• Welcome to The Bushcraft Forum

    You are currently viewing the site as a guest and some content may not be available to you.

    Registration is quick and easy and will give you full access to the site and allow you to ask questions or make comments and join in on the conversation. If you would like to join then please Register

Woodland Camp

Banzaibrothers

Quite Talkative
Messages
31
Points
180
I have been fortunate enough - after sending a simple email - to be granted access to a piece of woodland.

I can’t believe my luck really but thought I would share a few photos with you. Unfortunately I’m not much of a photographer and haven’t got around to photographing the trees which are really the stars in this woodland - first recorded as being here in 1671.

My first visit was about a month ago. I used a Hennessy Hammock and slept in a beautiful clearing. I had a small campfire on which I cooked a basic flat bread to eat with my dehydrated meal (well, it was hydrated when I ate it of course!). Plenty of buzzards, a roe deer and a few muntjac were seen. A magical evening only spoilt by the muntjac barking just outside my hammock just as I was falling asleep.

The next morning I packed up and hopefully left the site with next to no sign that I had been there.

I’ve only slept in the hammock about 4 times but I’m getting the hang of it. After my latest night in a tent (see below) I think I may be a permanent hammock convert.
 

Attachments

  • 937C1E8C-3A40-4531-93E4-550B82FE7974.jpeg
    937C1E8C-3A40-4531-93E4-550B82FE7974.jpeg
    496.5 KB · Views: 117
  • B2A8CD7D-10AC-456E-9B25-7D6760F00B79.jpeg
    B2A8CD7D-10AC-456E-9B25-7D6760F00B79.jpeg
    456.4 KB · Views: 114
  • FC09E72F-2EFD-4B28-A937-1EECE97978D5.jpeg
    FC09E72F-2EFD-4B28-A937-1EECE97978D5.jpeg
    538.9 KB · Views: 127
  • 313D3DF9-5B43-4F4F-8CC9-235B73F54360.jpeg
    313D3DF9-5B43-4F4F-8CC9-235B73F54360.jpeg
    496.1 KB · Views: 142
Great stuff. Getting a permission spot is the holy grail. Just make sure you keep the location hush hush :)
I also converted to hammock a while ago though do alternate to ground dwelling sometimes though seldom in a tent.
 
My next night in the woods was last night (11th July)

First thing I noticed on arriving was the ‘hum’ in the air (I don’t mean a smell). To start with I thought it was a wasp or bees nest. Turns out it was the flies! Including a lot of horse flies. Initially I considered going home but I thought ‘nope, this is the great outdoors!’. My Avon smooth skin ‘insect repellent’ didn’t seem to deter them. I have some Nordic Summer at home but the smell is soooo strong I tend not to use it as it makes everything smell of it. Might have been worth it!

I got about to looking for somewhere to pitch my OneTigris Smokey Hut tent. I soon realised that it was going to be very hard to find a nice flat bit of ground to pitch on without clearing a lot of branches from the ground. So I decided to pitch out in a clearing area - which also had slightly fewer flies!

The tent is pretty good although it takes a bit of fiddling to get pitched being an octagonal shape. It is very thin but then it is very light. I have also bought a cheap inner to use with the tent. This is not an octagonal inner - just a rectangle. It works well but does waste a lot of space. Thank god I had it with me though because sleeping without an inner would have been impossible. This is my first tipi style tent and I’m still not sure I’m sold yet - it seems you loose a lot of space due to the design. But I’ll stick with it. One drawback of synthetic is the dew - after a very cold (for this time of the year) and misty night the tent was drenched.

I decided on this trip I wanted to spend more time watching the wildlife so I took a sandwich for dinner. During the afternoon I had had a scout about for a badgers set; I’ve never seen a living badger in real life and was pretty keen to try and rectify that. I managed to find some holes that looked recent but couldn’t find any of the hairs or half eaten bulbs Ray Mears seems to find so easily; mind you, he’s a bit better at all this than me! I decided to give it a go.

Around 7pm I walked out to the edge of the woods where I had earlier found the likely looking holes. My quiet and stealthy (are they two different things?) there was rewarded with some very close encounters with roe deer, muntjac and buzzards. Around 8pm I was in position sitting and waiting by what I hoped was the main hole.

Well, at 8:50pm I was busy reading a Paul Kirtley blog when I was disturbed by snuffling and squabbling sounds; I looked up to find 2 badgers on the edge of the hole. They stayed there for a few moments and disappeared into the labyrinth of brambles behind them. I was transfixed and got a few more fleeting glimpses before the light failed and I made a very quiet withdrawal. Amazing, I was so happy to see them and will be heading back soon to see if I can get another glimpse.

Off I went back to my tent. After a quick Horlicks (water boiled over a Trangia in an AliExpress cheapy wood stove I have modified to hold the meths burner a bit higher and the pathfinder cup a bit lower) I turned in. I can’t say I got a great nights sleep - it was colder than I predicted and my Mountain Hardware Lamina Spark, which is supposed to be good to 1C, was not warm enough for me. This despite having a merino thermal top on. Also, I struggled to get comfortable - spoilt by the hammock!

In the morning I had a quick look back at the badgers set and could see loads of evidence of recent activity - I now have more idea of what badger nose marks in soft ground look like! I then used the little wood stove for it’s real purpose - a wood fire - and cooked up some bacon; lovely.

It was around this point I realised the 1.3L of water I brought with me was not enough. With no water sources in the woods the only option is to bring water with you but I’m trying to reduce how much I carry. I’m currently using an ARWY Sting (which is far from full by the way) and would like to use an LK35 (when I can find a decent one to buy) but carrying an extra 2L of water could prove difficult.

Despite the sun being out and hot it took a long time for the tent to dry before I could pack it away.

All in all a wonderful night in the wild. Can’t wait for the next one. Each time I learn a little and refine how much and what kit I need to carry.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.
 

Attachments

  • 15379278-2023-4157-A153-AC71C54CB904.jpeg
    15379278-2023-4157-A153-AC71C54CB904.jpeg
    649.5 KB · Views: 122
  • C096F203-06E1-4166-BF4F-156D06767BEC.jpeg
    C096F203-06E1-4166-BF4F-156D06767BEC.jpeg
    416.7 KB · Views: 114
  • 01679FA9-661A-4102-824E-8E01080D8D48.jpeg
    01679FA9-661A-4102-824E-8E01080D8D48.jpeg
    486.5 KB · Views: 117
  • 4DFB929E-8AB2-453B-8754-F4E2D2BD7C0B.jpeg
    4DFB929E-8AB2-453B-8754-F4E2D2BD7C0B.jpeg
    422.7 KB · Views: 127
  • EEA95628-B3F4-4D23-898B-9B3E0CD9F965.jpeg
    EEA95628-B3F4-4D23-898B-9B3E0CD9F965.jpeg
    509.3 KB · Views: 111
If you've got the permission BB, maybe conceal a plastic barrel or two with some supplies, 2 litre bottles of water, some food etc, could lighten the load if you have to walk any distances to get there.... dunno your situation mate but I'm sure you can figure out a way to keep stuff in situ ???
 
That is a good idea Bam. Thing is I’m a bit wary about pushing my luck! 😄

Not sure how you'd be pushing your luck mate, if you have permission to stay then I doubt there would be complaints if you concealed stuff, you'll know the situation better than me but if its out of sight then who could take issue with it ?
 
If I may suggest, BB. I used to leave a few items in a wood that I used in Sussex. It wasn't necessary to hide them from people as the wood was private, it's just that to me No trace, means No trace. I used a blue plastic barrel, the type with a clamp on lid. I buried it leaving just the lid above ground level and simply used natural foliage to camo the lid over.

If you do something similar, choose a slight rise in the ground to bury the barrel so as to ensure no water seepage problems. I kept a 10 litre jerry can, a fire grill (old fridge shelf) and a few other bits there for years. I used to top the jerry can up each visit and apart from the initial trip which meant a bit of digging the whole system worked really well.
 
Hi BB.

Nice result on the permission mate.......looks like a nice wood....lucky man :thumbsup:
Good to see you out and enjoying it.
Have you had a look on Google maps at the surrounding area.......might show up a water source nearby........you never know?

Interesting post and pictures.....looking forward to your next outing and report:)
 
There is a reservoir not too far away - and actually my car is parked not far away too! In the woods there are some very small boggy ponds but I don’t fancy the water even after Millbank bagging, filtering and boiling! 😄
 
Back
Top