THE freedom, if not the desire, to explore the planet has been a long time coming for women.

The playing field is a lot more even now than when the first female pioneers of mountaineering and derring-do were on the scene, yet when I am up a mountain peak or on a climbing wall I often find myself in a very male-dominated world.

I reckon it’s time to change that. I hear again and again from girls who would love to try surfing, go hiking or travel alone but feel they lack the confidence to get out and give those things a go. Perhaps because there’s still a perception of adventure as an extreme pursuit, a living-off-urine, round-the-world-on-a-unicycle tough club open only to the hardiest grizzled explorer.

It is about being your own have-a-go heroine, embracing new experiences and the simple, low-key pleasures of camping, walking, grilling fish over a fire you built with your own fair hands. It’s about stepping away from the stresses of modern life, too.

Getting outdoors is the easiest route I know to feeling happy and healthy, although there’s no b******s about diets and calories in this book – I’m far too fond of red wine and chocolate biscuits for that.

I’ve loved a little adventure since I was a nipper, when my grandmother would take me swimming in the cold Irish sea and my dad would cart us off on walks in the woods.

As an outdoors journalist I’ve followed my love for fresh air around the world, camping on its cliffs, diving its oceans, getting extremely lost on its rain-sodden hills. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that there are three steps to living a full and happy life:

1. Get outdoors.

2. Repeat as often as you can

3. In the words of Bill and Ted, be excellent to each other.

READY FOR AN ENDORPHIN BOOST ?

Let’s dive straight into the world of action sports, trying out two adrenalin-fuelled ways to get fit and explore the great outdoors. These short guides introduce each discipline, giving you an insight into what to expect and inspiring you to zip up a wetsuit or stick on some climbing shoes and try them out.

The only element standing in the way of the skills you want to learn and the experiences you’d love to try is the confidence to take the first step. Time to be your own have-a-go heroine – you have nothing to lose but your fear.

SURFING AND PADDLEBOARDING

Salty hair, don’t care. Who needs therapy when you can surf? Being out in the ocean is one of the most liberating things I know: sea water cures all aches and washes away worries, and surfing, the fine art of riding a wave, will give you great respect for the ocean, that mercurial beast which can be a calm playground or a furious monster at whim.

The sea is no easy mistress, and you’ll have to put the time in if you want to learn her ways. But it’s all worth it the first time you stand up on a board and ride your first wave. Whether you try it on a lush tropical beach or under Britain’s grey skies with a woolly jumper under your wetsuit, you might find you get immediately smitten by surfing’s meditative rush.

PICKING THE RIGHT WETSUIT

A second skin made of tough, warm neoprene is essential unless you’re only planning to surf on warm tropical beaches. Wetsuits are designed in different thicknesses for different water temperatures – a 5/3 is an all-seasons wetsuit, with a body 5mm thick and arms and legs 3mm thick, and a 3/2 is a summer wetsuit with thicknesses of 3mm and 2mm respectively.

Wetsuit arms and legs are thinner so you have more flexibility while your core stays warm. Winter wetsuits cover you completely, with tight collars and cuffs to trap a layer of water around your body.

Summer wetsuits, or shorties, usually have short arms and legs. They feel less restrictive to wear, but still offer more protection than a swimsuit.

The rumours are true – surfers usually wee in their wetsuits to warm them up, which is a good reason to buy your own rather than renting (eew).

Female-specific designs are a must if you’re blessed in the boobs and booty departments. Try on as many different wetsuits as you can and pick one which you can get into and out of by yourself (wetsuits usually either zip up at the back or have a zip across the chest).

Always wash your wetsuit in clean water after a dip in the ocean to prolong its life.

HOW TO CATCH A WAVE

When you’re learning to surf you’ll start in the white water, the area where waves have already broken, closest to the beach. Walk out into the sea with your board attached to you (a surfboard’s leash wraps around your ankle with Velcro).

When you’re in waist-height water, lie on your board and use your arms to paddle forwards towards the waves – when you reach a breaking wave, push the front of your body up and you’ll glide over it.

When you want to try catching a wave, lie on your board and face towards the shore. Watch behind you for a wave. When one is about two metres away, face forward and paddle as hard as you can with alternate arms.

Look forwards and when the wave catches you, push your chest up with your hands. The first few times you catch a wave, try staying on your board until you reach the shore, getting off when you get to shallow water. When you’ve caught a few waves, try coming up into a sideways standing position with one foot forward and one back.

Keep your knees bent and your feet slightly more than shoulder distance apart. Put your arms up for balance, and look forwards in the direction you want to go.

HIKING

Wandering with a knapsack on your back is one of the simplest, easiest and cheapest ways you can get outdoors on a human-powered adventure. Two legs is often the only form of transport that’ll let you venture into some of the most remote and beautiful pockets of the world, and walking is also one of the most contemplative things I know – perhaps that’s why there are quite so many poems and songs about the glories of the rambling life. Walking, hiking, hillwalking – it’s hard to define clearcut edges between different kinds of perambulation, except that the walker and the rambler tend to take gentler strolls over rolling countryside with plenty of tea breaks, while the hiker and the hillwalker stride womanfully off into the high hills. However hardcore you want to make it, a walk will clear your mind, fill your lungs with fresh air and leave you calm and happy. It’s worth the blisters.

SCRAMBLING

The lovechild of hillwalking and climbing, scrambling is usually defined as using your hands as well as your feet to get up a hill or rock face. Some scrambles are so easy they aren’t graded, but others are graded as one,

two or three, with three verging on an easy rock-climbing route you might want a rope for, two possibly needing a rope to protect you on a tricky patch and one being basically an exposed walking route over terrain that will necessitate a bit of clambering. If you’re a competent walker, you’ll be able to manage level one.

However, be aware that bad or cold weather will hugely change how a difficult a scramble feels, and how feasible it is to attempt. If you’re keen to try scrambling, I suggest having a few climbing sessions first – it gets your brain used to dealing with heights and tuned into the importance of placing your feet carefully. Pick

a warm, dry day to try your first scramble, and wear a helmet. If you want to try grades two or three, it’s best to have a go with an instructor.

BUYING THE RIGHT HIKING BOOTS

First up, decide if you’d rather choose leather, which is naturally waterproof, long-lasting and good-looking, but stiffer, heavier and harder to wear in, or fabric boots, which tend to be lighter and comfier but less warm and not as durable. Pick a boot engineered with Gore-Tex, a reliable waterproofing system. Try on plenty of pairs and choose something that fits you perfectly, with enough room to wriggle your toes and no tightness anywhere.