Back at the start of the very first lock down, I bought myself all the kit to go wild camping, with every intention of taking myself off for some solo camps. Safe to say, the furthest my tent got was the garden one August evening. It was a mix of apprehension of doing it alone, not knowing where to go and just general lack of experience. I have camped a lot, but always on campsites and with other people, so this was a lot of ‘new’ for me.
Fast forward a year and a half, I finally managed to get out. I have been lucky enough to make some incredible friends down here and Cornwall, and when I mentioned to my housemate about wanting to get out camping she was all over it and within a few days we were out!
We went after the girls had finished work, as we were only going 10 minutes down the road. From the car park it was just a short walk to where we pitched up and we had just enough daylight to get our tents up. It was pretty windy, but thankfully not too cold. It was at this point I realised how much of a pain my tent was to put up. The main bulk of it was fine, but we just couldn’t figure out how to get the ends propper up properly. Thankfully, it did stay up all night in the wind, but I have got a new one since which is so much easier to set up!
Foodwise we went for luxury. As we weren’t too far from the car, we weren’t worried about the weight of out rucksacks. We had an absolute feast consisting of stuffed peppers, courgette with honey and feta, jacket potatoes with all the trimmings followed by peaches with rum, toasted almonds and crumbled biscuits..all cooked in the fire pit.
We talked into the evening and it was so nice to not have phone signal, as it took away that distraction completely and allowed us to properly disconnect for the night. In the morning, we were packed up by 7:30 and home by 8.
I had an absolute blast and it was so nice to be able to do it so close to home. Wild camping is not permitted in most parts of England, however we pitched up just as it was getting dark, packed away before the sun came up and made sure to leave no trace.
I can’t wait to get out again and test out my new tent and also start to venture a bit further afield! I really hope to plan some multi day hikes for later in the year, so watch this space!
Kit List:
Bag: I’ve got the Osprey Renn 65 and I absolutely love it. I haven’t taken it much distance yet, but it was really comfy the short distance I did and I easily managed to fit in all of my extreme overpacking! It’s also been great help all four times I’ve moved house this year.
Stove: I use the Alpkit Brukit and can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s such a great, compact bit of kit. I had one in the van and we always chose to use it over the gas burners when boiling water.
Tent: I had bought my tent in a bit of a hurry during lockdown and feel I probably didn’t do as much research as I should have done. I’d gone for the Terra Nova West Country Zeyphyros 2. It had great reviews and seemed a really good price. As mentioned before, I really struggled to put it up securely and have since replaced it with the MSR Elixir 1. Haven’t tested this outside yet, but know a lot of people who use it and it took me around 2 minutes to put it up in the house.
Sleeping bag: This was the first time I’ve used this new sleeping bag and I was super impressed. It was the OEX EV Fathom 300 which I bought to replace a Berghaus one I’d bought back in lockdown. The OEX was lighter weight and had a better comfort rating.
Sleeping Mat: I use the Vango Trek 3 sleeping mat. It’s really comfy, the only downside is that it doesn’t pack very small. It’s absolutely fine when I’m not walking too far or just going to a campsite, but I think I may need to invest in something a bit more lightweight when I start doing longer/multiday hikes
Pillow: I have an inflatable pillow from Vango that packs down pretty small. I’ve tried before just using clothes, but I really need some kind of pillow to get a decent nights sleep. Can’t find a link to this one, but it was about £10 from go outdoors.
Boots: I took my Keen Terradora boots on this trip. I knew we wouldn’t be walking too far so didn’t think I’d need my full walking boots. These are a nice in between a trainer and a full hiking boot. They’re lightweight, but still warm and comfy.
Hat: My current go to for hats are the Seashell beanies. They are merino wool and so soft and cosy…I now have three different colours haha
Coats: I took two coats with me this time, my Mac in a Sac polar down jacket, and my Arc’teryx Zeta AR. I was very kindly gifted the down jacket back in autumn and it’s such a great bit of kit. It packs down so small, so is perfect for taking when packing light, but still keeps you warm. My Arc’teryx was a long term investment, but I’ve needed a really good shell for a while. It also packs really small so the two are a great combo!
On top of this I also took a head torch, first aid kit, pen knife, water, food, gloves, base layers to sleep in, wipes, loo roll, trowel, extra socks and extra layers.
*Some of the links on this page are affiliate links and I may get a small amount of commission if you make a purchase. However all of the reviews are my honest opinions.
Lisa Outdoors 
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