Wild Camping - Where & When?

Dave Taylor said:

My first post, although I have been subscribed to (and have
been reading) this newsgroup for many months.

Welcome congrats on the delurk.

Quoted message said:

I recently invested twenty notes in an Argos Pro Action 1-
Person tent and have been wondering whether to do a bit of
"wild" camping.

Quoted message said:

How do you "wild campers" decide where to pitch for the
night? Do you ask a farmer for a corner of his field, or do
you simply pitch somewhere secluded where you are unlikely
to be asked to move on? What sort of places make a decent
stopover? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I wild camp 99% of the time in the hills way beyond any
farmland. Once you are up above the intake wall (the last
fence or wall beyond which the hills are open) it is
generaly OK to just find a secluded spot and plonk your tent
down on a suitable patch of level grass. Try to follow the
"pitch late strike early" rule and keep your site away from
line of sight of roads and buildings and you shouldn't have
any trouble. For me the best spots are slightly off the
beaten path. Try and camp near a water supply but not too
close to a gurgling or raging torrent as the sound is likely
to keep you awake and have other effects when you do wake in
the morning.

Paul Saunders will tell you to try to find an East facing
site to catch the morning sun as he says it warms you up and
helps to dry the tent but we all know he does it to
photograph the sunrise :-)

Quoted message said:

Incidentally, am I now eligible to join the "Argos
Tent Club"?

You've got the tent so you're in.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the
"Westminster Gasworks"
95/284 5/219 c.100/300 (>900m with drop>100m )

On Mon, 17 May 2004 18:51:17 +0100, "Dave Taylor"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

How do you "wild campers" decide where to pitch for the
night? Do you ask a farmer for a corner of his field, or do
you simply pitch somewhere secluded where you are unlikely
to be asked to move on? What sort of places make a decent
stopover? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Hi Dave

This question pops up every few months - in fact, I asked it
myself a couple of years ago. [Google says it was 28th
August 2001 "Lone woman camper"]

I used to think that camping had to be done on campsites or,
at the very least, in a farm field after asking the farmer's
permission. I worried that camping "wild" was somehow
dangerous and only for real adventurers. However, I now find
it quite strange to camp on a proper site with people, cars,
lights etc.

My criteria for choosing a pitch are simple: a flat patch of
soft-ish land (so I can get the pegs in and make the tent
roughly the right shape); a clean water supply; miles from
anywhere (or at least the *feeling* that I am miles from
anywhere - half a mile can make all the difference).

I suppose it's always possible that I'll be asked to move on
but, in the sort of places I choose to camp, it's unlikely.

It took me a couple of wild camps before I got used to the
feeling of being all on my own but I now think it's
brilliant.

Give it a go! (And yes, I believe you are now a member of
the Argos Tent Owners club)

Judith

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

Incidentally, am I now eligible to join the "Argos
Tent Club"?

Definitely! :-)
--
Fran If you need my email address please ask.

"Dave Taylor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi.

My first post, although I have been subscribed to (and
have been reading) this newsgroup for many months.

I recently invested twenty notes in an Argos Pro Action
1-Person tent and have been wondering whether to do a bit
of "wild" camping.

You clever chap, welcome to the club!

Quoted message said:

How do you "wild campers" decide where to pitch for the
night? Do you ask

a

Quoted message said:

farmer for a corner of his field, or do you simply pitch
somewhere

secluded

Quoted message said:

where you are unlikely to be asked to move on? What sort
of places make a decent stopover? Any suggestions will be
greatly appreciated.

My usual practice is to have an idea of where I want to stop
and a rough time of about two hours before sunset to give me
time to put the tent up, cook dinner and generally slob out
till it gets too dark to read after watching a (hopefully)
beautiful sunset. Location is away from any housing,
preferably out of eyesight and away from any busy footpaths,
roads or rivers. Stay out of fields with crops or obvious
herds of animals or you may wake with a curious goat chewing
the tent.... ;-)

Nick

Dave - Welcome to the world of wild camping! You have a
great time ahead of you. Lots of good comments from
other urw folk.

I find it takes me two hours to put up the tent, cook
and eat dinner, and settle down for the night; and
two hours the next morning to have breakfast, pack up
and leave.

If it's at all windy, you'll need to find shelter;
although a good tent will laugh at a strong wind, you
won't get very much sleep with the noise!

The received wisdom is not to camp near streams because
of the noise, though I have to say it never bothers me.

Hope this is useful! Mark
--
Mark Manning [email hidden]

Mark Manning said:

If it's at all windy, you'll need to find shelter;
although a good tent will laugh at a strong wind, you
won't get very much sleep with the noise!

A lot depends on the tent, as well as how windy one means by
windy. In the West of Scotland through summer I actively
look for windy pitches as it keeps the midges down! Some
tents are much quieter than others, something like a Quasar
is remarkably quiet even in a gale, though you pay the price
carrying the thing!

Quoted message said:

The received wisdom is not to camp near streams
because of the noise, though I have to say it never
bothers me.

Was camped by the Glen Rosa Water over the weekend and it
was a quiet burble that we actually found rather relaxing.
Often camp near beaches and don't find the sea much of a
bother either, though a big waterfall can get a bit much...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext.
33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177
Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Peter Clinch said:

Was camped by the Glen Rosa Water over the weekend and it
was a quiet burble that we actually found rather relaxing.
Often camp near beaches and don't find the sea much of a
bother either, though a big waterfall can get a bit much...

However, the Unknown Creature that dragged our full loaf of
bread out of the tent porch and only left the plastic bag
with teethmarks was a bit of a bother. The next night it
tried a banana but gave up after half of it. I did actually
hear rustling sounds the first night but thought it was the
wind and couldn't be bothered to get up and look.

Roos

In message <[email hidden]>, Dave Taylor
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I recently invested twenty notes in an Argos Pro Action 1-
Person tent and have been wondering whether to do a bit of
"wild" camping. Until now, I have always used recognised
campsites and camping barns on my expeditions.

Haven't done any camping for about fifteen years but a s a
supplement to getting walking again I'm going to do some
wild camping too.

I was going to buy the Argos tent but the accountant ( wife
) released more funds than expected so I ordered the Vango
Micro100. I also ordered one of the small snugpak bags.
Finally I went down to Inverness today and bought the
Trangia 27-1 stove set and a sleeping mat.

I'm planning a night or two in the garden to get used to the
gear then away to the West Coast and maybe a campsite before
I graduate to being dropped of somewhere and walking off
into the middle of nowhere.

--
Muzz Reply to [email hidden] Replies to slash
will not be read.

Nick Pedley said:

"Dave Taylor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi.

My first post, although I have been subscribed to (and
have been reading) this newsgroup for many months.

I recently invested twenty notes in an Argos Pro Action
1-Person tent and have been wondering whether to do a bit
of "wild" camping.

You clever chap, welcome to the club!

Quoted message said:

How do you "wild campers" decide where to pitch for the
night? Do you ask

a

Quoted message said:

farmer for a corner of his field, or do you simply pitch
somewhere

secluded

Quoted message said:

where you are unlikely to be asked to move on? What sort
of places make a decent stopover? Any suggestions will be
greatly appreciated.

My usual practice is to have an idea of where I want to
stop and a rough time of about two hours before sunset to
give me time to put the tent up, cook dinner and generally
slob out till it gets too dark to read after watching a
(hopefully) beautiful sunset. Location is away from any
housing, preferably out of eyesight and away from any busy
footpaths, roads or rivers. Stay out of fields with crops
or obvious herds of animals or you may wake with a curious
goat chewing the tent.... ;-)

[censored], sounds like you have it sussed. Mind if I ask a
few questions?

1: How do you get wherever you're going? park up and go
for a hike, what about the car, where do you safely
leave that?

2: Kit. what sort of kit do you carry. To cook, see, manage
etc and what do you cook?

I'd love to walk all around the coast of England sometime,
and this sounds ideal. It's been so long since I camped that
I'd forgotten it as an option.

Last time I planned a camping trip I think it worked out I
need ten camels to carry the basic supplies.

Cheerio. .

***********************************************************-
**************************
Yes, madam, I am drunk. But in the morning I will be sober
and you will still be ugly.
- Sir Winston Churchill

The Eagle Has Landed.

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| \ ~-. "-. ` \ ^._ ^. "-.
/ \ | .--~-._ ~- ` _ ~-_.-"-
." ._ /._ ." ./

Quoted message said:

--. ~-. ._ ~>-" "\\ 7 7 ]

^.___~"--._ ~-{ .-~ . `\ Y . / | <__ ~"-. ~ /_/ \ \I Y :
| ^-.__ ~(_/ \ >._: | l______ ^--.,___.-~" /_/ ! `-.~"--
l_ / ~"-. (_/ . ~( /' "~"--,Y -=b-. _) (_/ . \ : / l c"~o
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| K "-.~-.______// "-,. l I/ \_ __{--->._(==. //( \ <
~"~" // /' /\ \ \ ,v=. (( .^. / /\ " }__ //===- `
Roy!/ASC / / ' ' "-.,__ {---(==- .^ ' : T ~" ll / . . . :
| :! \\ (_/ / | | j-" ~^

So, you dont like reasoned, well thought out, civil debate?

I understand.

/´¯/) /¯../ /..../
/´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
/'/.../..../......./¨¯\
('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...'😉
\.................'...../
''...\.......... _.·´
\..............(
\.............\..

GOOD SIGS wanted. APPLY WITHIN.

Please Note: I am not the forger-troll Derek Moody who
posts with <[email hidden]> <[censored]@half-baked-
idea.co.uk> <[email hidden]>
<[email hidden]> and who continues to stalk
me, ensuring he is at the top of my hit list

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You've not heard of the Geneva Convention, then?

Our enemies sure haven't.

"Derek Moody" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nick Pedley said:

"Dave Taylor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi.

SNIP

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My usual practice is to have an idea of where I want to
stop and a rough time of about two hours before sunset to
give me time to put the tent up, cook dinner and
generally slob out till it gets too dark to read after
watching a (hopefully) beautiful sunset. Location is away
from any housing, preferably out of eyesight and away

from

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

any busy footpaths, roads or rivers. Stay out of fields
with crops or obvious herds of animals or you may wake
with a curious goat chewing the tent.... ;-)

[censored], sounds like you have it sussed. Mind if I ask
a few questions?

1: How do you get wherever you're going? park up and go
for a hike, what about the car, where do you safely
leave that?

Depends on where and when I'm walking. The car is always
locked up in a decent carpark (pub or hostel) with nothing
of value in and a Krooklok to put off casual car thieves.
Last year I got a lift to my start and finish points on the
Cleveland Way and might go by train for my next long walk.

Quoted message said:

2: Kit. what sort of kit do you carry. To cook, see,
manage etc and what do you cook?

I carry what I'm comfortable with, one change of clean dry
clothes per trip and clean undies for every day. Food is
packet stuff like Wayfayrers and boil-in-bag, all cooked on
a small MSR or Gaz stove. Camera, bino's, books. Water
bottles (I carry 1.5 litres max in two bottles). Best thing
is to pack your bag according to your planned schedule and
then see how heavy it feels fully loaded. Then go shopping
for lighter gear. I now take lightweight Regatta trousers
for walking instead of heavy army trousers, a thin jumper
instead of a thick one (if it gets really cold I'm either in
the wrong place or I need to add another layer!) etc.

Be strict about luxuries, do you need a knife/fork/spoon set
when just a spoon will suffice with a Swiss Army knife for
tricky bits? Why take a plate when you can eat out of a
packet or pan? Forget the cast-iron frying pan, spend some
cash on a light camping cookset. It may sound daft but if
your bag and contents are light you will enjoy the walk more
and it will be money well spent.

HTH, Nick

Yes - bananas do cause wind don't they
;-)
"Roos Eisma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter Clinch said:

Was camped by the Glen Rosa Water over the weekend and it
was a quiet burble that we actually found rather
relaxing. Often camp near beaches and don't find the sea
much of a bother either, though a big waterfall can get a
bit much...

However, the Unknown Creature that dragged our full loaf
of bread out of the tent porch and only left the plastic
bag with teethmarks was a bit of a bother. The next
night it tried a banana but gave up after half of it. I
did actually hear rustling sounds the first night but
thought it was the wind and couldn't be bothered to get
up and look.

Roos

"Dave Taylor" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Hi.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

How do you "wild campers" decide where to pitch for the
night? Do you ask a farmer for a corner of his field, or
do you simply pitch somewhere secluded where you are
unlikely to be asked to move on? What sort of places make
a decent stopover? Any suggestions will be greatly
appreciated.

Incidentally, am I now eligible to join the "Argos
Tent Club"?

Thanks.

Last year I camped up at dam at Loch Lednock:

multimap.combrowse.cgiOpen ↗
4.0608&scale= 25000

And here is photographic proof of a very rare Argos Pro
Action One Man Tent in use:

b_innes.tripod.comlochlednock.htmlOpen ↗

Good thing is you can actually drive right up to the dam,
park up and camp! Don't know if it is strictly legal, but I
didn't have any troubles last year. (I found out I could
park the car after walking all the way up to the dam from
where I originally parked the car at Invergeldie.

Must head up again sometime.

--
Brian

"Dave Taylor" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

How do you "wild campers" decide where to pitch for the
night? Do you ask

a

Quoted message said:

farmer for a corner of his field, or do you simply pitch
somewhere

secluded

Quoted message said:

where you are unlikely to be asked to move on? What sort
of places make a decent stopover? Any suggestions will be
greatly appreciated.

There are basically 2 forms of wild camping:

The first is camping for camping's sake where you pick a
place you think might be nice eg. a tarn in the Lake
District, get there to find lots of other people had the
same idea and are forced to try and squeeze your tent onto
the only feasible bit of ground left which is muddy with a
significant slope. You then spend a sleepless night
listening to your neighbours farting and playing [censored] music
whilst you struggle to stop yourself slipping off your
thermarest and ending up in a pile at the foot of your tent.

The second form is camping as part of a walk which takes
more than one day to complete where you simply walk until
you are tired and then start to look for a reasonably flat
bit of grass on which to stick your tent up. On being
confronted by heather, bog and clouds of midges for miles
in every direction you are forced to walk another 6 miles
before finding anywhere suitable. You are then too tired
to cook anything and spend a sleepless night because you
put the tent up wrongly in the dark and it collapses
during the night.

Stick to campsites, you know it makes sense.

Or...

On the other hand, you reach the last peak of the day and
spot just off the ridge an idyllic little pool sheltered by
a rocky backdrop. You climb down to it and find a small flat
bit of grass just the right size for your tent with a view
encompassing all the neighbouring peaks and stretching far
down the valley. You put up the tent, lounge around watching
the sunset as your evening meal cooks on the stove and revel
in the complete solitude apart from the small herd of deer
watching from 50 metres further along the ridge. Your
contented night's sleep is broken at dawn by the calls of
ptarmigan and you stick your head out of the tent to find
you are in a temperature inversion above a carpet of fluffy
white clouds stretching as far as you can see. You chuckle
to yourself at the thought that instead of the experience
you have just had you could have been down in the valley
paying over the odds for a 'proper' campsite.

Dave Taylor said:

Incidentally, am I now eligible to join the "Argos
Tent Club"?

.... Good grief ...

--
Andy Howell Birmingham, UK

On 18/5/04 4:24 pm, in article [email hidden],

Derek Moody said:

Last time I planned a camping trip I think it worked out I
need ten camels to carry the basic supplies.

It is amazing how you can get the weight down but this
usually comes at a cost. Of course, one reason for reducing
the weight as much as you can is that you bring it all back
again when you pac the sack with food!

--
Andy Howell Birmingham, UK

Dave Taylor said:

How do you "wild campers" decide where to pitch for the
night? Do you ask a farmer for a corner of his field, or
do you simply pitch somewhere secluded where you are
unlikely to be asked to move on? What sort of places make
a decent stopover? Any suggestions will be greatly
appreciated.

Lots of good advice given here. One of the bonuses of
feeling confident with Wild Camping is that it opens up
the possibilities of wild camping and trekking in the
Pyrenees, Scotland and other even more exciting places.
Just hed out along a trail, stop in the evening near some
water, eat, sleep and move on - wonderful. And every 5
days or so you can find a conventional campsite for the
odd warm shower luxury.

It's a wonderful way to live.

--
Andy Howell Birmingham, UK

On 17/5/04 7:36 pm, in article [email hidden],

Phil Cook said:

Paul Saunders will tell you to try to find an East facing
site to catch the morning sun as he says it warms you up
and helps to dry the tent but we all know he does it to
photograph the sunrise :-)

True, but there is something rather wonderful about the tent
soaking up the first rays of the sun ...

--
Andy Howell Birmingham, UK

On 18/5/04 6:29 pm, in article [email hidden], "Nick

Pedley said:

Be strict about luxuries, do you need a knife/fork/spoon
set when just a spoon will suffice with a Swiss Army knife
for tricky bits? Why take a plate when you can eat out of
a packet or pan? Forget the cast-iron frying pan, spend
some cash on a light camping cookset. It may sound daft
but if your bag and contents are light you will enjoy the
walk more and it will be money well spent.

Very sensible suggestions. If you think you're going to be
doing quite a bit of wild camping then is is well worth
investing in some specialist, lightweight, cooking equipment
and lightweight anything else you can afford

--
Andy Howell Birmingham, UK

Brian said:

Last year I camped up at dam at Loch Lednock:

multimap.combrowse.cgiOpen ↗
4.0608&scale= 25000

And here is photographic proof of a very rare Argos Pro
Action One Man Tent in use:

b_innes.tripod.comlochlednock.htmlOpen ↗

Good thing is you can actually drive right up to the dam,
park up and camp! Don't know if it is strictly legal, but
I didn't have any troubles last year. (I found out I could
park the car after walking all the way up to the dam from
where I originally parked the car at Invergeldie.

I think it's accepted practice to drive up to the damn. I
certainly have, about 6 years ago right enough

Bernie