Campsite review: Byecross Farm Campsite Byecross Farm Campsite is a small, family run campsite, located on a picturesque farm near Preston - on - Wye, Hereford. There are many such campsites scattered across the width and breadth of the UK, but this one stands out... to me anyway! This campsite was the first that I ever visited without my family, when I was just 17 or 18 (I can't remember the exact date), and so it was the first trip where I actually had to pack all of my own gear and setup on my own. So then, looking back this trip could be described as a momentous occasion, although when I remove the rose tint from the memories, I can remember that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows! Our party was a group of four, ranging from 17 to 24 in age, and we made the 40 mile journey divided between three vehicles - two heavily laden 125cc motorcycles, and an equally heavily laden 1960s Volkswagen Beetle. At the time, the location of the campsite as given by Google Maps wasn't q...

The Bushcraft Show 2024 I first heard about Bushcraft Magazine's 'Bushcraft Show' from the Wodesman Podcast (shout-out to Tom and Liam!) last year, and although I couldn't go in 2023 due to other plans, I found myself watching lots of YouTube videos many of the people who did go, and I made a mental note that I had to go next year. Fast forward to January 2024, and I was on their website, buying tickets, and already mentally planning the trip. I chose the weekend ticket that included camping, as I really wanted to take my hammock and camp in the woodland on site after seeing so many people doing this on YouTube. At first I wasn't sure if I'd be going on my own, as I didn't know if anyone that I'd usually camp with would fancy going to the show, but I extended the invite to my dad, and being a camping nut himself, he was only too happy to join me for three nights of woodland hammock camping (I think the show was just an added bonus for him). Eventually th...

Campsite review: Croscombe Camping, Somerset At the start of May 2024 we journeyed down to the picturesque West Country of England, for three nights camping in rural Somerset. As most of Somerset is rural, there are plenty of campsites to choose from, each with varying assets and attributes to suit exactly what you are looking for. We were looking for a basic campsite, with toilet and shower facilities, but we didn't want an overly commercialised campsite that would appeal more to caravan and motorhome users, so we took to Pitch Up, and found Croscombe Camping (link at the end of the post). Located near the village of Croscombe, and not far from the town of Shepton Mallet, we chose the campsite for its 'middle of nowhere' feeling, whilst still being near amenities like shops for food and essentials if needed. The main selling point for me was that the site boasts a view of the Glastonbury Tor aka, the Isle of Avalon. I've long been a keen (but amateur) student of our na...

  Campsite review: Newfold Farm Edale The Peak District National Park is one of Britain's most spectacular areas of natural beauty. Majestic and rugged, it is needless to say that it is a hot spot for camping, hiking, and so many other outdoor activities. Since the events of 2020's COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more popular than ever for wild camping, and as is probably the case for many others, it was the stage for my first wild camping experience back in 2021. On that trip, we caught a train from Manchester to the village of Hope and started walking beneath the sweltering June sun up Lose Hill and along to Mam Tor. From Mam Tor we went down into the village of Edale, where we stopped for lunch, before continuing through the valley and towards Kinder Scout, which would be our home for the night. The events of that trip gave me a love not only for wild camping, but also for the Peak District, Kinder Scout, and Edale, which is why at the start of Spring, 2024, I decided to go...

Since I first embarked on my wild camping journey over two years ago, I have been fortunate enough to have camped in different environments and weather conditions (less fortunate for some of the weather conditions, I might add). These experiences have allowed me to learn from both my failures and my successes, and have aided me in selecting the most suitable gear to put in my rucksack depending on the season, weather, and style of trip planned, limited only by capacity and the number in my bank account. In this post I will list some pieces of gear which I have used for an extended period of time, and that I am particularly fond of. DD Superlight Jungle Hammock My first few wild camping trips took place in a two man compact backpacking tent (more on this below), until I received a spectacular present from my dad - a DD Superlight Jungle Hammock. As I'd taken to wild camping in the forest near home, this was absolutely ideal. The tent still comes out for any field/moorland camping tr...