2015 has been a great year for progress with regard to sports and outdoor organisations finally beginning to realise that people aren’t just interested in winning sports medals and buying expensive gear. There are still the plethora of reports and research stating time and time again that too many people are overweight and unhealthy, but don’t actually state how to solve the “issue.” It was very refreshing to see the US Company REI bucking the Black Friday trend by closing all of its stores to give its staff the opportunity to go outdoors and to encourage people to #OptOutside.
So, as you all know, Active Outdoors is all about having fun, adventure and accomplishing personal challenges outdoors with friends and family. That “feel good” feeling is at the core of all I publish, but what were you most interested in reading in 2015?
Here are the top 10 most popular pages about outdoor activities read on Active Outdoors in 2015:
- The Outdoor Activities List for Adults was by far the most useful page for you on Active Outdoors. The categorised list format of the activities provides you with a quick and easy way to browse through over 300 different activity ideas. It keeps growing, so keep looking.
- Activities for couples was a hot topic for you all. There are three different guides to outdoor activities for couples that you found useful. At number 2 was Fun Outdoor Activities to do With your Boyfriend or Girlfriend.
- Outdoor Team Building Activities were another hot topic that you were consistently interested throughout 2015. The team building resources have now grown to cover kids, teens, adults, and the workplace.
- Another hot topic was looking for fun things to do at the weekends. Primarily a list of what teenagers love to do at the weekend, this year I may do some more research and find out what the top things all age groups like to get up to outdoors at the weekend.
- The second of the post on outdoor activities for couples that you loved was the Boyfriend and Girlfriend Summer Bucket List. Just a few ideas to give you loving couples the opportunity to get to know each other a bit more whilst having a whole lot of fun outdoors. Did you complete it?
- The last of the outdoor couples guides provided you with some highly recommended tips for Camping with your boyfriend or girlfriend. This guide proved invaluable and was shared considerably on social media as a way to not look a complete fool in front of the one you are trying to impress. Hope it worked for you.
- A way to escape from an office job was as always popular. My outdoor jobs guide has now been surpassed by the list of outdoor jobs that pay well. There are some fantastic outdoor jobs out there, but choosing one that provides you with the right balance of cash and job satisfaction can be tricky. There are more in depth outdoor job guides on the way for 2016. If there are any you prefer me to write about, get in touch.
- The Best Places to Go Ape was the most popular guide to any specific outdoor activity. Go Ape has sites across the UK and US, but choosing which one to spend your cash on is not a decision to take lightly. So, I helpfully compiled a list of every single Go Ape site with all of the stats to help you choose whether you want longer zip wires or higher crossings. A new location was added when Go Ape Battersea Park in central London opened in December 2015 being the first in the city, however Grizedale is still my favourite.
- Activities to do for Fun With Friends was a very popular category of pages. I have now placed it on the menu at the top of the Active Outdoors website to make it easier for you to explore things to do socially outdoors.
- Adventure and Challenge was the second most popular category of outdoor activities you were interested in. This selection of outdoor activities provides you with plenty of ideas for ways to find adventure outdoors, or activities that you can do as a personal challenge. As I always say, it is not about winning medals but about beating your personal best, successfully achieving your goals or learning a new skill.
- The last in the most popular list is in fact an indoor activity. Indoor Skydiving has been highly popular for those of you who don’t see the point in jumping out of a perfectly safe plane just to experience freefall. Indoor skydiving allows you to experience freefall in the safety of a vertical wind tunnel. Lots of fun, a new skill to learn, and no risk of impacting the ground at high speed. I will be doing this early this year, so look out for an update to the page.
I must thank you all for your interest in reading the information, ideas and inspiration that I write for you. I use Google Analytics to work out what pages you read most, but I would love to hear more of your thoughts about what you read or would like to know about.
If you want to discover more of the amazing outdoor activities you can do, you can’t beat the Outdoor Activities List.