Get out into nature for cheap and fulfilling adventure
A new French project inspired by a British adventurer aims to provide inspiration and suggestions for nature-based activities which do not involve travelling far from home or paying much.
鈥楳icro-adventures鈥� in Paris, for example, include listening to the rutting cry of stags in Rambouillet forest, enjoying stand-up paddle surfing, or going longboarding (a kind of large skateboard) by a river.
The project is run through a website, called Chilow茅 to evoke 鈥榗hill away [from home],鈥� and was co-founded by former lawyer Thibaut Labey, 32, after a four-month 鈧�30,000 trip by tuk-tuk motorised rickshaw through 17 countries from Cam颅颅bodia to Paris with two friends鈥�
鈥淏ack in Paris I thought I鈥檇 be bored and never have such a sensational time again.鈥�
However, he then went on a long bike ride through France that 鈥渢ook three hours鈥� planning and cost a few hundred euros鈥� and was equally satisfying.
鈥淲hen I heard about micro颅adventures 鈥� a term invented by Briton Alastair Humphreys 鈥� it tied in. You can have amazing experiences, outside in nature, with discoveries and pushing your boundaries, with a minimum of time and organisation and not far from home. It鈥檚 about living better with less.鈥�
Chilow茅 was created with fellow outdoors enthusiast Fer颅d颅in颅and Martinet and they have 15,000 subscribers to a France-wide activities newsletter plus Facebook groups in 10 cities.
They release a Paris guide this month with others planned for Nantes, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux after a crowdfunding campaign for the Paris book raised more than 鈧�33,000, four times more than the target.
鈥淲e raised our target in under five hours, which showed there鈥檚 a real need out there 鈥� people need to get out into nature and in Paris they don鈥檛 know where to go,鈥� Mr Labey said.
People who join can try outings such as canoeing the Loire or a Vercors snow颅shoe trek or even a challenge such as a bike ride to find a regional speciality.
