Hi
I'm originally from South Essex but now live in North Essex.
My first camp was with the Cubs when I was 7 years old. It rained all week. Everything was damp and wet. I got homesick and hated it
Still went back the next year though.
My first "wild camp" was when I was 11 in 1972. It was a hiking competition with the Scouts over a weekend. We had to ask a land owner for permission to camp on their land and offer to do odd jobs in return.
Worked my way through Scouts and Venture Scouts. I am a Queen Scout and met Queen Elizabeth at Windsor. Was also an assistant Scout Leader and a helper for the Cubs. Also became a Survival Instructor.
We was lucky to have a campsite donated to us and I was an assistant warden. It was little more than a field surrounded by woods and I used to spend as much time as possible camping there.
In 1982 a group of twelve of us decided to hike across Dartmoor. It started to snow in Essex so we phoned our contact there who said it was fine and come on down. We were dropped off at a bothy type place in the middle of the moor and the next morning it was a total white out. Being young and foolish we decided to do the hike anyway. Temperature plummeted to -20 C one night. We spent 3 days surviving on that Moor.
1983 we went hiking in Iceland and had another near death experience. Then I had to get a job and start work so less time to have fun. We still made regular trips to Wales and the Lake district but when I moved to the other side of Essex, it became less frequent and "wild camping" fizzled out completely by 2000. Following is a picture of wild camping around '89/'90. Location if I remember correctly is on route from Wasdale going up towards Scarfell. Three of us in a Force Ten Mk4, my tent which I still have and used in the lakes last year. Flysheet is almost white now though. I was taking the picture
Now I have retired I am going to get back into wild camping/bushcraft. Seems the gear has changed a bit so have started getting kitted out ready
Been putting off doing the intro because I know I can waffle on a bit Found the above photo when i was looking for something else and it prompted me to get it done.
I'm originally from South Essex but now live in North Essex.
My first camp was with the Cubs when I was 7 years old. It rained all week. Everything was damp and wet. I got homesick and hated it
Still went back the next year though. My first "wild camp" was when I was 11 in 1972. It was a hiking competition with the Scouts over a weekend. We had to ask a land owner for permission to camp on their land and offer to do odd jobs in return.
Worked my way through Scouts and Venture Scouts. I am a Queen Scout and met Queen Elizabeth at Windsor. Was also an assistant Scout Leader and a helper for the Cubs. Also became a Survival Instructor.
We was lucky to have a campsite donated to us and I was an assistant warden. It was little more than a field surrounded by woods and I used to spend as much time as possible camping there.
In 1982 a group of twelve of us decided to hike across Dartmoor. It started to snow in Essex so we phoned our contact there who said it was fine and come on down. We were dropped off at a bothy type place in the middle of the moor and the next morning it was a total white out. Being young and foolish we decided to do the hike anyway. Temperature plummeted to -20 C one night. We spent 3 days surviving on that Moor.
1983 we went hiking in Iceland and had another near death experience. Then I had to get a job and start work so less time to have fun. We still made regular trips to Wales and the Lake district but when I moved to the other side of Essex, it became less frequent and "wild camping" fizzled out completely by 2000. Following is a picture of wild camping around '89/'90. Location if I remember correctly is on route from Wasdale going up towards Scarfell. Three of us in a Force Ten Mk4, my tent which I still have and used in the lakes last year. Flysheet is almost white now though. I was taking the picture
Now I have retired I am going to get back into wild camping/bushcraft. Seems the gear has changed a bit so have started getting kitted out ready
Been putting off doing the intro because I know I can waffle on a bit
Found the above photo when i was looking for something else and it prompted me to get it done.
