What is a good first outdoor adventure if you're not outdoorsy?

"Outdoorsy" is a slightly intimidating word. It suggests people who own a stove, can read a contour line and say things like "it's only weather". You do not need to become one of them to have a brilliant day outside. You just need an adventure sized to your current comfort, with a café somewhere near the end.

A waymarked day hike

Pick a marked trail with signposts or painted waymarks, a clear start and finish, and modest climbing. Circular routes from a village or car park are ideal, and many are written up by local tourist offices or national park authorities with distances and difficulty grades. Choose the easiest grade on your first outing. You can always go back for the harder one.

A coastal walk

Coastal paths are the gentlest way into a big landscape: the sea tells you where you are, there are usually villages along the way, and the views do most of the motivational work. Walk from one town to the next and take the bus, train or boat back. Check tide times if any part of the route goes along a beach.

Canoe or kayak hire

Hiring a canoe on a calm river or lake gives you a proper sense of adventure with very little skill needed. Many hire companies offer a short briefing, buoyancy aids and a pick-up at the end of a set stretch. Choose flat water, go with a friend, wear the buoyancy aid, and accept that you will zigzag for the first half hour.

A flat bike path

Converted railway lines, river paths and lakeside routes are flat, often traffic-free and lovely. Hire bikes if you do not have one. Ride to a village for lunch and back, and if the return looks too far, plan a train home. Our guide to planning a cycling day trip has more.

Scaling ambition to comfort

The best first adventure is slightly shorter and easier than you think you can manage. You want to finish feeling pleased, not rescued. Some ways to dial it in:

• Choose a distance that feels very manageable for you, and remember that paths, hills and stops all slow you down compared with a city pavement.
• Look for bail-out points: a bus stop halfway, a road crossing, a shortcut.
• Go with someone, ideally a friend who has done this sort of thing, or join a guided walk or beginners' group.
• Start and finish somewhere nice: a café, a pub, a beach, a bakery.
• Step up one thing at a time next time: a bit longer, a bit hillier, or a bit more remote, not all three.

What to take

Comfortable shoes you have already walked in, a waterproof layer, a warm layer, water, food you like, sun protection, a charged phone with a map downloaded, and a little cash. A small backpack is all you need. For snack ideas that survive a day out, see what to pack to eat on a long day outdoors.

A few sensible habits

• Check the weather the evening before and the morning of, and be willing to change plans.
• Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back.
• Start early so you have plenty of daylight in reserve.
• Turn round if the path looks harder than expected, the weather turns or you are not enjoying it. That is good judgement, not failure.