Barney's Bimbles and Adventures

It’s been a while since my last blog entry, and for that I apologise. Sometimes other commitments must take priority and I’ve simply not been able to get out for as many adventures. Stick around though, because this one’s a good’un. For a long time now, I’ve been wanting to camp on the north Kent marshes. It is, in my opinion, a serene environment. It is also a conflicted environment in which you almost feel like nature is waging war against great titans of industry. The landscape is dotted with fascinating wartime relics, disused factories and quarries that are still in service. It is also flanked by one of Europe’s largest container ports. At this point you’d be forgiven for wondering why on earth I’d want to camp here, but bare with me! The thing that makes this marshland so serene is that it’s jam packed with amazing wildlife. The north Kent marshes stretch from Dartford to Whitstable and are recognised as one of the most important natural wetlands in Northern Eur...

In stark contrast to my usual blogs on camping and nature, I thought it might be nice to share a little insight into my new shed workshop. Feel free to check out my short video on Youtube My new shed is the culmination of several weekends worth of hard graft as my wife and I toiled to re-invigorate our somewhat neglected little garden. For years it has been underused and not the most practical for our needs. Neither my wife nor I are especially green-fingered. We wanted a space in which we can relax, enjoy a fire or bbq, grow some vegetables (or at least try!) and house a new shed for my crafty endeavours! The largest section of our garden was on a slope so the first challenge was to level it off and build in a retaining wall. Living in a small terraced house meant that this was going to be exceptionally hard work. We had to dig out several tonnes of soil and carry it through to a skip on the street at the front of our house. I couldn’t manoeuvre a wheelbarrow through the...

Sometimes I wonder, what is it that you really need to enjoy a comfortable night in the outdoors? I’ve pondered this question a few times and have even challenged myself on more than one occasion to strip the camping kit to the basics and see how it goes. Thus far, on each occasion, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how little you actually need to enjoy a comfortable camping trip. Feel free to check out my first ever video below and let me know what you think. For my July camping trip, my camping buddies and I challenged ourselves to enjoy (not endure!!) a night out in the woods using only the kit that we can squeeze into our small rucksacks (or daypacks if you’re from the military!). As always, with this challenge comes a bit of planning and preparation. One thing I always like to do is list the items I need for shelter, sleep, cooking, tools, clothing, food and then drink. I’m usually pretty good at deciding what I need to take. That is until I contemplate what I wan...

I’ve been wild camping for a few years now, but it was with some trepidation that I set off on my first solo camping trip back in September this year. The weather was relatively warm but changeable, the leaves were starting to change colour, things were starting to become rather Autumnal. I’ve been wanting to do a solo trip for a short while now. I wanted to experience what it was like to be camped out in a quiet area of the woods where you can sit and enjoy the sights and sounds of the woodland, be it the trees blowing in the wind, the finches and tits wisping from branch to branch or the squirrels hunting for acorns. For me, this was also a time to relax, forget about work and concentrate on the simple pleasures in life. There were also some bushcrafty skills to practice. I had all the ingredients to make a nice curry and intended to cook it on my small wood burning stove (the honey stove). All I needed to do was source some tinder and firewood. I was camped in a fairly diverse wo...

Hi and welcome to my blog. My name is Gavin, but for much of my life I've been known as Barney! I live in Kent, England and most of my outdoorsy adventures are based in this glorious region. I love spending time outdoors, learning about nature, bushcraft and most of all camping. I love camping in all its different guises. Who cares whether it's called camping, glamping, wild camping or whatever, it's all good to me. Some people have a real hatred of camping, but I don't. I love the freedom it offers and how it strips life back to basics, doing away with all of the menial  and stressful tasks that are otherwise important when at home. I love the fact that it often removes you from our modern world and allows you to think only of loved ones and the things that REALLY matter. Its not just about camping though and in this blog I'm going to document some of my experiences in the outdoors. Sometimes it can be a simple walk outdoors a holiday away with my amazing wife. Or...