FREEDOMMMM!

I wasn't quite quoting Mel Gibson off Braveheart there but getting into the outdoors and on new adventures certainly gives us that sense of Freedom doesn’t it?!

Freedom doesn’t always have to come from an epic expedition on the other side of the world of course, it can simply start by leaving your front door and stepping onto the road for a short local bimble, it could even be a weekend spent trekking and camping in the mountains looking up at the stars or if you were super lucky, watching the Northern Lights dazzle there way over Scotland and large parts of the UK last week in February.

That brings me to today's little message about those small things.

Back last year, I was taking our dog Penny( The EverDog) out on a little walk with Jen and Ellie in a woodland not too far from our house called Smealog woods or as we like to call it, Smeagol woods

(If you have watched Lord of the Rings you should know who this is).

Now I've not seen many hobbits, wizards or dwarves in these very 'Middle Earth' looking woods but unfortunately, I have seen quite a bit of rubbish!

Not great in these beautiful little woods in South Wales.

Now before this little Bimble in the woods and that rubbish, we were on a weekend adventure down West Wales in a little seaside village called New Quay when Ellie made a bit of a boo-boo accidentally dropping a crab line into the water in one of the harbours and then having a bit of a meltdown due to the thought of the line harming any sea life.

There was definitely a lesson for her right there and although we tried to recover the line, we couldn't.

Fairplay to Ellie, right that afternoon, she told us that she wanted to do something for the environment to make up for it as she felt bad about what had happened. She asked if she could do a litter pick on one of the walks that we recently went on.

So off we went with our boots on and rubbish bag at the ready.

This leads us back to that Bimble in Smeagol woods.

Ellie went at it and picked up all of the litter she could find(She searched and searched) until all of the litter that was on the trail was bagged and collected.

Now I know this isn't exactly starting up Greenpeace or anything but that little thought about doing something important for the environment had a big impact on her and at least in her world, she felt she had made a big difference.

You see, it is the small things that make the big difference.

It is the small hinges that open very large doors.

Those small things you do each day, each week, each month whether that be going on smaller adventures, picking up that small piece of litter or even a small session at the gym each day could mean the difference between reaching that summit or not.

It could be the difference between having a positive effect on the environment or not.

As you head out today, take a look at those small things that you do each day as you never know what ripple effect that can have in the world and ask yourself these questions –

What small things can you change in your world to have a positive impact on your next trip?

What small things can you do to have a positive impact on the environment?

Have an awesome day and keep doing those small things that will make a big difference on your next adventure!

Let us know how you get on?