February 2019: A Wet and Windy Wildcamp

Sometimes when you're outdoors and it's blowing a gale, you can begin to feel as though the wind is taking your breath away. That’s kind of how I felt as I walked along the north Kent Marshes with 50mph winds blowing into my face. I was hunched over cowering from the wind while desperately trying my best to look as though I was an intrepid adventurer laughing in the face of adversity!

The harsh reality was that, in between the odd nervous fart! I was seriously thinking of throwing in the towel on this camp.

I wondered why on earth I felt motivated to come camping down on the marshes in this foul weather! I have good friends who have the good sense to follow far more sensible pursuits such as football or going to the pub. I kept telling myself that this would feel like a mini adventure, and besides..... I'm not a huge football fan and not exactly the most sociable person you'll ever meet! Alas, I would much rather spend my hard earned money on fancy camping gear so that I can remove myself from the crowds! 

Knowing that it was going to be windy led me to judge that, with the right equipment, camping out in the open marshland would be safer than in a forest as I wouldn't have to worry trees falling on me! The weather was also supposed to ease up by mid-afternoon.

I put my faith in the optimistic forecast and carried on with my walk. Even in poor weather, the north Kent marshes are still a wonderful place to explore. I can look across the marshes and admire the wetland birds that thrive in these environments. I can also look across the river Thames and watch the huge container ships steam into the London Gateway port. This really is a place of remarkable contrast.

Having walked for six miles, I found a spot beside a grass bank which was protected from the wind. Even though it was fairly early in the afternoon, I hadn't seen a soul all day and decided to pitch my tent so that I can take shelter and get the stove on for a much needed cup of tea.

That first cup of tea was amazing, almost like a nectar from the gods! (in case you were wondering, it was Yorkshire tea!). I called my wife to let her know that all was well and despite having dark thoughts of aborting camp, I had pitched the tent, had a cup of tea and started to cook hot dogs for lunch. I then realised that maybe things weren’t so bad after all.

I spent the next hour or so looking out onto the marshes and awaited the arrival of a couple of my camping buddies. At one point a marsh Harrier flew fairly close by as it searched for prey, a wonderful sight which truly galvanised my reasoning for venturing out on such a cold and windy day. I pledged to myself that I’d return to this spot in the middle of Spring and come armed with a decent camera (and another tin of hotdogs!) so that I can try and capture these moments.

Chris and Jon arrived later in the afternoon, by this time the wind had settled down somewhat and we spent a bit of time enjoying the twilight views and chewing the fat before they set up their tents.

I kept things simple for dinner by heating up a sachet of rice mixed with some tuna. I do enjoy the Ainsley Harriot rice sachets. They’re cheap, simple to cook and very tasty indeed. The Jamaican rice and peas is a definite favourite.

We all washed down our evening meals with a fine selection of ales and then a hot toddy before bedding down for the night!

Rain was forecast throughout the night and following morning. Once again the forecast didn’t disappoint. I tucked myself up in my warm three season sleeping bag and fell asleep very quickly. I don’t know why but I always seem to sleep better in a tent than I do under a tarp. I guess it forms a kind of security blanket?

I awoke the following morning to the glorious sound of rain pitter-pattering against my tent. I decided to light up the trangia stove to make a cup of tea while I lay in bed for a while longer.

Barney’s Top Tip: Do you ever struggle lighting your spirit burner on a cold day? If so then a simple solution is to do one of two things; Wrap your fuel/burner in some spare clothes (when not in use!!) or warm up your fuel before your morning brew by holding the fuel bottle close to your body for a few minutes. You can do this by putting it in your pocket or inside your sleeping bag (just make sure it’s sealed!).

Chris and Jon woke at a similar time and we all took a moment to enjoy the morning light as it started to break through the rain clouds and illuminate the marshes. The usual morning conversation then ensued; I call it camping tourettes…..’Did you sleep well?’, ‘Was you warm enough?’, ‘What about that rain!’. I also couldn’t help but brag about the fact that I didn’t need to wake up in the night to answer the call of nature (something that’s slowly becoming harder to achieve as I grow older!).

I made the most of a break in the rain to strike camp, clearing away my rubbish in the process (always important to leave no trace). I can’t say I was looking forward to my three mile walk back to the car as it was mostly uphill and wasn’t long before the rain started again. But as they say; raining is training!

So that’s my second camp of the year complete and what a good one it was too. It was good to stretch my legs and put my camp-craft skills to the test under challenging conditions. And it was good also to get out with Chris and Jon once again.

Thanks as always for reading, feedback is always welcome and do feel free to subscribe to my blog to receive notifications of my future publications.