Hammock camping site advice?

[stuartpb]

The social enterprise I run has a project up and running where we take families away who have never camped before and are experiencing issues as a family. It's free for the families and we provide all the equipment and food for them on the 1 night stay. They get to learn basic bushcraft skills with a range of activities provided by our council's countryside rangers. We've had two of this year's four planned excursions and the families loved it. We're there to guide if needed but we're not there to hold their hands and do everything for them. Now we've proven the concept to our local council, who we are working with in delivering the project, we're looking at next year's agenda. We get a little bit of funding and Alpkit helped us out with some cooking gear and sleeping bag liners but we are running this project on a shoestring. I really want some of the families to experience hammock camping though so where there is a will there will be a way

I recently personally bought a Highlander Nomad hammock, which is a hammock, fitted mossie net and with a tarp. I've been out with it twice and really enjoyed it. I made an underquilt from a US army poncho liner after seeing a video how to on Youtube. It keeps my backside from getting nippy but I don't doubt I'd get better results from a proper underquilt. I've recently bought a DD Travel Hammock and DD underquilt too to try out. I was impressed enough to think about how to incorporate hammock camping into our project but being so new to it, I haven't a clue about suitable sites locally or further afield.

Being so new to this, I haven't a clue about good locations for hammock camping. Ideally we'd want somewhere close to Doncaster or in the Yorkshire region. Any advice would be really appreciated! Also any kit recommendations would be really appreciated too, especially for the budget/ mid range end of the market but decent enough for regular usage.

This is our current site, it's a council owned compound in the middle of a local woods that we are allowed to use, it has a toilet block and classroom for if the weather gets too dicey.

 

[xairbourne]

Could you not sink some posts into the ground and make yourself a hammock area?

 

[MountainGhost]

+1 on sinking posts.

I would use the 3 trees furthest back in this picture. I'd sink a telegraph pole in the centre, and more between the trees creating a central post and semi-circle with all hammocks tied to the central post and the other ends to dedicated posts/trees. Not sure if this would work but I'm typing as I think.

I use a DD Hammock and always put a thermarest in-between the lower layers. In the winter or high wind I add a gore-tex bivi which I can bring in as a sleeping bag cover if the temps drop further. I like this as my personal set-up for now.

I really like what you're doing btw; you have my utmost respect and admiration. Perhaps invite the local/national media to cover this project and maybe attract sponsorship/equipment donation.

Best wishes

 

[stuartpb]

Unfortunately we can't sink posts at the site we use because it's council owned, managed by the countryside rangers and they use the area for school, woodworking and other group activities. That's why we are looking for other sites we could use in addition to the one we have.

@MountainGhost - Thanks I really appreciate that. We've got a small team of volunteers who work hard on this project with me. We've tried getting press interest but it's been lacking. Bad news sells papers as they say :-(

 

[mousey]

Turtle Dog Hammock stands?

plenty of info if you google search them. I've made one out of reclaimed chain-link fence posts, buying pipe / tube is a bit expensive so depending on your budget [if you have one] you can recycle stuff.

 

[Insel Affen]

How about looking at a few types of hammock stand and then ask a local technical college to fabricate them as part of their coursework? Might even be able to use the idea as a project towards their exams, i.e. From design to completion.