My mate Jim and I decided to have an overnighter at Ullswater. We parked the campervan in a layby near Glencoyne Bridge and inflated the Sevylor two man canoe. Off we padded across the lake towards Silver Bay. I was hammock camping and Jim wanted to try out his tarp so we veered off just left to the trees. We beached the canoe and recced the area before setting on a promontory. Most of the ground was not good for ground camping - boggy, rocky or too sloping. We'd arrived at 2pm so had little time to scout our a good camping spot and also get firewood before the light went. Firewood was a real problem because everything was soaking wet and there was little in the way of standing dead wood. I tried, and failed, to get an open fire working. Jim spent two hours whittling timber and eventually got his gasified wood stove working but it was a monumental effort.
It was cold overnight but still - probably down to just below zero but we both slept well. Jim had a four season down bag and I had a three season hollofill bag with a summer down bag inside - very cosy. Next day we canoed on the lake and spotted some good camping spots - Silver Bay looks good for tent or bivvy camping. Norfolk Island, whilst small, is just about big enough for a two man tent or a single hammock by the waterline.
Lessons learned - arrive much earlier to scout out the land - a map can't tell you the whole story. Bring a hatchet to split timber to get to the dry stuff inside and perhaps bring firelighters or some other form of boosting the fire.
But it was fun and we learned some useful stuff.
It was cold overnight but still - probably down to just below zero but we both slept well. Jim had a four season down bag and I had a three season hollofill bag with a summer down bag inside - very cosy. Next day we canoed on the lake and spotted some good camping spots - Silver Bay looks good for tent or bivvy camping. Norfolk Island, whilst small, is just about big enough for a two man tent or a single hammock by the waterline.
Lessons learned - arrive much earlier to scout out the land - a map can't tell you the whole story. Bring a hatchet to split timber to get to the dry stuff inside and perhaps bring firelighters or some other form of boosting the fire.
But it was fun and we learned some useful stuff.
