Planning a wild camp

[dangerman]

Accidental double post...

[Wingfoot]

Sorry mate, didn't realise I didn't reply to this. Good advice - I know it get's perishingly cold. I'm planning on getting some wool blankets and I've got a single inflatable mattress ready to go. And I've got the four season sleeping bag (which I even use in summer 'cos I like being toasty). I used to have a VW camper and the condensation was a pain, I'm thinking of getting some of those plastic window cover things that let you open the window a crack to let some of it out. I was also thinking of getting a 12v kettle and using a hot water bottle. I know they're heavy on the leccy but I'm not planning a prolonged stay and my leisure battery should run it fine.

I'm also planning on tinting my windows.

No problem, sounds like your well prepared, I forgot to mention I had all my rear windows tinted as well as the rear doors, (law says you cant do the fronts) It certainly aids privacy if your using an estate car, I went for limo black which is almost impossible to see through which did the job brilliantly but makes the inside of the car very dark, even on sunny days so I would say go a shade or two lighter if your vehicle does double duty as a family run about.

To give privacy towards the front I stretch a large elastic bungee across the width of the car utilising the front seat grab handles up in the roof, then simply hang a sheet or car picnic blanket from it, job done.

The plastic window covers are not bad, I use a piece cut from an old mosquito net that I tape onto the outside of the door, it alows me to open or close the window easily during the night without having to mess with anything fiddly & keeps out all the bugs.

The organiser pannels you can get that hang on the back of a front seat are also handy for storing flashlights, phones & other small items you may need while in your sleeping bag, also one other thing that may not be for everyone is a plastic camping urine bottle, good for the times when there is snow on the ground outside & your nice & warm & dont fancy venturing out in the pitch black at stupid O'clock for a leak.

Wf

[dangerman]

I have always done a lot of what you folks refer too as "wild camping". I have been known to spend 2-3 months backpacking in our mountains. We are laced with hiking trails through wilderness areas.

I think the first thing I did after getting my driving license was go camping in my car. Normally I carry a tent and set it up outside the vehicle. I have slept in the back of my pickup many times but I do not enjoy being confined to an automobile interior. Matter of choice I suppose.

The differences between wild camping and car camping is that your walk in wild camp will be down to the basics you can carry, car camping adds the luxuries you can not carry on your back such as more food, extra clothing, better cookware. Go wild camping and make a list of everything you wish you had and could not carry on your back or on the bike, then throw it in the vehicle for your car camp.

However, I am a fair weather camper mostly and reserve my cold camps to the early spring and late autumn, though I have been caught in a couple of snow storms while out.

In the cold your sleep system and clothing become your primary focus. A fire is nice but not necessary and if you are in a hostile situation it might draw unwanted attention.

Aye, you're living the dream there mate. The thing with the cars over your way is that they're all of a sensible size. Most of the cars I've ever owned can barely fit me in, never mind space for a bed. And it's called 'wild' camping over here because it's not strictly legal - without permission it's technically trespassing. Everything is owned here, not like in the states where there are still massive deserts and forests and things. The exception to the rule is a national park in Cornwall, can't remember what it's called, or Scotland.

Sorry mate, didn't realise I didn't reply to this. Good advice - I know it get's perishingly cold. I'm planning on getting some wool blankets and I've got a single inflatable mattress ready to go. And I've got the four season sleeping bag (which I even use in summer 'cos I like being toasty). I used to have a VW camper and the condensation was a pain, I'm thinking of getting some of those plastic window cover things that let you open the window a crack to let some of it out. I was also thinking of getting a 12v kettle and using a hot water bottle. I know they're heavy on the leccy but I'm not planning a prolonged stay and my leisure battery should run it fine.

I'm also planning on tinting my windows.

No problem, sounds like your well prepared, I forgot to mention I had all my rear windows tinted as well as the rear doors, (law says you cant do the fronts) It certainly aids privacy if your using an estate car, I went for limo black which is almost impossible to see through which did the job brilliantly but makes the inside of the car very dark, even on sunny days so I would say go a shade or two lighter if your vehicle does double duty as a family run about.

To give privacy towards the front I stretch a large elastic bungee across the width of the car utilising the front seat grab handles up in the roof, then simply hang a sheet or car picnic blanket from it, job done.

The plastic window covers are not bad, I use a piece cut from an old mosquito net that I tape onto the outside of the door, it alows me to open or close the window easily during the night without having to mess with anything fiddly & keeps out all the bugs.

The organiser pannels you can get that hang on the back of a front seat are also handy for storing flashlights, phones & other small items you may need while in your sleeping bag, also one other thing that may not be for everyone is a plastic camping urine bottle, good for the times when there is snow on the ground outside & your nice & warm & dont fancy venturing out in the pitch black at stupid O'clock for a leak.

Wf

Good ideas mate! I'll get onto that bottle thing. Actually, I've heard that used laundry detergents make a good wizz bottle. Might look out for some around my house.

[dannytsg]

I would suggest black stone edge between Rochdale and Halifax as a place for car camping. Plenty of lay-bys over the top road that can be used to pull up in without restriction and it offers a cracking view with minimal light pollution

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstone_Edge

It's also a place on sunny days for regular paragliders as a launch area

[dangerman]

I would suggest black stone edge between Rochdale and Halifax as a place for car camping. Plenty of lay-bys over the top road that can be used to pull up in without restriction and it offers a cracking view with minimal light pollution

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstone_Edge

It's also a place on sunny days for regular paragliders as a launch area

That's perfect mate! I've bookmarked it on my googlemap - I'll head out there next week on the bike and see what it's like. I often (a couple of times a year) ride out to Snake pass and it looks like it's about the same kind of distance.

Are there any open fields that are good for putting a tent next to the car, or is it just lay-by type places?

[Melj]

Sounds like a great plan

I,m in Cheshire and plan to do the same just need to get a tent sorted and a SB got all the other stuff , i doubt my Tesco 2 man tent will be up to winter camping

[dannytsg]

I would suggest black stone edge between Rochdale and Halifax as a place for car camping. Plenty of lay-bys over the top road that can be used to pull up in without restriction and it offers a cracking view with minimal light pollution

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstone_Edge

It's also a place on sunny days for regular paragliders as a launch area

That's perfect mate! I've bookmarked it on my googlemap - I'll head out there next week on the bike and see what it's like. I often (a couple of times a year) ride out to Snake pass and it looks like it's about the same kind of distance.

Are there any open fields that are good for putting a tent next to the car, or is it just lay-by type places?

Mainly lay by type places with plenty of open moorland surrounding. You can go 25 yards from the road and most likely wouldn't be seen.

Another one of my personal favourites is Langsett Resevoir in the peak district. Good parking places and plenty of woodland to get off the beaten track

http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walks/w ... lk_b/1581/

Also if you ever fancy a meet up I can either load up my Amarok for some car camping of load up my Fazer 600 for a rideout

[JonnyT]

I regularly do walk-in style wild camping but you have to be careful where you go as, for the most part, it is illegal in the UK. I'm based down south in Farnborough and there's a load of military land around my way. Unfortunately they use the land for training day and night and don't take too kindly to finding people camping. We've got a couple of good spots off the beaten track in nearby forests that don't get any through traffic.

If you're planning on having a fire (which we regularly do on winter camps) then building a reflective wall not only helps to hide the fact that you have a fire but also keeps you warm by reflecting heat back at you. I tend to build the wall with a few sticks pushed into the ground and other sticks woven between them to build the wall up. The finishing touch is an emergency blanket fixed to the wall. Works a treat. If you have your back to a big rock, with you between the rock and the fire, this works even better. Failing that a tarp with a reflective underside is spot on.

I bought a couple of these "Grabber" all weather outdoor blankets:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Space-All-Weat ... KMDDSFEGA2

I've got to say they work a treat. I even took one and put press studs down one side to make a space blanket outer bag for my sleep system to reflect the heat back at me. The reflective side reflect heath great and the other side works well as a waterproof tarp. Plus they are larger and harder wearing than your standard emergency foil blankets.

Also, what you sleep on makes a difference. I avoid air mattresses in the winter time as they just store a large pocket of cold air beneath you and it can make for a very cold night. Something like a Therm-a-Rest roll up air mat with a honeycomb pattern inner cell structure makes for a very comfortable and warm nights sleep. Double it up with some emergency blankets and you'll be toastie. When it comes to sleeping shelters a layer below is worth two above.

The most important thing of all for a warm nights sleep has got to be your sleep system. A good quality down filled sleeping bag will keep you very warm and pack down very small.

Sorry if I'm teaching anyone to suck eggs, I've done a lot of winter/snow camping and have learned through very bitter experience what works and what doesn't.

[Jamesey1981]

One thing to be very careful of if you're sneaky camping on farmland or any kind of sporting estate (and a lot of land that doesn't have houses on it is one or the other) without permission is people shooting, a one man tent hidden in amongst a hedgerow is very difficult to see using night vision, and if you're camping where you shouldn't be, especially if you've left the footpath you're not going to be expected, and if they're not expecting you to be there, you are in very real danger of getting shot accidentally.
A good shooter will check every shot carefully, but if you've actually gone out of your way to be as low visibility as possible there's a good chance they won't see you, you also don't want to have someone drive a Land Rover over you in the night because they haven't seen you either.
I have been shooting on land before when we heard a cough from the hedgerow as we were passing, there was a one man tent camouflaged with bracken that we couldn't see until we were less than six feet away, had we entered the field from the other end we would likely have been shooting towards it without knowing.
Best to make yourself discrete but visible, if you arrive late, leave early and leave no trace you probably won't get moved on, and if you do, then that's the risk you take, chances are it's down to previous campers causing problems.

Seriously, a fire when you're camping without permission? That is incredibly disrespectful, gives everyone else a bad name, and you should be ashamed of yourself, you said in your intro post that you're planning on buying a house, how would you like it if someone you didn't know sneaked into your garden and lit a fire in the middle of your lawn in the dead of night?

[JonnyT]

Seriously, a fire when you're camping without permission? That is incredibly disrespectful, gives everyone else a bad name, and you should be ashamed of yourself, you said in your intro post that you're planning on buying a house, how would you like it if someone you didn't know sneaked into your garden and lit a fire in the middle of your lawn in the dead of night?

Admittedly, if someone started a fire in my back garden I'd be pretty miffed but I'm afraid I have to respectfully disagree with your point of view.

As a rule I never camp on farm or military land, I only mentioned the military land aspect in my last post as part of my consideration for wild camping in my local area. Mostly I do wild camps in the local woodland, well off the beaten track in places inaccessible to vehicles and well away from footpaths. We're always very careful when selecting a place to camp up for the night and give due consideration to a number of risk factors. Generally we scope out potential camping spots on dog walks weeks in advance and revisit them several times before actually committing to camping there.

I generally camp with a couple of other wild camping enthusiasts and we pride ourselves on respecting the local area. The ground where we camp is very sandy and so we dig a small hole in which to have the fire, in the morning we go to lengths to make sure that the fire is fully extinguished (it is usually reduced to ash by morning) and then fill in the hole. I sleep in a hammock between two trees using bark friendly "tree huggers" with my DD Hammock so as not to cause damage to the trees.

When we leave the spot where we camped it is impossible to tell that anyone has been there, unless you are some sort of expert in tracking and reading sign. You can't even tell that we've had a fire. So I can't see how this is disrespectful and gives others a bad name.

In searching for camping spots we have come across places where others have camped, you can see where they have had a fire and they have left their rubbish lying round. I fully understand how this type of behaviour is unacceptable and gives others a bad name, but I'm the type of guy who would pick up their rubbish and remove any trace of their presence if I found something like this on one of my walks. Lighting fires on farm land that you are camping on without permission would also be very disrespectful.