#AD #GIFTED #CREATEDWITHADIDAS
The lovely thing about living in Brighton is that although it’s a heck of a busy city, if you want a bit of the great and gnarly outdoors you don’t have to go very far.
Recently I read this book – Walking in the Woods by Professor Yoshifumi Miyazaki. It’s based on studies of forest-bathing in Japan, and puts a very convincing case for the mental and physical health benefits of spending time in nature.
Inspired by this, Chez Thumbs has made a collective goal to spend time every week outside in nature. I’m still going to the gym a lot, but I’ve swapped out one of those sessions for an outdoors adventure instead.
So with the South Downs Way on our doorstep, off we trotted into the blue.
The South Downs Way stretches across 160km (around 100 miles) of Sussex and is home to many beautiful sights and frankly freaky landscapes. Find out more about it here.
Obviously you wouldn’t walk it all in one go. Most people do it in chunks, maybe starting at Devil’s Dyke or one of the surrounding villages.
Created with ADIDAS
Now, you might have seen I did a couple of collaborative posts with adidas last year, and I’m delighted to say that they’ve now asked me to join their blogger community as an Official Adidas Blogger. As a small scale 50something blog, it’s really delightful to be recognised and included like this.
I decided to use this collaboration to up my hiking game, hence my walks have been greatly enhanced by these ace new hiking boots from the shoe department.
How this collaboration works is that Adidas sent me a voucher and I topped that up a bit, though I also benefitted from their member scheme which gives a 20% discount voucher and free postage. That’s definitely worth signing up for. What’s good about this is that you don’t just get a discount the first time you sign up. If you go back and review what you’ve bought then there’s another 20% discount up for grabs, plus they seem to give birthday discounts and other benefits just because. All orders also get free returns and exchange.
This is what I chose:
Hiking boots – These are Terrex Swift Gore-Tex Hiking Shoes and aren’t they the business? Comfortable but very sturdy, with great grip on muddy bits of ground. There’s good ankle support, cushioning in the mid-sole and waterproofing on the outside. The website advises that these size up small, so I went up half a size. This turned out to be perfect when paired with thick walking socks. I’ve walked about 10 miles in these boots and they’ve been terrifically comfy – no need to break them in and no blisters at all.
Small backback – This one is the perfect size for a walk, as it fits a water bottle and snacks. It has the air of ‘tourist in a New York art gallery’ about it. Currently quite a steal in the sale at under £13.
A hoodie – It’s all about the details with this Future Icons hoodie. It’s carbon grey rather than black and the graphic on the front has a subtle tiger print design. I’m wearing a Medium (roughly 12-14) and the arms are quite loose. Like the boots, this is partly made with recycled materials. Very handy when the Sussex gales start blowing and you need to protect your ears from the wind. More like this here.
A water bottle – To go in the backpack and fuel the walks. Made from steel so it’s great for keeping drinks cold. This is another one currently in the sale.
Right now I’m planning next week’s walk. Have you ever walked the South Downs Way? Is there a part of it you’d recommend? Preferably with some freaky landscape to look at?
