Random travel adventure

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/12/random-travel-adventure

Version 0 of 1.

I'm standing in WHSmith at London Paddington holding an A-Z, with my eyes closed. I am about to stick my finger somewhere on a map at random and attempt to get there. The idea of "Close eyes, point, go" is that having an adventure doesn't need to be expensive, or take months of planning. It can start now.

I open my eyes. My finger is pointing at a dry riverbed at the bottom of a copse in Wiltshire, called Sound Bottom. It sounds like a place chosen for comic value, but the North Wessex Downs page of the A-Z doesn't have a non-silly name on it. I could as easily been headed for Goosey, Hell Corner or Compton Beauchamp. Off we go.

My best bet seems to be the 10.18am into Berkshire, which stops at a village called Kintbury near the Wiltshire border. I board the train with Toby, my canine co-adventurer. I'm not someone who likes surprises, so stepping into the unknown like this is pretty nerve-wracking. Anxiously researching how to get closer to Sound Bottom, I come across the Kennet Horse Boat Company, which runs horse-drawn barge tours up the Kennet and Avon canal. Maybe they'll let me hitch a ride.

At Kintbury, the river runs right by the station, and I quickly spot the Kennet Valley barge, and its owner Steve Butler. Unfortunately I'm just too early: the boat doesn't run until Easter. Steve invites me into the galley, and makes me a cup of tea on the gas stove. He's so friendly and easy-going, I decide to seek his help. "I'm looking for Sound Bottom," I tell him, explaining the challenge. "Never heard of it," he replies, which sounds about right. Still, he says he'll try to get me a bit closer in his Morris Minor.

Driving through Ramsbury, a tiny village, I squint at the blurry picture of the A-Z on my phone. I don't really know where we are, or where we're going, and it's sort of exciting. After 15 pleasant minutes of country roads, I realise I can't make a stranger drive me around all day – it's time to make my own way, even if I get lost. I thank Steve profusely, as he lets me out and waves me off.

I find myself on a road with fields gently sloping away to either side. Is this the dry riverbed? Twenty minutes later, we enter a dense copse of trees. There are horticultural contraptions lying around that look like miniature seesaws. I creep further into the wood. I find a sheet of metal and lift it to uncover a well. It feels like stumbling into a fairytale or a secret garden.Is this Sound Copse on Sound Bottom? I don't know for sure, but I don't think it matters. I've jumped on a random train, hitched a ride with a stranger, and wandered deep in to the countryside.

Embracing spontaneity feels exhilarating and rewarding, even more so for being out of my comfort zone. This morning I was part of the commuter crush, now I'm standing in a mysterious grove with no one around for miles. I do feel like an explorer. I walk out of the wood back into the sunlight. I think I've earned a victory lunch in Ramsbury. But where? I think I'll pick somewhere at random.

This adventure was inspired by Alastair Humphreys