Life in Lockdown - Calum Maclean

Initially I found lockdown to be a very frustrating experience. It took away my freedom, something I value highly – the ability to go off and do what I want, disappear into the wild for days at a time. No more mountain days, no swim explorations, no camping. However looking back, it seems quite a selfish point of view. I had my health; I had a home and I still did have freedom – I’d just have to think about it differently and be as creative as possible.

As a self-employed adventure & outdoor broadcaster, all my planned summer work was cancelled, so I wanted to keep my mind – and body – occupied, stay busy and stay creative. I ran a marathon in my garden, taking over 7 hours and couldn’t walk the next day – I think the tight corners ruined my hips (!) but I got the bug for it! So next I walked 24 hours around the house, raising money for the Highland Hospice.

Why do it? There’s no great explanation – I wanted to do it, worked out if I could, and just did it! I knew I’d be capable of 24 hours but having never actually done it, I still found it a challenge. An endurance challenge can create a paradigm shift in thinking – you’ve done it once, you can do it again. I will do another 24 hour run again in the future – but not around the house if I can help it! I bought a green screen, shrunk myself down digitally and made a short film exploring my garden. I slept out in the garden, staring at the stars. I shared my exploits on social media but at the same time I was wary not to try and show off that I was having a great time, all the time! ‘Productivity porn’ was a phrase I learned, and in between the blasts of energy and creativity came lost days, gazing for hours at Twitter and YouTube.

I volunteered to work as a delivery driver for a local charity, taking care packages to people in need. This will continue while I am able to do so. I have been without proper work for some time but I know in the coming months, we’ll see more people lose employment, experience hardship and require help from charities like this.

Lockdown was always going to come to an end at some point. I’ve started to put myself into a position to get back to ‘normality’ – focussing again on work; getting back into wild places and adventures I had wanted to do, but never quite got around to.

As we now start to get more freedom, I have plans – but none that can’t be changed. At first I just want to experience the mountains again. Walk for days, finding waterfalls and swims, without a phone. Spend whole days by, around and in the sea. Who could have predicted what would happen this year? Could it happen again? Who knows, so I’m staying flexible, getting back to what I love doing – and never, ever taking that freedom for granted.