Curated by our editor Sam, Adventure Ramblings is how Adventure Uncovered will share thought-provoking adventure stories moving forwards, following in the footsteps of the seventeen Editions we published between 2020 and 2023 (the seventeenth is in the works!). You can read more about why we’re transitioning here.

Every ramble will be unique. Some will follow a guiding theme, others will rely solely on serendipity. We’ll take in the topical and the timeless, and will wander into adjacent territory from time to time. The beauty of rambling is that you never quite know. Got a story you think we should feature? Email Sam at sam@adventureuncovered.com. 

Each month we’ll publish a preview of Adventure Ramblings on our website; that’s what you’re reading now. To enjoy full Adventure Ramblings subscribe to our Substack (it’s free!) here.

Join us in Wales at the first OUTSIDE Adventure & Film Festival

Co-presented with TYF Adventure, OUTSIDE is a new festival celebrating slow adventures, films and reconnection, all outdoors!

With nature connection at an all-time low, we’ve curated a weekend of outdoor activities and workshops on the wild western tip of Wales, washed down with local food and nighttime screenings of unseen purpose-driven adventure films.

The surprising history of roller skating

For most outdoor sports, including surfing, inclusivity is a recent concern. But from the (relatively) progressive gender politics of 1930s roller derby through a Black- and queer-driven disco scene to an empowering roller renaissance, the story of roller skating fabulously bucks that trend – even in its more rambunctious forms.

Could skiing become socialist?

Amidst corporate consolidation, resort gentrification and growing climate-driven scarcity, skiing has become a sport for rich people. But it hasn’t always been so, and needn’t be in the future. In The Socialist Case for Skiing, Richard Micahel Solomon outlines a fantastic, fanciful vision for a non-profit, publicly owned ski industry.

Gender equality in surfing

In 2021, surfer Lucy Small won the Curly Maljam Pro and called out the massive disparity in men and women’s prize money in her victory speech. After going viral, she’s been campaigning for gender equality in surfing and working on a related film series for Project Blank. The first film, Yama (screening in June in the UK, Australia and North America) documents a pioneering group of female surfers and skaters in Ghana. Matt Barr interviewed Lucy in 2021 for the reliably thought-provoking Looking Sideways podcast, and recently spoke with her and filmmaker Maddie Meddings about Yama.

The tree climbers of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is one place to look for climate solutions; the 2019 UN Champion of the Earth has been pioneering good environmental policy in recent years. Fertile soil, then, for growing a striking subculture of climbers scaling wondrous strangler figs, captured beautifully in Climbing Giants by climbing filmmaker Noah Kane.

2023 Nan Shepherd Prize

The 2023 Nan Shepherd Prize, named after the legendary Scottish nature writer, is open for submissions to writers underrepresented in nature writing through ethnicity, disability, class, sex, gender, sexuality or any other circumstances. The winner will get a book deal with Canongate, following previous winners Nina Mingya Powles and Marchelle Farrell.

To enjoy Adventure Ramblings in full, subscribe (for free!) to our Substack.