I bought a new small tent in a sale a while ago. I wanted something smaller and quicker to put up/take down than my main tent. I’ve been wanting to try it out at the woods and also get in another overnighter before the nights really draw in. I received a text message from a woodland neighbour (I shall just refer to him as S. for anonymity) saying he was meeting R. from the Woodland Trust this Wednesday gone and was I likely to be there so we could meet for a catch-up? S. is a keen bushcrafter and naturalist and has made some stunning wildlife videos and I feel we have a lot in common and I wanted to have a good chat with him. I am always pleased to see R. too, so the decision to go camping again was an easy one.
Arriving early again and it wasn’t long before S. came around. We spent a good hour or more chatting about the woods and nature watching and the subject of badgers came up. I said I had never seen a live badger and it’s on my “bucket list” to see one. S. told me he sees them often at some setts lower down the woods and would I like to go tonight when it’s dusk. “Yes pleeeease”.
After clearing my camp area I put the new tent up. It’s very easy and fits in nicely, barely visible from the track.
R. from the W.T. arrived and we had a catch-up too. After lunch I headed over to S.’s for a look around his plot and more woody/nature talk. Nice to meet with someone with the same interest and passion for the subject. A while ago he built a small pond which has had numerous woodland visitors – roe deer, buzzards, foxes and other birds including the South American rhea that was there a few months ago. A small pond is on my list of projects. It doesn’t look particularly impressive but it’s a valauable source of water in an otherwise very dry woodland.
I returned to my patch and set-to building my fire ready for cooking my evening meal. Camping and cooking in the woods makes you realise how much we take for granted in our efficient, modern lifestyles and how much work is involved. We can fill the kettle from a tap, throw a switch and have a mug of coffee in minutes. We can open the freezer and bung something in the oven, leave it for half an hour or so and come back to a hot meal. Afterwards, stick the dirty crockery in the dishwasher and go watch telly till bedtime. I like this proper camping, with no facilities, because it adds meaningful depth to my life and reminds me of my human-ness. It is empowering to know that if “push comes to shove” and our lovely, convenient, sanitised lifetyle ended for some reason, I have some survival skills that would stand me in good stead. The way we live now is a relatively new concept and in some parts of the world, people still live so close to the land. People will often say that wild camping and bushcrafting is roughing it but my good friend P. likes to say “No, bushcrafting is about smoothing it – learning skills that make life easier in a natural environment. There were no freezers, electric kettles and dishwashers from pre-history up until a hundred years or so ago and most people today wouldn’t have a clue about making a fire from gathered materials and cooking a meal over it . Anyway that’s the reason I like doing this stuff and actually – I do like my modern home comforts very much but it’s nice to go and play at neanderthal man now and then. I made a new cooking tripod from some hazel rods and had my first cook-up on my new fireplace. Tinned curry and pre-cooked rice – ha! Well what else could a semi-veggie do in the middle of some English woods? Nettle soup and a few blackberries aren’t going to fill me up.
It started raining – (thanks BBC, for getting the forecast wrong again). It eased off though and S. arrived and as dusk fell, armed with our binoculars, we headed off to the badger site . He told me that badgers have poor eyesight but sharp senses of smell and hearing, so we had to position ourselves far enough away and downwind to avoid detection. We stood and watched quietly for over an hour but no badgers appeared. A little disappointing but I really enjoyed the experience and having good company for the evening. S. suggested we try again in Spring when there is less foliage and therfor better visibility.
We called it a day around 9 pm and by this time it was pitch black in the woods. I headed back, stoked the fire and enjoyed a mug of red wine with nothing else to do but savour the experience. The moon and stars were clearly visible through the gaps in the canopy and I was alone in the middle of the woods. All was quiet – except for the aircraft and loud motorcyclists (organ donors as my mate calls them) racing along the back roads at breakneck speeds. An odd contradiction. Time to try out my new tent.
It’s a so-called two man tent but maybe it should be called a two sardine tent. It’s fine for one person though quite challenging just getting your muddy boots off in a way that keeps your tent clean, your feet dry and the biting insects out! It’s a case of sitting with your bum just inside the tent and feet outside, then shuffling backwards as you zip up the door flaps. The next challenge is setting up your sleeping mat and bag etc and undressing whilst in a more or less, horizontal position. Not easy for an arthritic 60-odd year old. but please I can still manage it. Come back for part two.
