Adventurer, author and editor of the superb Wanderlust travel magazine, there's nothing Phoebe Smith likes more than sleeping out in the wild.

Her book, Extreme Sleeps, strikes a chord with us - opening with an admission that so many of us are guilty of, heading off to explore the world without ever giving the UK's own sightseeing highlights a fair shot.

The same realisation was a big part of Martin and Hannah's motivation for launching Campsites.co.uk, and so banging the UK's drum is a core part of why we do what we do.

Hi Phoebe. Tell us about how you became addicted to adventures.

I never set out to! Writing has always been my passion, words just ooze out of me, it's my way of making sense of the world. But then, over 10 years ago, I went travelling and suddenly my prose, much like my life, became so much richer.

I love to explore endlessly and I do get to travel a lot for my day job, but I found myself looking for ways to have quick adventures closer to home - and that's when I discovered wild camping.

I loved it so much I began to write about it, to do talks about it, to pen books about it - I wanted everyone to realise how easy it is to have adventures and how anyone can be an adventurer.

The more I mentioned it the more people wanted to know - and now I have 7 books to my name all about UK adventures.

Where is your favourite place in the UK? Where do you keep going back to?

It's very difficult to choose - I love so much of it, but I can give you three for different reasons.

Tryfan and the Glyders in Snowdonia for the wonderfully gnarly shaped mountains that punch well above their height, Warnscale Head bothy in the lovely Lake District where sleeping in it feels like being tucked into the fells themselves, and the Fisherfield Forest in Scotland's Wester Ross, home to the official Middle of Nowhere - a wonderfully wild place.

What one experience or adventure should be on everyone's bucket list?

Watching sunrise from the top of a mountain. Whether doing it after a bivvy camp on a summit in the UK, or climbing something epic like Fuji or Kilimanjaro through the night to catch the dawn breaking, it doesn't matter.

There's something indescribably magical about it, it makes you realise that the most important things in life, aren't things at all.

We couldn't agree more. What's the best advice you've ever been given?

That twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover!

From the wise Mark Twain of course!

What tips would you give to people keen to be more adventurous themselves?

Forget what other people say, you can do anything you set your mind to. The only difference between those who make it and those who don't is that the ones who made it never gave up.

Always keep a 'go bag' ready to minimise your reasons for not heading out on a whim. I always have a go bag packed in my car boot or by my front door so that if the mood takes me and the weather is right I can head off after work and plunge myself back into the wilds.

In summary, just go for it! There are always excuses why you shouldn't have adventures, so stop making them and get out there! The rocks don't care whether you're fat or thin, young or old, rich or poor, male of female - it's the ultimate leveller.

Is there a favourite book that has inspired you?

Can I have two? Robert Macfarlane's The Wild Places (for words so good you'll lose yourself in them) and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (to prove that life is better - and instantly funnier - when you allow yourself to have an adventure your own way).

What's your best and worst camping memories?

Both are encapsulated in my first solo wild camp. It was the first time I made the decision to go and sleep out in the wilds by myself.

I was pretty confident at first, and knew that I could hold my own in the outdoors, but so many people told me what would go wrong - from being attacked by a mugger to being eaten by a bear (and this was in Wales).

When I headed out the weather was awful and, with the naysayers thoughts swimming in my head, I began to have my doubts.

What followed was the best and worst two days of my life. I got sunburnt (the weather suddenly got much better very quickly), was bitten by midges and ticks, got chased by sheep, and was scared in the middle of the night by rabbits.

But I also stood atop mountain summits by myself, enjoyed a sunset among the mountains, slept with the grass as my mattress and the hills as my headboard, awoke right in the thick of it when everyone else was still in bed - and relied on no one but myself.

A cataclysmic shift happened in me that day - I was an instant wild camping addict and it changed my life. Now the best night's sleep I ever have are in the middle of a wild place.

Rabbits aren't quite bears are they! What's the one must-have gadget you always take with you?

My inflatable pillow. Because if you don't have a good night's sleep, how can you possibly make the most of the next day?

Finally, what's your favourite campfire meal?

Chocolate sponge in chocolate sauce, with a mug of hot chocolate. I may have a problem...

We're partial to a bit of chocolate ourselves we must admit! Thanks so much for joining us!

You can follow Phoebe on Twitter @PhoebeRSmith or explore more of her work on her website, www.phoebe-smith.com.