Ok, like many others I over did it a little last night and paid for it this morning.
So what I really needed was a good walk and lots of fresh air, so off I headed to Dartmoor and the customary "new years day stroll" out to Cranmere Pool (a remote place in the centre of a huge blanket bog). Being one of the highest points in southern England it gets quite extreme weather straight off the Atlantic.
This also seemed like the ideal day to test a couple of projects I have been working on for some time and had finished a couple of nights ago (a new version of the classic bushshirt and a winter hat).
Driving up onto the moor the weather got worse the higher I got and by the time I parked the car the rain had turned sleet that was blowing horizontally in from the west. The visibilty kept changing and would suddenly drop to about 30 mtrs, so I was glad I had my decent compass with me.
The heavy rain of the last few weeks had totally saturated the peat bog, so my march out to my destination was accompanied by a constant "splish-splosh", only broken by the slurping noise made by the peat trying to suck my boots off on the very soft ground.
It was one of those days that reminds you how great it is to be alive, the wind blown sleet stung as it hit my face and trying to walk on a straight bearing was near impossible, but it was great.
Eventually the small, grey, granite letterbox came into view and the thought of a good hot brew & a bounty bar took over. I got my stove going and sat with my back against the box for some protection, while I flicked thro the visitors book. To my suprise there were no entries for today (there is normally always an entry for new years day, normally the local rescue group).
Once I had my brew, I stowed everything back in my bergen, took a bearing and made my way back to the car.
The light had almost gone by the time I arrived (the sleet had not). I sat in the car and assesed how my kit had performed. My trusty Lundhags had kept my feet comfy & dry. My ventile smock, while not a waterproof, had done a very good job of keeping the wet at bay.
The bushshirt had'nt let any water thru to my merino wool base layer. Being wool it also did a good job of keeping my body heat regulated, that combined with the breathability of ventile meant I had no problems with condensation build up. The design was comfortable & practical, working well with the design of the smock.
The hat, being made of the same fabric combination as the bushshirt, worked well too. The peak design I was particularly pleased with, it was long enough to keep the rain out of my eyes and the stiffening meant it was'nt buffeted by the weather.
All in all it was a great way to spend new years day and even now my face has that warm glow you only get when the weather has "sand-blasted" it
Anyway I put a few pictures of the day up in my gallery for you to have a look @
Neil
So what I really needed was a good walk and lots of fresh air, so off I headed to Dartmoor and the customary "new years day stroll" out to Cranmere Pool (a remote place in the centre of a huge blanket bog). Being one of the highest points in southern England it gets quite extreme weather straight off the Atlantic.
This also seemed like the ideal day to test a couple of projects I have been working on for some time and had finished a couple of nights ago (a new version of the classic bushshirt and a winter hat).
Driving up onto the moor the weather got worse the higher I got and by the time I parked the car the rain had turned sleet that was blowing horizontally in from the west. The visibilty kept changing and would suddenly drop to about 30 mtrs, so I was glad I had my decent compass with me.
The heavy rain of the last few weeks had totally saturated the peat bog, so my march out to my destination was accompanied by a constant "splish-splosh", only broken by the slurping noise made by the peat trying to suck my boots off on the very soft ground.
It was one of those days that reminds you how great it is to be alive, the wind blown sleet stung as it hit my face and trying to walk on a straight bearing was near impossible, but it was great.
Eventually the small, grey, granite letterbox came into view and the thought of a good hot brew & a bounty bar took over. I got my stove going and sat with my back against the box for some protection, while I flicked thro the visitors book. To my suprise there were no entries for today (there is normally always an entry for new years day, normally the local rescue group).
Once I had my brew, I stowed everything back in my bergen, took a bearing and made my way back to the car.
The light had almost gone by the time I arrived (the sleet had not). I sat in the car and assesed how my kit had performed. My trusty Lundhags had kept my feet comfy & dry. My ventile smock, while not a waterproof, had done a very good job of keeping the wet at bay.
The bushshirt had'nt let any water thru to my merino wool base layer. Being wool it also did a good job of keeping my body heat regulated, that combined with the breathability of ventile meant I had no problems with condensation build up. The design was comfortable & practical, working well with the design of the smock.
The hat, being made of the same fabric combination as the bushshirt, worked well too. The peak design I was particularly pleased with, it was long enough to keep the rain out of my eyes and the stiffening meant it was'nt buffeted by the weather.
All in all it was a great way to spend new years day and even now my face has that warm glow you only get when the weather has "sand-blasted" it
Anyway I put a few pictures of the day up in my gallery for you to have a look @
Neil
