I usually recommend a military poncho and bivvy bag set up for young men who go for hiking and traveling alone.
You can hide a poncho easier in the area than a larger tarp. You can use it as rain coat and as tarp as well. In the summer it easily can replace the rain suit and is more comfortable than it in hot conditions.
Letting the rain suit at home makes your hiking ruck sack light, and hiking is only nice with a light ruck sack!
You can use it as a fast rain protection in a short shower, it keeps your ruck sack dry too, you can use it as a ground sheet and it can even replace a bivvy bag.
The military poncho I recommended is the ultimate multifunctional piece of equipment for solo hikers.
Even if you take a light rain suit with you, it doubles it as a back up and you can use a lighter, perhaps not 300% waterproof rain suit if you have the poncho.
If it is whet in the morning, you don't have to put a whet tarp in your ruck sack.
The poncho you can put over you and dry it on the hiking man, and put it in the ruck sack when it became dry.
And if you come along a bakers shop in the morning, you hang the poncho on a hook there, order a coffee and wait there untill it is dry, even if you want to continue the hike in the rain in your rain suit.
That is far better than carrying a whet tarp around!
Two lean to poncho shelters with a fire in between, the spare fire wood at the end of the corridor in between the lean to shelters pointing in the direction, where the wind comes from, the feed of the sleepers pointing in the direction where the smoke goes to, is one of the most comfortable set ups for two hiking friends, which exists.
Against the wind should protect a bush or rock or a third mans poncho. Than you would have a protected space, that heats up nearly like a fire heated original historic tippee or Sami lavvu, especially if you close the corners a bit with some wood or standing bushes or additional triangular sheets, where you could protect fire wood under it.
The military poncho usually is the best equipment for one to three young men on the hike!
But in some situations a larger tarp is a good option:
If you want to stay in one wind protected place for longer times and expect a lot of rain, for example.
Or if you want to hike with your girl friend and wish to kiss her from time to time.
Or if you want to go out with a child, that you prefere to keep next to you.
Or If you use a boat, and weight doesn't really matter.
Than a tarp is a good Idea.
You need it too, if you want to use a hammock.
The DD tarps are the market leader.
That is real quality equipment!
They exist in a very good nearly invisible camouflage pattern.
DD offers an ultra light version too.
And for a hammock a tarp which is larger than 3x3 meters is the better choice.
DD offers that!
They have a lot of attachment points and that offers you to construct in windy conditions a nearly 360 degrees closed tent!
That is nice too if you visit from time to time a crowded touristic camping ground, because you want to visit a town, or use there showers and washing mashine.
But unfortunately they aren't cheap and the fantastic light "Hilleberg Tarp 5" is as tough as expensive.
A beginner doesn't know about wood fires what an experienced bushcrafter knows.
It is as good as sure that the beginner will get some spark holes in his tarp very soon!
So it isn't a fault to start with the cheap but long lasting Decathlon Tarp, even if it has only a few attachment points and offers less options to construct a shelter.
You can set up with it a 360 degrees protected triangular based pyramid tent.
You usually will get heavy condensation problems in it, but better this, than to fly away with the tarp in a storm!
It has a relatively large white logo at one side. If you stay exactly on this paint and work fast and concentrated, you can cover this white paint with a black Edding without destroying the fabric. So you can get that idiotic logo away.
OK, it stays, but than it is black, not white!
The lines which come with it aren't so good to attach it at trees. The bark pulls threads out of it.
But doesn't matter, you can replace it later.
The tarp alone weights only 600g.
And that is very light!
The steel poles which come with it stay in the attic for car supported adventures. The heavy pegs too. Take the recommended aluminium pegs or carve yourself the pegs in the forest! (The poles too, if needed.)
Often you will find some trees in the forest.
And a wall is a good option too.
I have the impression, that you have a lot of walls in the landscape in Britain. Every farmer has his own little Hadrian's wall!.....;0)
Don't carry the steel poles around!
£24.99 - TOURING CAMP TENTS, TARPS - Tarp Camping Shelter - Dark Green - QUECHUA
www.decathlon.co.uk
not complaining tho. All good information and well worth the read imo 
