Best Woods to Get Lost In

[Corfe]

I've read the sticky on wild camping, so I'm fairly familiar with the legal ins and outs of it. I know that there are grey areas, that much of what can be done is due to the toleration of local landowners, national parks and indulgent farmers - that's a given. This is a question on a bit of a hypothetical plane, directed at all you bushcrafters 'across the water.'(I live in Northern Ireland)

If you were going to camp wild (and with minimum impact), in an area of woodland somewhere in England (Scotland excluded for now) - where would it be? My criteria would be:

A large tract of woodland with a minimum of roads through it.

The fewer people around the better.

Broadleaf deciduous woodland for preference.

I just lost my job, and then my father died, and I feel an overwhelming urge to disappear into the trees for a while. English woodland is to me one of the happiest environments on earth, and I know that it's a fantasy to dream of taking off into the forest for any extended time, but I'd be grateful for any input from the members here, and if any of you have actually done it, I'd love to hear about it.

 

[lannyman8]

well i know how you feel Corfe, and very sorry to hear your bad news.

what i would say is that there are no woods big enough in England to really do this, they are all used for walking or some kind of event like mountain biking etc etc.

what i would say is go and do a weeks walking, this would be quite easy to do with a wild camping over night, with little impact as you say from a quiet over night. there are a number of trails i know of that this could be done, with small shops along the route for re-supply of food, water would need to be sorted along the route with a ceramic type filter and chemical treatment though.

i wont say where on here but if you want to PM me for the odd route send away dude.....

chin up and keep safe.

regards.

chris.

 

[Corfe]

Thanks Chris - PM on its way. I walked the Ridgeway last month and wild-camped with no probs, though kept a low profile - no fires, no tent, not even a tarp. It was brilliant. Wished I could have kept going - realised I was happier doing that than I had been doing anything else for a long time.

 

[lannyman8]

thats the same with me, but life family work and every normal day stuff just mean i dont have much of a chance now....

get out mate and have some "me" time chap...

 

[Corfe]

Luckily I have a brilliant other half who's willing to cut me a lot of slack at the moment

 

[Corfe]

Been going over my gear in readiness for the off, and find that my 20 year old survival aids bivvy bag, though great in its day, is now too threadbare to be really reliable, so bidding for an army one on e-bay.
Also going to invest in a millbank bag. Always used puri-tabs before with no probs - never really minded the taste, and strained the water through a bandanna, but I don't want to be too reliant on the tablets..
Wondering about taking an axe as well as the laplander...Overkill?
It's all going in a Karrimor sabre 45 which I'm hoping the airline will be gentle with. And I'm trying to weed out all the dpm stuff

 

[lou1661]

Also going to invest in a millbank bag. Always used puri-tabs before with no probs - never really minded the taste, and strained the water through a bandanna, but I don't want to be too reliant on the tablets..

The Milbank bag still requires chemical treatment of the water, its only to clear sediment and particulates from the water before treatment.

Lou

 

[Lynx]

I also have found that disappearing into the countryside is good for the soul when I am stressed and under pressure. Sadly my wife is not into country stuff and so I spend the odd day hiking when she works on a Sunday. I would love to wild camp so good luck with that and enjoy!

 

[Corfe]

Thanks Lynx - I hope to post on this forum about it once I get out there, or shortly afterwards. And Lou, I would boil the water after it goes through the bag.