my dose of vitamin ‘sea’. Whether it’s a gentle stroll on the sand (with a quick litter-pick thrown in), scanning out to sea for whales, dolphins or porpoises that might be seen (Britain has an amazing variety of marine species), or heading out on a boat to watch seabirds or seals, our shores offer endless possibilities for experiencing wildlife. Discover starfish, crabs and shellfish living in rockpools, wonder at wading birds like sanderling and turnstone as they scurry along the shore, and enjoy the overwhelming noise (and smell!) of a seabird colony teeming with puffins, guillemots, razorbills, gannets and gulls.

Fields, farmland and meadows

Fields and farmland are pretty much what you’ll think of when you imagine the countryside: over two-thirds of the land in the UK is farmed in one way or another. The best farmland to enjoy wildlife on is managed in a traditional way: thick hedges, smaller fields and a mix of crops or grasses. This is farmland at its best: where you’ll find barn owls, kestrels and yellowhammers; huge flocks of finches, partridges and buntings. They’re making the most of the seeds and grasses on offer, as are the many small mammals that might live here – voles, mice and shrews. The bigger fields that only have one crop growing in them, like rapeseed, aren’t as rich in wildlife, but you can still scan down the hedges for a wildlife surprise. Look for boxing brown hares in March, or skylarks singing loudly overhead. Meadows are a much rarer habitat, brimming with wildflowers, lush grasses and, in the summer, hundreds of butterflies, moths and other insects. Most meadows are protected now and carefully managed using traditional methods; flowers like poppies, oxeye daisies, bee orchids and cornflowers are particularly stunning.

Hedgerows and country lanes

Okay, so hedgerows and country lanes aren’t really wild places in themselves, but you can often find wildlife around the edges of them. I’ve included them because they’re ideal foraging spots in the spring, summer and autumn. They’re wonderful places to find edible gems like elderflowers, wild rosehips, blackberries, damsons, sloes and crab apples, and this feast will bring in great wildlife, too: birds, mammals and insects. Just make sure you have correctly identified any fruits, nuts, fungi or berries before you tuck in, as you could accidentally eat something poisonous.

Rivers, streams and ditches

Who doesn’t love Wind in the Willows? The picturesque scene of a gently meandering river, lined with lush green vegetation, overhanging willow trees and reeds sprouting along the banks. Smaller brooks babble alongside fields, canals cut straight paths through our towns and countryside, and smaller ditches might lurk beneath a hedgerow or in a woodland. All can be bursting with wildlife: a healthy river might be home to water voles, kingfishers or maybe even otters. Stately grey herons or little egrets will stand motionless in the water, and of course there may be fish, too. Rivers and streams make wonderful locations to experience wildlife; search among the reedbeds in the summer for more elusive wildlife like sedge warblers or Cetti’s warblers – even if you don’t see them, you’ll hear them! Always be wary near these waters though; some rivers and streams are perfect for a wild swim, while others may hold fast currents beneath their serene surfaces. Make sure you know the waterway well if you’re planning to do more than walk beside it.

Lakes, ponds and wetlands

Lakes and ponds are hugely diverse wild places, which offer delights all year round to any wild explorer. They vary season by season, so if there’s one near you, make sure you check back throughout the year to see how it changes. Wetlands come in all shapes and sizes; from reservoirs to old quarries; Scottish lochs to woodland ponds; marshland, bogs and fens. These places are all about the ducks, geese and swans in the winter, as well as otters and water voles. In the summer, you might get visitors like the osprey, a huge bird of prey that only eats fish. You’ll also be in for a treat with elegant dragonflies and damselflies in the summer, too. Great crested grebes perform an elaborate courtship dance in early spring, while moorhens and coots will be around all year. Wading birds like oystercatchers and redshanks might skitter around the edges looking for food in the mud. A vast wetland with plenty of reedbed might even have birds like marsh harriers or bitterns.

Mountains, moorlands and uplands

For most people living in the UK, mountains and moorlands are the settings for wild and romantic novels (Wuthering Heights, anyone?), or maybe holiday destinations. Most of us don’t live nestled among snowy peaks or on the tops of windswept hills. I’ve included them here though, because these landscapes are so different from any other and because they make up a third of our land. A walk atop the hills might bring you into contact with red grouse, wading birds that breed on the high tops (like dotterels or golden plovers) or birds of prey like peregrines, merlins or hen harriers (which are now very rare in England). You might also be lucky enough to see a mountain hare or red deer. The flowers and plants make the uplands really special; heather will look at its most beautiful in late summer, and you can also look out for wildflowers, bracken and bilberry. Sphagnum mosses make up much of the vegetation in blanket bogs (and let’s face it, ‘sphagnum’ is a great word, too).

A note on nature reserves

I haven’t included nature reserves as one of my favourite habitats because each one is unique: it’s hard to generalise and compare. The experiences you can have on them vary so much that they’re not a habitat in their own right – rather they are made up of a mosaic of ecosystems. They are of course great places to explore and discover wildlife. The Wildlife Trusts have the biggest network of nature reserves in the UK, and 93 per cent of people living in England live within six miles of one of these special wild places. They’re always carefully managed and protected for wildlife, so can be perfect if you’d like to take up volunteering in your local area. A lot of them will have ‘hides’ – special buildings, usually made from wood (glorified sheds) – that you can sit in to watch the wildlife up close. Hides are an acquired taste: most of them can be a bit draughty and you have to sit very quietly so as not to disturb the nearby wildlife. I wouldn’t recommend hides as places to inspire children; stick to the immersive experiences where they can get hands-on and run around a bit. For the seasoned wildlife-watcher, though, they can be tranquil and enjoyable. Many nature reserves have special ‘designations’ – meaning that they’re protected for a reason – and many can’t allow dogs in. When on a nature reserve, always stick to the paths; don’t pick any plants or disturb the wildlife.

Really wild life

The UK is a hugely diverse country, full of so many different animals that it would be impossible to list them all. I have pulled out the main groups of animals you might encounter on your adventures, with a few ideas on the best ways to enjoy them. Where you could have a really wild experience, it’ll be listed as a full-blown Random Act of Wildness, and I’ll give some handy hints and tips on the best ways to get up close and personal to our star species.

Fur

There are loads of different species of mammals living on land in the UK; we know most of them from children’s books – Mr Badger, Ratty and Mole from Wind in the Willows, or Beatrix Potter’s Mrs Tiggy-winkle – but in reality they’re quite difficult to see. Squirrels, rabbits and foxes might be spotted easily in towns, villages and cities, but having a wild encounter with a hedgehog, badger, water vole or otter is much trickier. There are also seventeen species of bats living in the UK, not to mention different kinds of mice, voles and shrews; a family of mammals called the ‘mustelids’ (which includes stoats and weasels); mountain and brown hares; two species of squirrel (the native red, which is now only found in the northern parts of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland; and the non-native grey, now found across much of England and Wales); and no fewer than six species of deer. Add to these, animals like beavers and wildcats, and you’ll see that there’s an awful lot of fur out there. Most mammals are highly secretive or nocturnal, and some are incredibly rare, but I’ve included several Random Acts of Wildness that will help you get a little bit closer to our furriest of neighbours. None of our mammals are dangerous or predatory to humans, but some will give you a nasty nip if you venture too close. Never try to stroke or pet wild mammals; if you find an injured mammal, phone a local wildlife rescue centre.

Feathers

There’s a reason why birdwatching is so popular in the UK, and that’s because of the sheer variety of species it’s possible to see in a day, month, year – or even a lifetime. Around 220 species breed here, but we also get lots of birds arriving in the autumn to spend the winter, jetting off to warmer climates as the weather gets colder, or just passing through on their migration. Field guides can help you identify individual species, as can birding websites. Every wild place and every part of the UK will have different kinds of birds living in it, so look out for different species wherever you go. Gardens are the best place to start practising your identification. When you see a new bird, make a note of where it is (on a bird feeder, in a field, on a lake), what it looks like (colours, size, structure), any features that make it stand out (a long, pointy bill, for example) and what it’s doing. When you get home, you’ll be able to look it up online or in a book. With so many birds to choose from, it’s best to get the hang of the common birds first before trying your hand at anything rarer.

Flippers

Marine mammals are often forgotten about when we think about British wildlife, but around the UK are many different species of whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals. Seals are the easiest to enjoy, as they come up on to beaches to breed, play in the shallows and rest. There are only two species that live here: the grey seal and the common (or harbour) seal. If in doubt about which you’re looking at, remember that greys look more like dogs, with long snouts, while common seals look more like cats, with shorter noses. To see whales, dolphins and porpoises (also known as ‘cetaceans’), your best chance is to go out on a boat. There are lots of hotspots for cetaceans around the UK that will enable you to see different species, but the most commonly sighted are harbour porpoises (which are very shy), common dolphins (which love to bow ride on the front of boats), bottlenose dolphins (big, acrobatic and dark grey) and minke whales.

Fins

Unless you’re an avid fisherman, the fish you have the best chance of seeing is the Atlantic salmon, as they leap from the water on the way to their breeding grounds upstream. Weirs and waterfalls are not going to stand in the way of this amorous beauty, as they fight their way up-river. Other species that you might see as they disappear down the gullet of a heron include trout (rainbow and brown), bream, carp, perch and pike. If you see a kingfisher beating up a tiny silver fish, you’re probably looking at a minnow.

Scales

With just six species of reptiles in the UK, snakes and lizards are an easy group to get your head around. There are three snakes – the adder, smooth snake and grass snake; the sand lizard; the common lizard; and the slow worm, which despite looking like a snake is actually a legless lizard! Only adders are venomous (though not deadly), but they’re so shy that your chances of seeing one are slim. Any encounters with these gorgeous creatures are special. They will bask on warm, sunny days, soaking up the rays, but are very easily disturbed; they will sense your footsteps as you approach, and will probably beat a hasty retreat before you get close. You might encounter grass snakes in your garden; they like to lay eggs in compost heaps. These gentle creatures are a sign of a healthy and thriving garden and are best left undisturbed.

Slime

This is a bit of an unfair title for amphibians, but let’s face it, most of them are quite slimy. Amphibians in the UK are a pretty simple bunch: two frogs, two toads and three newts. In your average garden pond, you might find the common frog, common toad or smooth or palmate newt. Frogs and toads are easy to separate: the former are smooth, shiny and hop; the latter are warty, appear dry and crawl. Newts are like tiny dragons that live in your pond, and these species are hard to separate. The rarer and protected great crested newt is larger, warty, dark along the back and with a bright orange belly, splotched with black. There are also populations of marsh frogs and natterjack toads living in very specific areas where they are protected.

Legs

Okay, I lied. Not everything in this group has legs. Invertebrates make up the biggest of the wildlife groups I’ve listed here: there are 45,000 species in the UK! These can be split into 25 major insect groups, including grasshoppers, beetles, bees, butterflies, moths and dragonflies; ‘arthropods’ like spiders and woodlice (these guys have the skeleton on the outside); and then everything else, like snails, slugs and worms. It’s easy to be a bit grossed out by bugs, but remember: life on earth as we know it depends on them. A third of what we eat is dependent on insects, including fruit, honey and chocolate. Up close and personal, bugs can be the most beautiful creatures in the UK, as well as the most helpful, and they’re literally everywhere: we just need to help you find them!

Petals

Wildflowers are often markers of the seasons: for example, snowdrops signal the coming of spring and oxeye daisies follow the summer sun across the sky. Bluebells and foxgloves will blossom in a woodland, while other species, like orchids, prefer carefully cultivated meadows. Even the seashore has wildflowers: thrift and sea holly. A wildflower meadow in full blossom will be alive with bees, butterflies and other pollinators, drinking in the sweet nectar, and is best viewed throughout the spring and in early summer. A riot of colour, wildflowers have a delicate and understated beauty; if you can make room for them in the garden, do! Don’t pick them though; instead, buy from a garden centre or cultivate your own in your garden.

Bark

There are more than 50 species of native trees and shrubs in the UK: three native conifers – yew, Scots pine and juniper; shrubs like holly and guelder rose; and also broadleaf deciduous trees, including many well-known favourites such as ash, silver birch, elm, maple and, of course, oak. Lots of trees are identified largely by their flowers, fruits or nuts, or by the shape of their leaves. Deciduous trees will drop their leaves in the winter, and this can make for one of the most spectacular times of year: watching a woodland change colour in the autumn is magical, and who doesn’t love searching around for acorns or conkers as they fall from the trees? Some trees are also fabulous for their edible bounty, with treats like elderflower, which blossoms in late spring; blackthorn (or ‘sloe’), which makes a favourite tipple, sloe gin; and crab apple. As always when foraging, enlist the help of an expert until you know what you’re doing: lots of berries in the UK are poisonous to humans.

Spores

Don’t be alarmed, but there are over 15,000 different species of fungi in the UK. Gulp (or not, as the case may be)! If nothing else, get to know some basic fungi as the names are totally enigmatic, onomatopoeic and downright fun. Some of them look really weird as well. Fly agaric is your typical toadstool: red with white spots, with fairies living underneath it. Beefsteak fungus looks like (you’ll never guess) a sirloin sticking out of the side of an oak tree. Stinkhorn is funny on all sorts of levels. Jelly ear fungus, often found on elder, looks like a human ear, and puffballs are hugely satisfying in being perfectly spherical. I’m not often going to tell you not to do things in this book, but I am making an exception in this instance: do not eat a single slither of wild fungus unless you know that it is edible. The safest way to learn is with an expert forager, and I’d absolutely urge you to do this if you’re after some food for free.

Wild kit – what do I need?

Most of the Random Acts of Wildness in the book are designed to be done with minimal equipment. There are just a few key items that will make your wild adventures even more exciting and comfortable…

Warm and waterproof clothing

Who are we kidding? Our beloved British weather is totally unpredictable, and if you’re not prepared it can put a dampener on the wildest of adventures. This is especially true if you’re getting the kids involved in your newfound love for the wild: children need to feel warm and safe to have fun and really get stuck in, so making sure they’re comfortable will make everything a lot easier.

Wellies

If you can get your hands on a good pair, do. There’s nothing worse than having cold, wet toes as you trudge through the wild, and a lovely pair of wellies coupled with cosy, thick socks will do the trick.

A thermos flask

Even in the summer, it can get a bit chilly outside, and loads of Random Acts of Wildness will be hugely enhanced with a warming mug of hot chocolate, a strong coffee or a nice cup of tea. Whatever your favourite tipple, investing in a good thermos flask for those chilly days, early mornings and late evenings will be money well spent.

Binoculars

If you’re really getting into your wild adventures, it might be time to invest in a pair of binoculars, which will help you explore wildlife and wild places in more detail, and cause the minimal amount of disturbance to sensitive wildlife. They’re not just great for birds, but will come in handy for scanning the sea for marine life and watching mammals, too. You can pick up a good pair for around £100, and as with anything, the more you spend, the better the quality. Lots of nature reserves and visitor centres have demonstrations where you can test different pairs to see which ones are best for you.

A field guide or two

As a book addict, my house is simply teeming with field guides for every different kind of animal you can think of: birds, butterflies, whales, dolphins, moths, bats, mammals, wildflowers, fungi and more. You don’t need all of these: when you’re starting out, there are loads of free websites that can help with identification. You can also download field guides as apps on to your smartphone. But if you’re like me, and love the feel of a book in your hands, buying one or two of your choice might be a good investment. Pick your favourite Random Acts of Wildness and work out which ones you need from there. If you’re getting into foraging, I would recommend buying a book that you can take with you, so you’re always aware of what you’re picking.

A smartphone or camera

This may seem counter-intuitive. After all, we’re trying to get you outside into the wild and away from all that technology. But a smartphone or camera can be very useful to document your adventures, help you with identification and, of course, take photographs. Just don’t get addicted to it and don’t let it replace your wild adventures.