Barney's Bimbles and Adventures

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...

After last month’s epic yomp across the North Downs, I vowed that my next camp would be a nice and relaxing hammock camp. Well, I was true to my word and packed my rucksack with all the essentials for a comfortable night in the woods, namely:  Beer, Sausages and Chocolate! Who needs a Lofty Wiseman survival tin or Dave Canterbury’s 5c’s of survival when you have those three crucial ingredients!! It was also a timely opportunity to enjoy the seasonal transition from Summer into Autumn. Pretty much every ‘outdoorsy’ person I know loves Autumn, it’s very easy to see why. Even at this early time of the season you can see the diverse Autumnal colours begin to emerge throughout the woodland. Those pesky mosquitos have started to disappear, there’s a slight chill in the air and my favourite jumpers have started to re-appear from the depths of my wardrobe. There’s no doubting that it is a great time to enjoy the outdoors. I headed up to my usual camping spot in my local woods,...

On recent camps, I've become a little conscious that all I've been doing is visiting the same patch of woods and doing the same kind of thing. It was all good and well, but sometimes it’s worth taking yourself out of that comfort zone.  I had some time off work in August and I started to hatch a plan for my monthly wild camp. I had a desire to go on a hike and wondered what it might be like to get the train somewhere on a one-way ticket and then walk back home. I immediately reached for my maps and looked at potential options. It had to be a reasonable distance and I also wanted it to be a pleasant walk that offered up some nice views. My eyes were immediately drawn to the North Downs Way. This is one of Britain's 16 national trails which criss-cross our green and pleasant land. The North Downs Way covers more than 150 miles from Farnham in Surrey to Dover in Kent. Much of the trail runs through designated Area...

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...

“Summertime…and the livin’ is easy”…. Ella Fitzgerald sang that. An amazing song with some amazing lyrics, but yet I’m left wondering if she ever went camping in the summer! I’m not sure the Livin’ is so easy when the sun is blazing down on you and the insects are trying to have you for dinner! Regardless of my little rant, I’ve just returned from two wonderful nights in the woods. Yes it was hot, yes it was sweaty and yes I was under attack from a few mossies. But it’s not all bad, I still got to kick back and relax in my hammock, practice some bushcraft skills and chow down on some good food cooked over the camp fire. It's always nice to have the second night in the woods, it makes it feel like even more of an adventure. You've got to think a little more carefully about what you need to carry into the woods. This time I also wanted to challenge myself a bit more by leaving the camping stove at home and relying on the good ol' camp fire for cooking and boiling w...