I’ve been hankering for a wild camp for a while and at the weekend I came up with a good plan. I’d identified a potential good camping spot in one of my local forests a while ago. I initially had it earmarked for a potential hammock camp at the end of the Summer but never seemed to get around to it. I was hoping it would be good for a ground camp too and I was hoping to set up a tarp tent to take advantage of the mild weather and get a more open woodland sleeping experience.
The plan involved heading up to the forest in the afternoon to identify the best location and set up camp. Then head home again to do a few jobs around the house, have dinner and return to camp in the evening hoping to get a nice dawn chorus and cook breakfast outside.
It didn’t work out as well as I hoped 🤣 Have a watch of the video below to see how I got on.
niall harran 
Brilliant – I’m so pleased you did that so I didn’t have to … and you were still smiling!
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Thanks 🤣
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I watched your little movie (all the way through) you are defiantly adventurous but weird.
The little folding stove is much the same as the one I have used since the 1980 and still serving me well – even on trips with the car I take it along to make a pot of tea – much better than café tea. But I never buy the cans of gas I saw you use – I buy from the DIY shop ones that they use on gas blowlamps – they last much longer and at half the price, OK they are less stable but if it is sandy I dig a hole and put it in that. Or if not a few stones around the base, works for me.
I never had much time for tarp tents – they talk about them being simpler and less to carry but I don’t agree – the first time I did the Compostela de Santiago early 1980s I was told that priority at refuges would be given to walkers so take your camping equipment – bad advice. I was never turned away at a refuge (but maybe in the height of the walking season I may have been). I travel very light – never carry lots of clothing and if it could not go in my long flap saddle bag I had at that time it simply did not gowith me. So I needed a tent that was small (one-man) and very light. I went into the camping shop in Skipton and told the young man my requirements – he went under the counter and came out with a stuff sack that was so small it could not be a proper tent but I bought it and hopped one legged out of the shop holding the package under my one reaming arm.
Back home I pitched it to see what I had spent all my money on and it comprised of a sewn in groundsheet made from the material they use for kites that had sides that came up about 100mm all round – two carbon fibre polls (in sections) that held up each end of the traditional ridge type structure – the inner tent was made from mesh net. Over all of this was the fly sheet that came to within touching distance of the ground and left enough room between the groundsheet and flysheet to put boots milk and the likes – the pegs that held it down were attached to the fly sheet by strong elastic bands and it had only two guy ropes (one at either end) – I though this is a joke – but it has proved its worth over the years, extremely light, and the mesh inner stops any condensation on the fly sheet. Have spent many a nigh in that tent and it is always cosy and warm – so you can keep your tarp tent for me.
Loved the movie – must have put a lot of effort into that – possibly more than the effort on the camping trip. Oh, just a thought try ear plugs on windy nights or when heavy rain plying jig time on the skin of your tent, and stay safe.
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Love it. That tarp tent seemed like an awful lot of faffing, but I suppose you were dry and still smiling come morning, so…mission accomplished?
And “Oh, Jiggers” is my new favourite phrase – I hope you’ve caught up on your sleep!
Life without adventures like this is boring 🙂
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I made it a lot of faff, it’s actually very straightforward 🙈🤣
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How beautiful! It looks so much like my Washington state, USA. Similar weather, too.
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