Summer’s Over. I’m Not Going Home Yet.

There’s something slightly unfair about the first of September.

One minute we’re calling everything a summer adventure, and the next somebody has apparently decided we should put the outdoor chairs away, find a jumper and behave as though Wales has closed for the season.

I’m not having it.

In fact, I think September might be one of the loveliest times to get out and explore.

The school-holiday rush begins to ease, some of our busiest places become a little quieter, the light starts changing and there’s that first hint of autumn in the landscape. Visit Wales describes autumn as a quieter time to visit, with the changing colours and a packed calendar of things happening across the country.

And yes, the weather becomes less predictable.

Although, being Wales, I’m not entirely convinced it was ever predictable in the first place.

For me, exploring doesn’t have to mean conquering a mountain or disappearing for a week with enough equipment to establish a small settlement. Some of the best days begin with nothing more ambitious than choosing somewhere unfamiliar, packing sensible footwear, checking the weather and seeing what’s there.

That might be woodland. A stretch of coast. A waterfall. A ruined castle. A village you’ve driven through fifty times but never actually stopped to explore.

September is particularly good for that sort of wandering.

Across Wales, woodlands are beginning their slow transformation towards autumn, and places such as Newborough Forest on Anglesey offer a network of trails through a landscape of forest, dunes and coast. Elsewhere, there are everything from short woodland routes to serious long-distance trails, so “going for a walk” can mean pretty much whatever you want it to mean.

That matters to me because the outdoors shouldn’t feel like a competition.

You don’t need expensive kit, heroic mileage or a photograph from the top of Yr Wyddfa to prove you’ve had an adventure. Sometimes finding somewhere beautiful, sitting down for ten minutes and actually noticing where you are is enough.

Naturism fits rather beautifully into that philosophy.

Adam recently wrote about the difference between simply being outside and genuinely noticing the natural world. That struck a chord with me. When Did We Stop Noticing?

Because perhaps that is what exploring really is.

It isn’t collecting destinations. It’s paying attention.

The wind changing as you leave the shelter of the trees. The smell of damp earth after rain. Cold grass under your feet. That sudden patch of blue sky which makes you wonder why you bothered carrying waterproofs all day — approximately seven minutes before it starts raining again.

Naturism can make those sensations wonderfully immediate, but it doesn’t need to become the entire point of the journey. Naturism is how we live, and exploring the places around us is simply another part of that life.

There are already organised walks within our Naturism Wales community, and Eira previously wrote about the friendships and sense of belonging that can grow from exploring Wales together. Discover Wales One Step at a Time

I want to explore another side of that world too.

Over the coming weeks I’ll be looking for places worth discovering, journeys worth making, quieter corners of Wales, walks for ordinary legs as well as adventurous ones, days out, weekends away and those places you nearly drive past before thinking, hang on — what’s down there?

I’ll probably get rained on occasionally.

I consider that occupational risk.

Summer might be over.

The adventure certainly isn’t.

So, where in Wales have you always meant to explore but somehow never quite got around to visiting?