Post Christmas Camping Trip

A few camping buddies and I managed to get out for two nights of camping during that strange lull of festivities between Christmas and new year. We were camped in a woodland in Essex and we chose a time when winter was starting to set-in as temperatures on both nights dropped below freezing.

Sounds stupid, but I get a sadistic pleasure from camping out at this time of year. It’s always a good test of your camp-craft and you almost feel like you’re getting one over mother nature if you’re able to enjoy a warm and comfortable camping trip.

‘We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home, in towns and cities’ Woodcraft and Camping, 1884 by George Washington Sears (aka ‘NESSMUK’)

On this occasion, I was fortunate to be camped on a site where the car could be parked nearby. This of course means that I could bring a few luxuries such as my dutch oven, a comfy chair and my enormous British Army issue arctic sleeping bag (big and bulky, but so so warm!). That aside, I opted to take a fairly minimalist approach to my accommodation for the two nights.

On the first night, I set-up my small 7x5ft tarp in a lean-to style with my bivvy bag providing further shelter from the elements (happily, no rain was forecast). I used a basic foam mat for insulation from the ground and made life a bit more comfortable by gathering leaf litter to form a thick mattress. The leaf litter mattress made for a nice comfy bed and I was able to enjoy two decent night’s sleep.

On the second night, I changed things up a bit and opted for a more luxurious shelter using a new 3x3 metre tarp (Christmas pressy!). I attached one end to a nearby oak tree and established a shelter that is commonly known as the ‘plough point’. This shelter is very easy to set-up and provides plenty of cover from the elements and also offers more ‘living’ space in case it did rain. Inside the tarp, I kept the same sleeping system with my bivvy bag and foam mat on top of the leaf-litter mattress, I also had lots of room to store kit and set-up my stove for the morning cup of tea!

My rather basic set-up was something of a contrast to some of my camp mates set-ups. Some opted to hang from the trees in their hammocks. Others slept in smaller backpacking tents. And then you had the ‘hot tenters’ who set-up their Lavvu’s which were kitted out with camp beds and wood burning stoves. The phrase ‘hot tent’ is very literal, as these tents were certainly not cold. When it was freezing outside, the Lavvu’s were easily getting inside temperatures of 30ºC. Feeling rather jealous of their opulent abodes, I opted to take the moral high ground and brand them as cheating glampers!! The Lavvu’s did look the business though on the frosty mornings with their chimney’s smoking away.

When you wake up on a campsite on a cold winters morning, there are, in my humble opinion, two rules for breakfast. Tea and Bacon (and generally in that order). I can’t say that I’m too enamoured by the growing coffee culture in the UK at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a cup of coffee, but nothing re-awakens the soul like a good cup of tea. We need to keep our traditions alive and Tea needs to be kept at the forefront.

‘You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or long enough to suit me’ CS Lewis

I’m not so sure whether nature provides a better natural fire lighter than that of birch bark. I always keep a stash of it in my fire lighting kit and it always seems so willing to accept a spark and be nurtured into a roaring fire. I like to use my little wood burning stove when out camping. Keeps the fire contained and leaves very little mess. It also means I can get the kettle on quicker.

The short daytime was spent whittling around the fire and talking rubbish, I worked on a spoon that I was carving from a piece of hazel that I’d coppiced. I also explored the woodland, observed some of the wildlife, I managed to catch a glimpse of a noisy green woodpecker. Some of my camp mates were also whittling or just going about their camp chores. For me, the pleasure in camping is in just getting away from the hurly burly of our modern tech-dependant lifestyles. Life seems to become considerably easier when TV and internet is removed from the equation.

Dinner also had to be prepped. On the first night we hung my dutch oven over the fire and created an amazing beef stew and dumplings. The second night was just as good with a spit roasted haunch of venison and a chicken pie (I didn’t capture any photo’s of dinner, was too busy eating!, but trust me it was amazing!!). Also, given that it was Christmas, it almost felt obligatory to enjoy some cheese and biscuits for desert!

That pretty much sums up the camping trip, a good time had by all. I left, as always, looking forward to the next camping trip.