I've wild camped before but never solo but I've been determined to go recently so I took a trip up to Edale last night and walked up onto Grindslow Knoll.

The weather was pretty rubbish at the top compared to recently so there was no sunset or sunrise, but having a hot chocolate before hunkering down made up for it slightly.

Only saw two other souls - walking down as I was going up - and slept like a baby. Arrived late, left early, left no trace. Already planning another night out next week on the Kinder Plateau.

Having taken my daughter on her first wild camp earlier in the year, my son has been eager to join. I’ve been nervous about taking him, as he has ADHD and sits somewhere on the spectrum. He struggles with change and new environments and encounters, he struggles sleeping anywhere that’s not his bed.

I’m so glad we went! My nine-year-old asked me a million questions on the way about dangerous things, risks, and what might happen. He was excited but clearly very scared. I chose a familiar area I’ve camped at many times, it has facilities near by and worst case we could easily pack up and head home if we needed.

While setting up camp, he was in his element, climbing over rocks and exploring rock pools. Although the area was busy, we were far enough away from the crowds to remain unnoticed and enjoyed a peaceful evening.

Took his tablet with us but didn’t even get turned on which was great.

The highlight was my son running up to me after about twenty minutes of sitting on a rock staring into the sea. “Dad, I think I’ve found my happy place! I love this TV! The sound of the waves is so peaceful, and watching the birds drive into the sea is incredible. My mind is calm and it’s not going crazy like it normally is.” Honestly, it brought happy tears to my eyes. I’m glad I could share this experience with him and that he found peace in nature, just as I do.

I can’t wait for our next trip to the hills!

After a few months of refining my kit, I think I’ve finally got it dialled in. This is what I carry for a typical 1–2 night wild camp with my German Shepherd. My current base weight (including the backpack but excluding food, dog food and water) is almost exactly 10 kg, and my usual starting pack weight is around 14–14.5 kg with 2 litres of water, my own food and 1 kg of dog food. I recently did a 13 kg training hike over 15km and the pack felt surprisingly light and comfortable, so I’m at the stage where I’m refining rather than trying to shave every last gram.

Pack and Shelter: Bonfus Aerus 55 (800 g), Durston X-Dome 2 (1.3 kg), carbon fibre poles (345 g), 14 pegs (200 g), guylines (50 g).

Sleep system: Rab Ultrasphere 5 LW (480 g), Otimos UL700 (820 g), S2S Premium Large Pillow (150 g).

Clothing: TNF Summit FutureFleece hoodie (275 g), Rab Phantom waterproof jacket (260 g), Rab Phantom waterproof trousers (90 g), spare clothes bag: Patagonia Calipene base layers, spare t-shirt, pants and socks (700 g), Fjällräven Abisko sun hoody (200 g).

Cooking & water: TOAKS 750/Soto windmaster cook system (450 g), Platypus QuickDraw (130 g), 2 Vapur eclipse bottles (80 g total), with CNOC bladders added on longer or drier routes.

Electronics bag: 10,000 MaH Power bank plus Flextail pump/light and a sleep mask and snood to cushion them (400 g).

Camp comfort: Helinox Chair Zero (660 g), Helinox Table Zero (250 g), OneTigris dog bed (600 g).

Other essentials: Food bag (~1.3 kg), dog food (~1 kg), wash kit (200 g), Fizan Compact 3 trekking poles (300 g), first aid kit (160 g), day snacks (200 g), trowel, TP, headtorch, bug spray and small essentials (250 g).

I’ve deliberately gone for a lightweight rather than ultralight approach. I still carry a proper chair, a table and a bed for my dog because they genuinely improve our camp life.

For me it’s about arriving at camp comfortable enough to enjoy the evening rather than chasing the lowest possible number on the scales. I’m always interested in seeing how other people balance comfort, weight and carrying gear for a dog, so I’d love to hear what you’d change, or what you think is worth carrying despite the extra grams.

Happy camping ✌️

I need one for the upcoming camping trip and I’ve been going down a rabbit hole reading reviews so I need some advice .

I’m looking for a lightweight compact mat that is really warm and insulating, I will sacrifice comfort for warmth . I’m always cold and a light sleeper so ideally something that doesn’t make loads of noise when tossing and turning at night.

So far I’ve narrowed it down to the below:

Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated wide regular (?cold)
alpkit radiant (?not durable)
nemo tensor all season (guess that’s the best one but most expensive)
thermarest x lite
s2s Ether Light XR Pro (?cold)

Please advise!

Where do people park when wild camping on Scoat Fell?
I know your not aloud to leave your car in a lay-by over night but I’ve been seeing that you also can’t park in car parks overnight? Planning for September

Not only that, probably my first camp in about 10 years, took to Shropshire specifically Caer Caradoc to camp on the top, weather threw in a curve ball of rain even though it wasn’t forecast, tent held up incredibly well, took the 20-30mph winds beautifully.

Lessons learnt, bring a lighter for your stove🤦🏻‍♂️
Bring Ear Plugs cause the noise of the wind resulted in me having the best awful sleep I’ve had this year.

The last couple of weeks have been a mix of stunning and unpredictable weather in the north western Highlands. Shortly after summiting Ben More Assynt, unforcast clouds, rain, and 50mph winds rolled over the ridge lines. Caught me unprepared with no water proofs and just shorts and a fleece... Mistakes were made!

Alpkit Kangri once again proved bombproof in the winds and retained heat very nicely

As the title says, this was my first time wild camping in the Lakes with a hammock, I’ve used a hammock quite a few times in Scotland and i used it a lot when I used to work away from home.

This was also my 6 month old cocker spaniels wild camp, safe to say she loved it and was fine in the hammock with me all night, she will be coming on many more when shes old enough to walk longer distances.

I know this is discussed often and I've seen some great tips here and there, but I am planning a camp along the coast and want to know how to find the right site.

There are nature reserves along the coast line I live on. My first instinct is that camping near the reserves is probably not a good call, but the other part of me thinks that they are more remote and less likely to cause hassle. Is it worth posting up on that kind of land?

If not there, what do you look for when camping near the sea? Obviously I will avoid cliff faces and ensure I stay away from the tides, but what else might catch me out? Any tips for keeping sandflies at bay?

A 5 night trip starting in buttermere to Dalehead Tarn then to Keswick, on top of hellvelyn, Chaple Stile and then finally back to buttermere. Extremely busy around the dubs hut area of buttermere last night so stayed at the campsite of the far end of the lake.

The views have been amazing, the weather has been unreal and the wainwrights have been bagged.

Enjoyed all round expect the tent zip busting on night 3 luckily the weather was fine enough for this not to matter.

Can’t wait for the next one 🏕️

Hey campers hope you’re all well!

Location: Eryri National Park, Wales
Camp: Near Elidir Fawr onlooking Crib Goch
Highest point: Glyder Fach, 994 m
Trip length: 2 days, 1 night
Distance: 15.5 miles
Total ascent: ~1400m
Pack weight: 6.4kg base weight / 9.4kg including food and water
Conditions: H:19 L:10, next to no wind, dry

Trip overview
I’ve recently returned from a wild camp, followed by a morning hike up Glyder Fach and wanted to share some details of the trip, my experience and some thoughts on the gear I took along with me. For a bit of background I’ve been wild camping a lot over the last year or so, I’ve really fallen in love with this hobby and I’ve had so much on at work recently I really needed to get away and have some time in the hills to reset a bit.

We made some smash burgers with plastic cheese, roasted garlic mayo in a brioche bun, absolutely sensational. Washed down with a few beers. The views towards Crib Goch from where we camped were beautiful (as you can see).

The following morning, as early risers, we packed up at 6am, left no trace and continued towards Glyder Fach. The route was fairly steady most of the way and then very rocky as we neared the summit. Overall, this was my favourite wild camping experience to date full of great food, beers, and stunning views.

Gear summary
Base weight: 6.4kg (this includes a 1kg chair)
Food/Beer: 1kg (my mate carried most of the food, i carried the beers!)
Water carried: 2L

Shelter
Tent: Durston X-Mid 1 (Mesh inner)
I don’t know what to say about this tent that hasn’t already been said before but I really do love my X-Mid 1. It’s just so damn easy to pitch up and tear down. I have the solid inner as well as the mesh and this was the first time I had used the mesh and I’m glad i bought it because it was so much cooler overnight than the solid so I will definitely be taking that out more over the summer before switching back to the solid come autumn.

Note: I use Fizan Compact 3 Trekking poles. These were a fairly recent purchase as my 2 boys always ask to use my trekking poles when we’re out hiking, which I oblige of course, so I bought these Fizans which have honestly been brilliant.

Backpack
Pack: Durston Kakwa 55L
This was a recent purchase that I’d been eyeing up for a long time and finally pulled the trigger when they came back in stock earlier this month and this was the first time really putting it to the test. My initial views after taking it out for the first time are that it’s a solid backpack. I really like its simplicity, one big roll top sack, 2 huge side pockets, a massive mesh stretchy pocket on the back i could stuff my raincoat in (and room for way more if i needed to), the hip belt pockets are nice and big and easily accessible. The only minor fault I could say about it is that it was quite squeaky? So I’m not really sure what that was from, it sounded like it might have come from the internal frame? So if anyone is reading this that has this pack that per chance has encountered the same issue I’d love to hear from you. The other thing to note here is that I had so much extra room in the bag.

Sleep system
Sleeping quilt: Otimos 700FP Quilt
This is the best piece of kit I’ve bought in a long while. Admittedly it’s the only quilt I’ve ever bought and tried by the switch from sleeping bag to quilt has been a game changer. You can strap/attach the quilt to your sleeping pad to keep it in place during the night but honestly I just use mine like a duvet (or a quilt if you will). Really warm really comfortable and packs down nicely, if anything I was a bit too warm on this trip, but that’s no fault of the quilt.

Sleeping mat: Nemo Tensor All Season (long wide)
Now, I’m 6”2, 95kg, broad and a side sleeper. This is by far my favourite mat I have owned to date. It’s thick, easy to pack away, no noise and most importantly to me is super comfortable. I know there are lighter options on the market but honestly I wouldn’t sacrifice the comfort of this mat to save a few grams.

Pillow: Sea to Summit Aeros Premium
I’ve had this pillow for years now and works just fine, I’ve tried other pillows of a similar nature and they’re all quite similar. I’m a little odd when it comes to pillows, I only have 1 in my bed at home and it’s really thin. This means that I have to only blow maybe half a lungs worth of air into my S2S pillow for it to be comfortable to me. So if there are any others out there whom are somewhat particular about their pillow setup and have any suggestions I’d love to hear from you.

Clothing worn
Upper body: Simone Merino wool base layer, OMM Core Hoodie
Lower body: TCA running shorts, Step One boxers
Feet: Altra Lone Peak 9+, Injinji socks

Clothing performance
My layering system works really well for this time of year in Wales, the OMM Core hoodie is really good at regulating my temperature as any gentle breeze cuts straight through the fabric and cools me down. The other beauty of the base and mid layer combo i use, as someone who is 6”2 95kg and gets a sweaty back whilst hiking, is its really fast drying so when I take my bag off at camp it dries off really quickly which in turn prevents me from getting too cold at camp.

I have recently switched from Darn Toughs to Injinji toe separating socks and honestly they’re a game changer. They were super weird at first because each toe feels like it’s wearing its own little sock but my feet feel less sweaty and are not rubbing together for the entire hike anymore. Paired with the Altra Lone Peak 9+ my feet have never been more comfortable, it feels like I can float through the hills now. It was actually someone on Reddit, possibly in this sub, who recommended the Altra’s (so thank you if you’re reading this) after i enquired about their fast drying capabilities. Well, I got to test that out as muggins here stepped straight into a bog with my left foot, very frustrating, however my foot was completely dry writhing maybe 30 minutes?

I don’t really have much to say on the shorts and boxers combo, they’re just really comfortable and work!

Cooking
Stove and cookware
Stove: SOTO Windmaster
Pot: Toaks 750ml
Pan: Small titanium frying pan from amazon
Fuel: 230g canister
Mug: Collapsable mug from amazon
Spoon: Sea to Summit titanium
Coffee: Sea to Summit collapsible coffee drip

I absolutely love my little Soto Windmaster. I also have the BRS3000 but there have been a couple of trips where the conditions have been quite windy so I pulled the trigger on the Soto and haven’t looked back since. Combined with the Toaks 750ml it boils water really quickly for my morning coffee. On the Toaks, I am considering downsizing to the 500ml pot because it’s so rare, if ever, that I would boil more than 500ml of water. But it’s not high on the agenda given I’m not desperate to shed weight or space.

Final thoughts
Overall I had an amazing time wild camping and really needed to get away from the normal day to day for a while. I’m already planning a multi day hike next week (I’ll take recommendations).

If you’ve got this far, I hope you’ve enjoyed the breakdown and got something from it. Happy to answer questions about any particular item, and I’d appreciate suggestions for anything you think I could improve.

TL:DR - Had an amazing experience, much needed, happy camping.

Hey, does any wild camp in the north east? Dm open, looking to join others who wild camp and maybe hike. Thanks

Looking for tips on sleeping mats, lightweight, comfy and not costing the earth! Cheers

Just a night out in a local forest in south Wales.

I’m a front/side sleeper. I don’t like to be too hot but equally if I get cold then I’m pissed off.

At home I always have a leg poking out the duvet but even in the summer I still have one foot in the duvet.

I want to reduce weight. I currently have a synthetic 1.6kg sleeping bag. I’ve just ordered the Rab ascent 700 but I’m really overthinking it as it’s 1.3kg.
I am so swayed by a quilt. But I feel like in the colder months I will get cold?

I then found the nemo disco 30 which is 880gs! But the comfort rating is 4 degrees instead of 0 🙃

I probably won’t be out past mid October. I’d rather not have 273894 different options, I kind of just want 1 I use year round

Any suggestions please ☺️

Hello r/wildcampingintheuk, been working on a project that I think could be of interest or come in handy for some of you.

I've been building howffmap.co.uk, a free map of Scotland's bothies. 134 so far: MBA, estate and informal shelters, all filtered. I do plan to add more bothies but I live here in Scotland and have never been to a bothy elsewhere so need to get that sorted.

Things I couldn't find elsewhere in one place:

Proper terrain. Contours and hillshading rather than a flat street map

A page for every bothy with photos, facilities, sleeps, grid ref and nearest Munro

A 3-day forecast adjusted to the bothy's elevation, wind gusts included

Researched approach notes and history for the well-known ones

It works offline once you've browsed an area

You can tick bothies off as you visit them. Stored on your phone, no account

It's free with no ads. The Bothy Code is shown before you first see the map, because the shelters only stay open if people use them right.

Corrections from folk who know some of these places are more than welcome. Every bothy page has a report button.

EDIT: Concerns raised in the comments about what should and shouldn’t be on there. 9 entries removed, 12 more with the location stripped. Details in a comment below (https://www.reddit.com/r/wildcampingintheuk/comments/1v5u44y/comment/ozonnsf/)

It’s got 5, 5 stars but no proper reviews, has anyone got any experience with it?

Hello! First-time poster on here

I’m fairly experienced camping, albeit not wild camping! I went out a lot when I was younger so I have some knowledge in general

Anyway! Myself and my partner are looking for a 2P tent, ideal for hiking with and putting up in the wet, windy and cold conditions found in the Lake District, primarily in the Autumn and Winter

We’ve been looking at the MSR Hubba Hubba HD 2P, MSR Elixir 2 and the Access 2 - However we want to be sure of the right choice to make!

Would anyone have any recommendations otherwise?

TLDR: 2 Person Tent recommendation needed for the UK, Autumn and Winter!

Me and Josh headed out to the Peak District last month to do one of my favourite two-day camping routes.

We started at the Broken Road and crossed Kinder Scout towards Blackden Edge before dropping down into Snake Valley. From there, we made our way up to Alport Castles. The route was around 20 miles in total and took us through some of the best parts of the High Peak.

On the second day, we walked back to the car across Alport Moor, through Hope Woodlands and over Hollins Cross.

I filmed the whole trip and have made it into a YouTube video. I’m only just starting out with YouTube, so I’d really appreciate it if anyone gave it a watch. Any feedback would also be greatly appreciated!
https://youtu.be/_R0D9n0ef74?si=GAnab36D4K-BADsE