What everybody ought to know about Wild Camping

Wild camping is something we get asked about a fair bit here at Webtogs, and is one of our passions. The feeling of freedom and being able to camp on the hills is incredibly liberating, but some people are a little overwhelmed when thinking about heading out for the first time. We’ve been around the office to put together our top tips if you are thinking of heading out  for the first time.

1. Leave no trace – We think this is the most important guideline to follow, take everything away with you and leave nothing behind. That means no fire’s, take your litter home, and take sanitary products such as tampons and towels away with you too as animals will dig them up.  Toilet duties should always be done at least 30 metres away from any water source, and make sure you take a lightweight trowel to bury any number 2′s! Don’t be tempted to move rocks or logs for the perfect pitch, leave the place where you camp as you found it.
2. Where to camp and legal stuff – Wild Camping is legal on Dartmoor and in Scotland provided you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. It is not legal in England or Wales unless you ask the landowners permission – which is usually impractical. Generally speaking though, wild camping is tolerated so long as you follow a few simple guidelines. Camp as high as possible. Don’t camp in fields with animals, camp away from human habitation and out of sight of roads, houses, farms or dwellings.  Finally, be prepared to move on if asked and always be friendly and polite.
3. Pitch Late and leave early – Part of leaving no trace means spending as little time actually pitched as you can. The only side note we would say is take note of sunset times late or early in the year as popping a tent up on a mountainside in the pitch dark is no fun. Don’t camp in the same spot for more than 2 days at a time to lessen your impact on the environment.
4. Blend in – That means don’t take a bright tent and camp as unobtrusively as possible. This has side benefits in that it  helps you avoid being spotted by anyone who might move you on, and lets others share in the natural beauty of the area you are camping in.
5. Don’t take the gang – A couple of tents at most is what you want, share a shelter if a few of you are going.
6. Take less stuff – Wild Camping is not about taking the kitchen sink, you are much better off taking as little as possible as you are going to have to carry it to your campsite. It’s also why you are wild camping as well, keep things simple and enjoy being away from the distractions and stuff of everyday life.
7. Sort the water -  Camp near a water source if you can, or remember to take enough drinking water with you. If you are going to pick up water on your trip, make sure you have a water filter with you, you won’t want to be getting ill away from civilisation.
8. Get the right gear –  Wild camping usually means being that much more inaccessible from civilisation so you need to make sure your gear is up to the task. The last thing you want to do is have a tent fail on you with the wind and rain coming down hard. Checkout our range of quality tents and sleeping bags to make sure you have a good time. Focus on lightweight gear where possible and ensure you have everything you need so if you do have any problems, you can sort them out yourself.
9. Small steps – For your first wild camp, consider finding a spot that you can get back from easily, that way if your gear fails or if you have any problems, a retreat won’t take you hours!

Follow these and we reckon you will have a great time, fire away in the comments with any questions, or, what are your top tips for a great wild camp?

 

 

 

Who knew Mountain Biking in Dorset could be such fun.

Thanks to Webtogs, and the team bonding mountain biking trip to Afan, I have had the MTB bug and so this is where the story starts.

I went out a few months ago and bought a full suspension Specialized Epic which I absolutely love; I actually bought just the frame because it would have been too easy to just buy the whole thing. It was a whimsical purchase, I have to say, but my goodness there is so much fun to be had ploughing through puddles, bog, nettles and thick, dirty mud once I had put the whole bike together. In my mind there isn’t anything more uplifting than going out after work and hammering the trails for a few hours. I think it’s partly to do with our culture and how everyone should always be clean and tidy, so it’s nice to give society a big raspberry, go out, get muddy and then ride back through town to the disgust of all the old biddies. You can just tell they are thinking ‘eugh look at that ruffian. In my day you would have been slung out of the community for being seen in public like that’. The other reason why it’s fantastic to get out after work is to blow any proverbial cobwebs away. Riding gives you a sense of freedom that a sofa and television just can’t give you. There’s no sense of time and the trails don’t end after half an hour, there are no adverts – just like the BBC.

Believe it or not I’m trying not to blow too much hot air about how amazing mountain biking is but it is great fun and EVERYONE should try it at least once.

When I bought the bike just a few months ago I didn’t realise that where I live, Gillingham, Dorset, there are miles and miles of trails, which was a great surprise to me. Mike, our warehouse chappy, has lived here nearly his whole life and so knows all the trails around a monument called King Alfreds Tower. This is on the Stourhead Estate where, believe it or not Stourhead House is situated. A large proportion of the Stourhead estate is forestry land which means there are plenty of fire trails all connecting at various different points making for some spectacular views, steep climbs and rapid descents.

Specialized Epic Comp & Me

Mike is a pretty active guy and trains for triathlons most of the week so when we go on a ride it’s not a slow one. We are both fairly competitive but through much deliberation he has now decided that I’m faster than him on a mountain bike, partly because he’s about a foot shorter than me but mostly because of our age difference. He’ll kill me for that comment.

A while ago my Auntie came over from Las Vegas and she brought over a GoPro HD video camera which I then bought a chest mount (aka booby cam) for so I could video some of my adventures on the trails. It’s a brilliant camera and I’d recommend one to anyone who’s thinking of buying a robust video camera. The chest mount is an awesome addition and I hope you’ll like some of the footage that Gareth has kindly edited. There are only a few minutes of some of the faster downhill sections, but there will more.

You know when you take a camera out and nothing really spectacular happens? Then you say, ‘well if I didn’t bring it something would have happened.’ That happened in it’s truest sense on one ride.

First, Mike and I started our ride near a place called Rock Arch. Last time we rode we threatened to do a bit of downhill which is about a kilometre into the ride and just off the usual trail. This downhill section doesn’t look that steep but it’s pretty butt clenchingly steep.We nailed that, which would have been good viewing with a few wobbly moments and screams – mainly coming from Mike. We did jump off the bikes at one point because there’s a large jump over a fallen tree into what looked more like the entrance to the River Styx. We both arrived back on the trail with a few nettle stings, jelly legs and big smiles. Anyone walking by would have thought there were two feral children roaming the forest on stolen bikes squawking and giggling.
The next bit of footage which was sadly missed came a little after the downhill section where there’s a bomb hole in the side of a hill, it looks like someone has taken a giant egg from the side of the hill, if you can imagine that. After our downhill section we were both buzzing and thought we could try a little more to get our confidence up. In retrospect I think I need to learn to crawl before walking. We scrabbled up to the top of the bomb hole where we moved a few fallen branches out of harms way to then peer over the side and to be honest we were both a little dubious about riding over the edge.

Where we were stood, if you rode to the right you’d almost always fall off, if you were even a tiny bit unsure. So we decided to ride to the left hand side which looked better*. My plan was to ride off the left hand drop, to then shoot across to the other side where there’s a lip to try and grab a bit of air time.

*Better – this definition of better is slightly skewed as the drop was still about a 75 degree angle.

So, we’re at the top and Mike decides to preserve his body so he can’t injure himself before his triathlons. I go first and as I’m relatively new to SPD pedals, the ones you clip into, I clip my left foot in and start to move off and before I know it I’m looking down to my right foot to try and clip that in which of course makes me turn the handlebars right which directs me towards the near sheer drop. Yes, off I go and for a moment it feels like I’m going to conquer it but oh no, panic strikes and I jam both my brakes on which catapults me over the handlebars dragging the bike on top of me. The next thing I know I open my eyes to see Mike peering over the edge at me not knowing whether to laugh or cry. I was so annoyed I missed that on camera – it would have been priceless.

I climbed back on the horse straight away and did the drop off that was in the original plan because if I hadn’t I don’t think downhill would have been on my list again. The damage caused from that incident was minor; a few scratches and lots of bruises plus the next day I couldn’t really walk that well, much to everyone’s pleasure in the office. Sadistic lot they are.

The rest of the ride was rapid. We absolutely flew around the trails because the light was fading quickly. As I didn’t really know where we were going any of the time, it was quite an adventure but at the end of this one we rode in front of Stourhead House which was a pleasant surprise. It was lucky we weren’t arriving back from a ride on a sunny Sunday afternoon because I’m sure at least one person would have turned their nose up at a couple of filthy mountain bikers. And we were filthy.

Look mum, no hands!

“Golden Tree” by Martin Brooks from Ninian Doff on Vimeo.

I’m a little bit in love with this epic video: of 50 no-handed bike moves. They start off with the beginner (just one hand) and progress to the absolutely brilliant ‘Tony Blair giving a speech’. A guaranteed smile if you’re stuck indoors today.

- The Girl Outdoors

The Dangers of Bush (or wild or stealth) Camping

On my journey through Africa, I was often asked by friends and strangers back home whether it isn’t dangerous to just pitch your tent in the bush or by the roadside? And I was often told by locals that it really is dangerous to camp in the wild.

What about deadly snakes and poisonous spiders? What about lions and hippos?

What about being robbed or attacked.

The reality is, of course, bush camping can be dangerous. So can crossing the road. But in the same way that you always look left and right before stepping off the pavement, it’s only common sense to be selective with your camp spot.

Road to Booue, Gabon, Central Africa

I always look for a secluded spot where I shouldn’t be seen by people and certainly not from the road. If I know there are ‘dangerous’ animals around, then I either don’t camp in the bush or I do what I can to minimize the risks. For example, always zipping up the tent inner to keep out snakes, spiders, scorpions etc. If there could be lions, I make sure I’m inside my tent well before sunset and don’t get out again until the sun is high in the sky (no matter how desperate for the toilet!). If there could be hippos, then I don’t camp where they may choose a route down to the river…

The Niger River, Guinea, West Africa

Well that was all in Africa. Now I’m in Canada, but the same rules apply. Only now I have to be careful about bears, rather than lions. That means carrying bear repellent spray everywhere in case of a chance encounter and keeping the camp spot spotless from food. Bears love the smell of food. So that means cooking away from the tent and storing food at a distance too. That’s not good when I wake in the middle of the night with food cravings, but it’s small price to pay.

The Chicotin Plateau, BC, Canada

In, 20 months of bush camping between the UK and Cape Town and now a month under canvas in Canada, I had no serious encounters.

As chance would have it, my closest encounter came just a couple of days ago, ironically, when I was in town.

Walking to the shop, a sudden gust of wind sent unsecured items flying. I had to dodge a piece of flying sheet metal by jumping into the road before continuing down the pavement, when a tree fell down just a few feet from me. I emerged, slightly surprised, with nothing more than a lot of dirt and leaf debris in my right ear. The parked car wasn’t quite so lucky!

You see, there are risks in all walks of life. Of we were scared of every potential threat or danger, then we’d procrastinate in bed all day. But that’s no way to live. Better to get out there and take a chance. You never know when fate will deal the fatal blow, but it’ll probably be when you least expect it.

The Active Photographer – a Jolly review

A couple of weekends ago I was asked if I would like to go along to the very first Active Photographer Jolly, run by Giles (The Active Photographer) with his sidekick Will (Whole Life Photography). It’s a course/workshop/experience designed for people passionate about the outdoors, who want to take better photos, or photographers with a keen interest in the outdoors.

I had previously exchanged Tweets with Giles, and had met him two weeks previously at Terry BND’s outdoor boggers meet in Monsal Dale where we ended up nattering quite a bit. I have a rather bruised and battered Canon S90 with a busted flash, which I had managed to break a couple of weeks previously. I mentioned at the time that I was unsure about what to expect and was slightly nervous about my lack of photography skill and equipment. Giles reassured me that so long as I could manually control everything on my camera (which I could), I would be fine and dandy.

Turning up on the Saturday morning, I met Giles at the Back of Beyond Touring Caravan park. My initial apprehension about the rows of caravans dissipated when I was guided through to a field at the rear which revealed a delightful woodland glade and site of special scientific interest. Some of the folks attending had been there since the Friday night so I was greeted warmly as I pitched up my tent.

The weather forecast for the weekend was a stinker, and as the introductions began under the gazebo, the first tickle of rain started to come down. Doing our best to ignore the grey skies, Will and Giles set the scene for the weekend as to what we could expect and I suddenly felt very self conscious amongst the DSLR’s nestling on the knees of my fellow students.

After the initial icebreakers, we set off through the park to some gorse bushes and open space on the far side of the Park. Early September is one of my favourite times and the feeling in the air was of the last vestiges of summer twinged by Autumn pushing through. The rain started to come down though, so we nipped in to the woods and were confronted by a quite extraordinary site, the floor having a strong sprinkling of mushrooms with the most gorgeous purple tops.

We started to snap away and Giles went through some of the basics. Straight away I got something that will last with me forever, namely the joys of aperture. I have always loved shots where the item in focus is the only thing in focus and the rest of the image drops away, now I knew how to do it and I went to town. Within a couple of hours, I started to take photos that were light years away from what I had taken previously, and I began to enjoy myself immensely. I also began to fall in love with my Canon S90 again. We had chosen it as it was a small compact with a great reputation, and I finally felt that I could do it some justice with the photos I was taking. The rest of the day flew by in a jiffy looking first at composition, then on to some equipment hacks that Giles use. I won’t give too much of the game away, but I will never look at a sock and a bag of rice again in the same way….

By the end of the day, my mind was buzzing with filters, composition, ISO settings and the like and we settled down to an amazing BBQ with toasted Marshmallows to finish. I took the rare opportunity to get a decent nights kip and was woken to the sound of a torrential downpour in the middle of the night bouncing off my Nemo Obi 2P which coped admirably. The morning afterwards saw us putting in to practice everything we had learnt the day before, the Back of Beyond park really came in to it’s own with woodland, lakes and the glade like campsite giving plenty of differing opportunities to shoot a wide variety of outdoor subjects and landscapes.

All in all it was a fabulous weekend, I have written here about my thoughts on learning from the weekend, but in terms of skills learnt, my photos have come on in leaps and bounds. I did feel the odd twinge of jealousy for a DSLR, but that was my gadget jealousy. Giles never made me feel out of place with my S90, and both him and Will took the time out to give specific guidance that was relevant for a compact point & shoot. Looking at my Flickr stream my photos before and after are noticeably better after, and I know my photography has changed now for life. Whether you are a die hard photographer looking to improve your skills , or an outdoor nut with very little experience as I was, I would thoroughly recommend anyone interested in enjoying their outdoors photography more to get in contact with Giles for the next Jolly. I am also super chuffed to announce that we will have a place on an upcoming course available as a prize on our facebook page soon so stay tuned!

What’s your experience of outdoor photography and if there was one tip you would pass on, what would it be?

Fabulous Finland

Foe anyone looking for a hiking holiday that’s literally off the beaten track, my I humbly suggest Finland? If huge expanses of wilderness dotted with stunning lakes full of water so pure you can drink it aren’t enough to sway you, the country’s amazing Everyman Law will. No matter who owns land in Finland, anyone can pick mushrooms and berries, swim in lakes and rivers, walk, ski and cycle and even camp wherever they please. If waking up miles from the nearest sign of humanity with only reindeer for neighbours appeals, it’s the perfect destination for a week away from it all.

More inspiration at VisitFinland.

- The Girl Outdoors