Camping

[nick crisp]

Cadair was a slog!

In the hills, I usually carried a tin of sardines, packs of Supernoodles and a couple of choc bars as emergency rations in case I didn't get to any shops in time to get something more substantial  :eek

For lunches in the hills in the Lakes region, I took a pack of Krackerwheat, some of that tubed cheese stuff, and, yes Noggy, Mattessons sausage - slice the sausage (cold) onto the crackers, top with the squeezy-cheese and you're done. Packets of fresh (as opposed to dried) pasta ok too - I liked the cheese n ham-filled pasta shells myself. Boil in the bag meals are ok if you pick the good ones, but backpacking uses a lot of energy, and each meal was about a fiver - really needed at least two of an evening to replenish expended energy.

On a bike? Cafes and takeaways has to be the way to go! 

[midden]

Cadair was a slog!

In the hills, I usually carried a tin of sardines,

On a bike? Cafes and takeaways has to be the way to go! 

Started well but Wtf  :eek he's not even got his passport and he's beginning to soften. Won't be long before the b&b list comes out 

[nick crisp]

Started well but Wtf  :eek he's not even got his passport and he's beginning to soften. Won't be long before the b&b list comes out 

Sorry, how many cafes was it you "visited" today?  :rollin

[midden]

Boef a la mode as the French say  Nicky boy

[andybesy]

So I did my first little camping expedition last weekend. Not the Scottish wild camping trip I'm working up to, but Woodland camping as a dry run, to test the kit and see what I learnt.

And I even made some great new friends too which was nice 

[downey]

nice fazer, nice fry up, nice spot  never figure out how u packed that bench though  :rollin :rollin :rollin

[dickturpin]

Which site is that?

Is that a small brain in the pan?

[andybesy]

Hi Dickturpin,

Sorry didn't reply sooner only just spotted your question. It's Newbourne Woodland Campsite in Suffolk. Not a huge woodland but nice spot. I'm building up to getting proper out in the sticks.

http://www.newbourne-campsite.co.uk/

Andy

[midden]

nice fazer, nice fry up, nice spot  never figure out how u packed that bench though  :rollin :rollin :rollin

U beat me to the bench  :'(

Think I should start looking to getting some gear :]

[nick crisp]

[Think I should start looking to getting some gear :]

What for? I thought you were going tactical? Living off the land an all that?  :lol

I'm gonna need a larger waterproof bag for 3 weeks in Europe. 50l is ok for a weekend, but I'm looking for a waterproof bag (seabag type thing?) of nearer to 80l-ish I reckon. Can anyone recommend anything? I want it to strap to the pillion seat, not be too wide across the bike.

[midden]

how about the 70l dry bags for canoes on ebay? I've got orange one. not to easy to carry but bunji strapped to bike nice and you can get them with shoulder straps

[bri h]

I use a lewis 80l dry bag that I got from get geared.  Its a bit bulky but takes masses of kit if you pack it well.

[andybesy]

I met a lovely couple... it was before the site normally opened and so the owners asked some regulars to show me around... since i was travelling alone kindly invited me to hangout round the camp fire with them on the friday night and so i naturally took them to the pub saturday night. Nicest people I've met in a long time got on well and like to think we'll remain friends. And they even got engaged! Still that's what happens if you buy enough rounds 

I cooked fresh fish one night, fried in lemon juice and served with new potatoes with butter and parsley. The cooking side is/was one of my big questions and so it's been fun to gain a bit of confidence. I'm really getting in to this camping... I knew I liked the outdoors due to childhood camping but the friendly/community feel from other campers was a nice surprise Reminded me of bike community.

Looking forward to the wild camping but think I need another test as still learning:

• Need a better mattress.
  
• Love the Coleman stove (it's fun) but not sure I can carry enough fuel and it's availability doesn't seem great
  
• Happy to buy fresh food daily so storage less of an issue, but you still end up buying big loads of stuff that won't keep (butter, etc) seems wasteful
  
• Sleeping bag good (it was 3 degress fri night and i was fine) but maybe a more compact alternative for summer months
  

Oddly woke up with two whippets in my tend Sun morning  :eek

[nick crisp]

Wild camping is a different ball game to using commercial campsites Andy. IMO, the best way to do it in the UK is to take boil-in-the-bag or tinned, or sealed packages of food that will just need heating through, plus some treats/snacks, and enough for 3 or 4 days at a time. By then, you will probably want a shower and clean-up, so go to an established site with facilities for a day or 2, then repeat. I did this on my fell-walking holiday in the Lakes region and it worked well. You can carry more on the bike, so you needn't starve, and you can then have a pig out in a restaurant or enjoy cooking more elaborate meals when you finish each wild camping "session". Only a suggestion of course, but we're not all Ray Mears or Ranulph Fiennes - no need to make it an endurance event to enjoy it!

[slimwilly]

Dont worry, dogging is all the go nowadays

[midden]

Wild camping is a different ball game to using commercial campsites Andy. IMO, the best way to do it in the UK is to take boil-in-the-bag or tinned, or sealed packages of food that will just need heating through,


All is good he's taking  Pizza hut menu to the Alps


plus some treats/snacks, and enough for 3 or 4 days at a time.


For the bit of rough....Not my Heidi tho






you can then have a pig out in a restaurant


I have enough trouble getting a pig come in to a restaurant


but we're not all Ray Mears or Ranulph Fiennes -


Like Nicolas and moi

[downey]

recently got a 70 litre waterproof roll bag from hein gerick looks huge havent used it yet mind but serious looking yoke

[esetest]

Bought a new tent from Go outdoors for Scotland this summer , on the bag it says Hydrostatic head with the number 4000 above it , anyone knows what this means .

[nick crisp]

Bought a new tent from Go outdoors for Scotland this summer , on the bag it says Hydrostatic head with the number 4000 above it , anyone knows what this means .

I'm glad you asked that  :lol

HH is a measure of how waterproof a fabric is.
It's tested by taking a tube of water and fixing the material over the bottom. If it resists leaking up to 2m (2000mm) of water in the tube, then it's rating will be 2000mm HH. For a tent groundsheet, you ideally want 5000mm HH or more, as your weight is pushing the material down, effectively trying to force water through.

4000mm will most likely be fine in the summer, as long as you don't pitch on particularly wet/boggy ground. In fact, for most commercial campsites, where drainage is usually quite good, you won't have to worry about it.

[sadlonelygit]

camping.............take one of these

fit bike in the back..............sorted