OUTDOORS | 12 Outdoor & Nature Based Things To Do To Combat The January Blues

December 26, 2017 Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Activities, Camping Tips & Advice, Homepage Feature, Latest Posts

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Let’s face it, January can be a pretty tough month to get through. With all the fun and excitement of Christmas long gone, the first gloomy month of the year can seem never-ending.

But don’t fear. Here at Camping with Style we’ve been busy planning adventures and finding fun things to fill the new year with, so why not use January to plan some new adventures of your own?

Read on for some great suggestions of outdoors and nature based things to do this January.

1. Find local nature based activities

You can easily find out about nature based activities and places to visit near you by visiting the Wildlife Trust website and popping in your location.

Whilst you may have to wait a wee while until lockdown restrictions lift, you can start making plans now!

✰ Wildlife Trust What’s Happening Near Me

2. Survey the wild birds visiting your garden

Take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch taking place at the end of January, and run by the RSPB. Signup on their website to get your free kit and take part.

✰ RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Acorn Adventure glamping pods in the Brecon Beacons

3. Plan a glamping break

One of the best things about glamping, is that unlike camping, there are no excuses not to do it year round! Even the most basic glamping pods are well insulated and usually contain an electric heater.

Priced from about £50 per night, glamping is a great way to spend time living that bit closer to nature during the colder winter months and it’s great to have something to look forrward to!

✰ Find a glamping site at Glamping Hub

4. Create a nature habitat in your garden

Turn part of your garden into a nature habitat to encourage wild animals to come and visit or take residence. The RSPB provides plenty of advice on how to create nature habitats for birds, bees, butterflies, frogs and more!

✰ Give Nature A Home

Our garden ready for the Big Garden Birdwatch

5. Get outdoors and try a park run!

If you’ve never done a park run before, how about taking a look at the Park Run website to find a local outdoors run near you? Or how about trying couch to 5k?

If lockdown rules aren’t on your side and things like Park Runs are currently on hold, why not sign up for something like Race For Life taking part later in the year?

✰ Park Run

✰ Race For Life

Some fungi we recently spotted growing on a rotting tree trunk

6. Learn to identify different flora and fauna

Although January isn’t a brilliant time for fungi, there are still plenty around and it can be fascinating and fun learning to identify them and work out which ones are edible and which are poisonus.

But it’s not just fungi you can learn to identify, birds and tress are equally fascinating to to learn about, especially at this time of year and all you need to do is head out of your front door and take a walk to your nearest green space.

✰ Grab yourself a wildlife identification book to help

We love walking in winter we took this shot whilst walking in Ben Lawers in Scotland last year

7. Get out for a walk

With local walks firmly on the agenda currently, there’s no reason why you can’t dream a little bigger and start planning some of the grander walks more further afield that you want to embark upon later in the year, or whenever the rules allows it!

Don’t let cold weather put you off, wrap up warm and remember that a winter walk can be just as enjoyable as a summer walk, in fact we prefer walking in winter as popular walks aren’t as busy.

✰ Find a book on walking routes

8. Explore a National Trust garden

Of course the exploring will have to wait until after lockdown, but grabbing yourself a National Trust membership opens up an entire world of beautiful gardens, parks and grounds to you.

Of course you don’t have to be a member to enjoy them. Head over to the National Trust website to find a garden or park near you, grab your camera, and then head outdoors to take photographs or to simply enjoy the landscape.

✰ Find a National Trust garden or park

Exploring The National Trusts Sizergh Castle Gardens

9. Take part in a nature photo challenge

Lots of bloggers and websites run various daily and weekly photo challenges. The easiest ones to get involved in will often give you a theme, and your task is to take a picture that fits the theme and upload it to your preferred social media platform using a specific hashtag.

✰ Check out the Splodz Blogz Weekly Photo Challenge

10. Plan an Easter Bank Holiday road trip

It might seem early, but when it comes to booking campsites, glamping or holiday park accommodation, they can get booked up very quickly, so planning now makes sense. Always fancied walking in the Scottish Highlands? Go for it.

✰ Be inspired by our 2016 Easter road trip to the Highlands

Get your camping gear ready for the first camping trip of the year

11. Get ready for your spring camping trip

Now is a great time to sort out your camping gear and to figure out if you need to invest in anything new. Donate any unwanted camping and outdoors gear to a homeless charity, and make a list of campsites you’d like to stay at in the coming year. Why not be super organised, and book ahead for half term?

✰ Find a camp site to stay at

12. Get into Geocaching

Geocaching is like a high-tech treasure hunt, and trust as when we say it’s seriously addictive! Geocaces need to be tracked down and then logged, and some are trickier than others! Start with caches ranked as easy to find and you’ll soon get the hang of it, and it’s something that the whole family can enjoy.

✰ Join the world’s largest treasure hunt

One of our first Geocache finds, at Sizergh Castle

Still searching for inspiration? Outdoors bloggers share their tips on how to spend more time outdoors.

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Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Editor & Owner at Camping with Style

Shell loves all things travel and outdoors and is a nature-loving, comfy-camping kinda girl. Shell started the Camping with Style blog after a serious snowboarding accident which left her with a broken back. Despite this she used the outdoors and healing power of nature to aid her recovery and she continues to spend time outdoors whenever she can.

From open water swimming, snowboarding and kayaking to hill walks and meditation, Shell shares her travels and microadventures here on the blog and in various publications she's written for, Shell has a particular interest in promoting wellbeing and the many benefits of nature therapy.

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