The weather forecast was looking promising so I decided to take advantage and try another one-nighter last Friday, using the car to sleep in. I got an early start, had my usual walkabout and as you can see, the new spring growth has really flourished.
My day camp area has become quite overgown with grass, weeds and some brambles. So first job was to clear the area. The brambles are pulling up very easily after the recent rain and I got quite carried away with this job. Hot and uncomfortable but hugely satisfying to know you have defeated a small part of the bramble army.
I then set-to finishing the underground fridge, which just needed the lid making. I cut some hazel rods laid them out on the table and attempted to weave them into a grid. It was like fighting an octopus. The rods kept wriggling about and falling out of weave. So tip one is to lash the first row where they cross first. After that it was relatively easy to thread the next ones through, the tension between rows tending to hold things in place. You need to make two of these woven grids.
Next, layer some small branches and leaves onto the first grid. I used pine brash from a neighbour’s felling because they should resist rotting too quickly.
On top off that, layer a thick covering of moss.
Then put the second grid on top and lash the two together. You now have an insulating “sandwich”. I sprinkled water on the moss because it’s the evaporation process that draws heat out of the hole. Here’s the finished lid in place over the hole. I took the temperature inside and out first to see how effective it is. It was around 72F outside and 65F inside. A couple of hours later, even though the outside temperature had risen, the inside had dropped to around 60F. Not amazing but I think it proved it was working.
Time to set up my car “tent”. I inflated the air bed, positioned my under blanket and sleeping bag, pillows etc then slung up the tarp over the roof to form a sheltered porch over the back door. It took about 45 minutes. Slightly quicker than erecting a tent but it was the tarp that took the longest. You could just use the car without it which would have only taken about 15 minutes but the tarp gives protection from small falling debris, rain etc allowing you to undress/dress outside (a real struggle doing it lying down in the car) and if you need to get out during the night.
Time to get the fire going ready for heating the lovely casserole my wife had made for me.
Early evening is a lovely time to relax a bit after a hard day’s work and just enjoy the unique experience of sitting in a sunny glade of the woods, listening to the birds and taking in the shear beauty of nature in it’s many forms. An unexpected visitor landed on my arm and my reflex was to brush it off. A closer look among the floor litter revealed this beautiful beetle. I mus try to ID it later.
I put some more logs on the fire which created a fair amount of smoke. The setting sun rays were slipping between the trees, lighting up the beech leaves and as the smoke lazily drifted around, the smell of it and the magical images created, seemed to conjured up primeval feelings deep within me that is hard to describe. If you have experienced it, you’ll know what I mean and how comforting and “right” that feels.
As the light started to fade, I decided to take a walk around some of the rides. I was pleasantly surprised to find some neighbours and friends were also camping and had already demolished a bottle of wine. They kindly invited me to stay a while and offered me a shot of whiskey. They even had ice with them! We spent a pleasant hour chatting then I headed back to camp, stoked the fire and sat with a hip flask of rum just to enjoy the nightime before taking to my bed. Whether it was the knowledge of nearby friends or the effects of alcohol or both, I had no fears of intruders this time and enjoyed a pretty decent night’s sleep. See part two.
