Getting out camping on my own, is something that I’ve been building up to for the last couple of years. Everytime I tried, I somehow managed to talk myself out of it, up until the other week.
With my move back up North approaching, I knew I had to make the most of having Dartmoor on the doorstep. After being out for a wild camp with my friend Lauren just a couple of weeks before (you can check it out here) I felt much more prepared to get out and do it alone. I packed up my bag (still too heavy from too much water) and headed out.
A couple of people had kindly offered me recommendations on places they had camped before, so I did some research into these and plumped for one at the North of Dartmoor. I parked up in the middle of nowhere and decided to go for a walk with just my day pack to check out their recommended spot and also look and see if I could find somewhere of my own.
I ended up walking about a 10km loop, hiking up a few tors, exploring some woods and attempting to find a path to a reservoir, but at the end I found a beautiful spot by the North Teign River. I went back to the car, swapped my bags over and headed back to the spot to set up camp for the night. There was a perfect pitch on flat grass, protected by rocks on one side with the river on the other. There were a lot of cows about, but thankfully they kept their distance.
Camping along the side of the river also meant I had the perfect dipping spot on my doorstep. Once my tent was up and my kit set up for the night, I went for a delightful dip. It wasn’t too deep, but deep enough to fully submerge and the water was much warmer than expected!
I’d brought my usual camping diet of just add water super noodles for dinner (with a porridge pot for breakfast of course). As mentioned before, carrying too much water is still an issue, but I’ve been doing research into different filters and will be investing in one soon.
I’ve spoken pretty openly about my struggles of getting out on my own. I was genuinely surprised that I didn’t get scared or freak myself out about being out on my own. I actually managed to have a really good nights sleep. I took my book and a head torch, but it was so light late into the evening that I didn’t need my torch at all. My anxiety was pretty much none existent whilst I was out, I did have a mild panic in the car on the drive over that I’d forgotten something, but once I parked up and headed out, I was in my element.
Having been out only a week or so before, I felt pretty confident with what I needed and actually ended up using nearly everything I took with me. There were a few bits that I took that I could definitely not take if I knew I really needed to keep my weight down such as camp shoes and a picnic blanket, but as I knew I wouldn’t be too far from my car I was happy to have the additional comfort items for my first night on my own. You can see more about my kit on my previous wild camping blog, or you can shop my kit here.
Top Tips:
If you’re wanting to get out, but like me are struggling with the thought of doing it alone, a few of the things that have really helped me get to this point are…
– Follow people on instagram who are doing what you want to do and ask them questions. The outdoors community is such a lovely space and most people will happily help you out with tips and advice (if you ask nicely!). I have learnt so much from watching others adventures via instagram and youtube. It’s also really helpful when first trying to find kit as there are a lot of honest reviews with tried and tested gear.
– Research where you’re going and have a good idea of where you’re going to camp before you get there. Better still, go for a walk prior to your camp so fully suss out the area and make sure that where you wanted to be is as practical as you thought it would be. I let a couple of my friends know exactly where I was heading and checked in again in the morning.
– Don’t push yourself to do everything at once. Try a campsite on your own first, or go with a friend. I went for a couple of camps earlier in the year with friends which gave me chance to really test out my gear and set up before venturing out on my own. This gave me the confidence to know what I was doing and reassure myself that I had everything I need.
– Take some entertainment, whether it’s a book, notebook, podcast..whatever floats your boat. Though I ended up going to sleep pretty early, I loved having my book and just being able to relax. I also think that if my anxiety had started to flare up a bit, then this would have helped to take my mind off it.
– Just do it! Whenever I had moments of doubt I just asked myself ‘what’s the worst that can happen’ and I knew that if I didn’t do it I’d be more disappointed with myself than if I went and it didn’t quite go to plan.
I loved every second of this adventure and I was so proud of myself when I was walking back to my car in the morning. I was extremely lucky with the weather which also helped. I can’t to get out in the Lakes and up in Scotland over the next few months!
If you want to follow along on my everyday adventures, then check out my instagram – lisa.outdoors
Happy Adventuring x
Lisa Outdoors 