Category Archives: outdoors

outdoors

Whitehills Wood – a local Blair Witch Project?

#backtothehills, hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors, Walking

Easter Day the store is closed so I have the day off. 
I had planned to take Dolly out yesterday but I did some overtime instead. With three expensive kickstarters all finishing within a month I needed the money.

So today I was really determined to go out somewhere with Dolly. I even prepared the bags the evening before.

I didn’t have a destination in mind as I threw stuff into the bag. But as I woke up I knew I wanted to avoid bank holiday honey spots. Which meant the coast was out, as was Roydon Common. I wanted to get away from the crowds and find somewhere Dolly and I could just chill.

The plan was to go to the woods near to Roydon Common, Whitehills Wood. 
It’s actually a bigger wider wood than that at Roydon Common. On paper easier to go off path to find that quiet spot.

The parking spot for the woods isn’t sign posted at all. It comes up on you suddenly. Which means the cars behind you are getting little notice you are about to slow down very quickly. It doesn’t help that the entrance to the car park is very pothole ridden. Making for a very bumpy stop! 
The woods themselves is a mixture of coniferous trees (the majority) and deciduous trees. There are also a lot of rhododendrons amongst the trees. Which provide some nice cover deeper into the woods to do bushcrafty stuff, or just chill.

Dolly and I followed the main path that we found out was not going to take us anywhere close to the pond shown on the os map.

We were going to have to go off path to find the pond.

It also turns out the main path also missed out a chunk of the woods. Undiscovered woods to discover at a later date.

On our way
On our way 2
We missed the hoofed ones
Only water we found

Not long after going off path along a deer track I saw what looked like a small wooden door in an embankment.
Ignoring all the lessons learnt from watching numerous eighties slasher flicks, such as (the classic Friday the 13th, and Halloween series of movies) Dolly went to investigate.

With the moss well established this had been here a while.
As I got closer I thought maybe this was some bushcraft underground shelter.
Lifting the door open to see inside there wasn’t much space inside. 
If this was a shelter it was for a very small person. I’d say it was at most three feet deep, by what two feet? 
Things got more mysterious when I found a hole going down into the “shelter”. It didn’t go straight into it but curved at the bottom going into the back of the “shelter”. Was this a chimney? Was this some sort of bushcraft oven?

Hole goes down into the mysterious shelter
Entrance to the tiny shelter

After the brief exploration of the mysterious “shelter” we continued on following the deer path hopefully to water.

Instead of finding water we found what looked like some eco vandals aka bushcrafters had been building shelters and making fire.

I decided to use this as good as any spot to stop and have our lunch.

Was this an attempt at some sort of shelter?
From the other side it looked so
Fire pit
Dolly shares her view on these eco vandals

Todays lunch was cooked on my BushBuddy.

Yes that is a Fire-Maple Dandelion Buddy Camping Table in the picture below. You will also notice titanium chopsticks (yes I’m that guy) plus a folding chef knife from Hector Knives. I obviously used the knife to slice up the salami. Naturally Dolly and I had to taste test the salami as I was slicing it.

I started the fire using the BCB ferro rod with paper thin birch bark. None of the wood burnt was from these woods. In fact it was kindling I bought at a garage. 

The ingredients I took were the following:

  • ramen noodles
  • freeze dried garden peas
  • freeze dried sweet corn
  • freeze dried carrots
  • two dried shitaki mushrooms broken up
  • Two piccanti fine cut spicy salami sliced up
  • packet of soy sauce
  • chicken oxo cube
  • packet of Furikake seasoning
  • water

I basically put everything but the soy sauce and Furikake seasoning in the pot, bought to the boil. I’d like to say I them simmered it but that would imply I had some sort of control over the heat!
Once everything was cooked and rehydrated and I was ready to eat, I then stirred in the soy sauce and sprinkled on the Furikake seasoning.

I have to say this was pretty tasty. I did not share this with Dolly.

After having a drink of squash I packed up leaving no trace we’d been there.

We then retraced our steps back to the path and continued our circuit back to the car.

This was a very nice woodland walk. It felt like a woods where you could get lost exploring its depths. Something missing when you walk round the Roydon Common woods. It’s too thin.

Roydon Common Upper Field

#backtothehills, hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors, Walking

It’s the second week of good weather here in the UK.

I originally planned to take Dolly to Thetford on my day off. But plans change, the lure of staying in bed that little bit longer too strong.

In the end the choice I made was to go back to Roydon Common.

We were just going to take it easy in the “heat” and just wander round what I call the upper field.

This time we walked the part of the previous walk in reverse. Which meant we did the height gain early, and make use of a water stop for Dolly.

By the time we got to the water trough Dolly was ready to climb in for her drink. I got her bowl and scooped out some water for her.

The water bottle used today
Saving her energy for the walk in the car
Dolly’s snack today
Trying to make me feel guilty
I like this too
Lazy bastards
Dolly says she has an alibi
A much needed water source

As we continued round the upper field I saw three hares doing hare stuff like chasing each other. But Dolly was oblivious to them.

We found a shaded spot to stop and chill.

I felt it was too hot for coffee. So I didn’t break out my BushBuddy stove. Instead I had my Crystal Lite squash powder.

Dolly had more water, some biltong, and I had cheese and biscuits. Naturally Dolly also wanted what I was having too.

After our chill break we continued on with our walk.

Once back at the car I gave Dolly some more water before heading off home.

Holkham Beach April 2025

#backtothehills, hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors, rambling, Walking

Yesterday the weather was perfect for me.

Not too hot, not too cold.

A perfect spring day in fact.

Made more so with the fact it was my day off.

So after what can best be described as a relaxed start to the day, Dolly and I made off for destinations unknown.

Well I had possibilities. A return to Roydon Common? Maybe the coast? If the coast where? Heacham or Holkham?

Eventually as we drove round Kings Lynn a decision was made.

Apple Maps was instructed to guide us to Holkham beach.

The last time I was on Holkham beach it was with Strider, over a decade ago.

It was when Strider and I spent the night on the beach. The morning was magical. I took my favourite photo of Strider (see above) as the glow of the dawn sun began to start warming us up.

Since that magical time with Strider I have not been back.

But yesterday was about Dolly and introducing her to this beautiful piece of the Norfolk coast.

After leaving the car park and crossing into this national nature reserve Dolly was off the lead.

We followed the path that put the woodland between us and the beach.

Dolly was amazing off the lead. Even when there were other dogs.

It’s rude not to share
Dolly discovers ice cream
Signs of eco vandalism aka bushcrafting
Why we can’t have nice things
Decision time
ZZTop mode

We walked about a mile, which took us to the second hide, and the farthest edge of the woods, before we followed the path to the beach.

It was rather windy on the beach. A complete contrast to the sheltered path we had just come from.

We walked towards the sea. Which was out. Way way out.

We didn’t make it to the sea, maybe three quarters of the way before heading back.

But Dolly did really enjoy being on the sand.

There was no way we were going to walk along the beach into a head wind back to the car.

Instead we used the woodland to give us shelter from the wind a provide a rest spot.

While Dolly topped up on water and beef jerky. I too had water (no fires – Kelly kettle out, or camping stoves allowed to protect the nature reserve), and cheese and biscuits.

After that brief stop we followed the some of the many paths that cut through the woodland. The majority spanning the width of the woodland connecting the beach and dunes with the path on the opposite side.

Back at the car park we dropped our stuff off at the car and made our way the very short distance back to the ice cream van. Where I bought Dolly and myself an ice cream.

Dolly was unsure about her ice cream to start with. But she soon over came that uncertainty and decided she really liked it.

On our drive home on the road boarding the Holkham hall estate I saw a massive red kite. Such a beautiful buzzard.

I think Dolly enjoyed her afternoon at the beach.

Chillin’ in the woods

hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors, rambling, Walking

As I was throwing stuff together for todays walk a shower hit. This was the turn for the worse I was expecting for the week.

It was definitely feeling a bit chillier.

But the cold and rain were not going to put me (or Dolly) off going on our walk.

By the time we hit the A47 I’d decided our destination would be back to the woodlands at Roydon Common.

Dolly was off lead for the majority of this walk, and she was really well behaved.

We explored a couple of side paths.

Which gave me a better picture of the woods. I collected a little birch bark to use as tinder.

Some of which I used to start the fire in today’s stove. Oh the stove I was using was the Kelly Kettle Trekker.

Part of these brew stops is getting Dolly used to being off lead, not wandering off, and chilling out.

I enjoyed using the Kelly Kettle. Well playing with fire (responsibly) is fun.

I didn’t mess around I used my bic lighter to start the fire. The wood I was using was some kindling I bought recently from a petrol station. Plus some twigs I’d gathered over 10 years ago!

Dolly is really sure now that she likes beef jerky! As if there was any doubt. But the jerky does make a nice treat for her during our brew stop. Plus I can have a bit too.

We had been very lucky with the weather because our walk and brew stops had no sign of rain. In fact there was some hint of the sun breaking through and blue skies!

In our wandering some of the paths we followed were definitely deer paths. I even saw a Muntjac ahead of us at one point. One such path revealed what was a “pond” that was obviously a source of water for the local wildlife. Surprisingly it was close to the actual main path, but not visible from that path.

Yeah we had a fun chill walk in the woods again.

Games and woods!

#backtothehills, Fenland Gamers, game night, hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors, Walking

Last night was once again club night.

With no Anthony to troll him this week Marcin was going to have a stress free evening.

It was good to see and play some games with Jonathan. It’s been way too long since we last sat at table and played a game.

We started off with a game of flip 7 which I won comfortably. Somehow Marcin reached the heady heights of 26 points and never managed to add any more to his total.

Our next game was Rebel Princess. Which Marcin redeemed himself by winning easily. Luckily he didn’t manage to keep a zero points score. Can’t have him matching my zero score in the last game.

Our final game was Wild Gardens. It’s an interesting action selection, resource gathering, contract fulfilment game.

This one took nearly two hour to play. It could have been quicker but when one player has ap what can you do?

Marcin won this game to.

It was a fun evening apart from the ap inflicted player dragging the game out. Plus it was really great to see Jonathan again.

Thursday evening I caught the Met Office YouTube channel warning that after the weekend the weather would once again get worse.

So I mentally made a plan to go out with Dolly on my day off.

On our way out I needed to get some petrol inside the car, otherwise we weren’t going to get very far.

At the petrol station while paying I picked up a packet of beef jerky to use as a dog treat on the walk. Which wasn’t a bad option considering there were no actual dog treats to be bought.

We then headed off towards Roydon Common. But instead of parking at the first car park we carried on to the second car park.

This was a much smaller car park that was also in the woodland that I was aiming for on our previous walk.

We were seeing wildlife almost instantly. The woods were alive with bird song. I was pleasantly surprised seeing a butterfly fluttering across the path a couple of times. It was a brimstone I think.

The woods seem to be crawling (at l ast five) with Muntjac feeding just off to the side of the path. Dolly never even noticed them as they froze hoping not to be seen. Pretending to be a statue by the Muntjac allowed me to get the phone out for a photo.

Brew stop
Muntjac
Muntjac
Todays brew
Boundless Voyage Titanium Cookware Set with the Phantom – Ultralight Stove

The path we were on was the one I was hoping to connect up to when we came here previously.

Instead of connecting up with our previous route we cut across to edge of the wood that bordered the common.

It was on this return leg that we stopped to have a brew.

For this brew stop I was using the Boundless Voyage Titanium Cookware Set with the Phantom – Ultralight Stove.

While I was waiting for my water to boil I gave Dolly some water and we shared the jerky. By share I mean I had a couple of pieces and Dolly had the rest.

It was this return leg that I tried Dolly off the lead. I was forced earlier to briefly take her off so we could get over a fence using a sty and dog hole in the fence too far from the sty.

Dolly was really good off the lead. Didn’t run off, stayed close.

I think she enjoyed the little bit of extra freedom.

As we got close to the car park I put Dolly back on her lead. I’m glad she was. There was an owner getting out of his car, his dog not on a lead or his control. He had no idea I was there or with a dog. A fecking idiot. Luckily nothing happened but I hate stupid dog owners like this.

But that last bit aside Dolly and I had a great walk in the woodland. Plenty of little paths for us to explore on return visits.

BCB Crusader Mk1 Cooking System

#28MilesInFebruary, #backtothehills, Camping/hiking gear, charity, Cooksets, fund raising, hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors

Here we are with my second new setup for making a brew whilst out on a walk or even a meal. But this is equally at home on a backpacking trip also.

The BCB Crusader Mk1 Cooking System isn’t the lightest cooking system by a long shot.

There are two versions of the cook system from BCB. The main difference between the two are the crusader cooker and cup. The Mk1 crusader cup has a capacity of 750ml, whilst the Mk2 has a capacity of a litre. I also think the Mk2 crusader cup is lighter. The crusader cookers are also very different. The Mk1 is much shorter and meant to be a solid fuel only stove. While the Mk2 is taller, more ventilation, and can use multiple fuel sources. Whether that’s solid fuel, alcohol burners, or even a fire.

I’ve gone with the Mk1 version because it is a shorter form factor compared to the Mk2.

A brand new Mk1 cookset from BCB comes in at £95. However you can pick used ones (army surplus) much cheaper. For your money you get the following: “Plastic Mug & Water bottle (Osprey / NATO), Crusader Cup Lid, Crusader Cup, Crusader Cooker, Zulu Belt pouch, Fireball Flint and Striker” (plus some solid fuel blocks).

It is possible to use a Trangia with the Mk1 Crusader cooker if you use an alcohol stove cross stand (see the photos below).

How the crusader cup would be used with the crusader stove
The plastic Osprey water bottle, plastic cup, lid, and ferro rod
The Crusader stove
How the Trangia can be used with the Mk1 crusader stove
Everything inside minus the Trangia
How the Trangia can be used with the Mk1 crusader stove a better shot
The inside of the pouch showing the little pocket
The belt pouch
The official plastic lid and the third party (eBay) metal lid

Ok the water bottle has a capacity of a litre, and its companion plastic mug has a capacity of 500ml.

Compared to the Boundless Voyage titanium cook set in the previous post this is heavier. For starters it has the water bottle and mug which the other set doesn’t have. Oh and the handy ferro rod. And to be fair you would need to have if using the other set. Otherwise I don’t think the difference in weight if considering just the cooker and crusader cup, although heavier is too big.

The advantage this has over the Boundless Voyage setup is you can use just solid fuel tablets with it, with no need for a meths burner. Saving a bit of weight there. Granted not a great deal. But still.

For the record I also have the Mk2 crusader cooker. So for me that is also an option. But also shows you can just buy the bits of this system that you want quite easily. It’s also possible to replace the plastic crusader lid with a third party (usually custom made, see photo above) metal lid.

What I like also about this setup is it’s literally bombproof. After all this is designed for use by the British Army. It’s meant to be able to take a lot of abuse.

Well that’s the brief look at the BCB Crusader Mk1. I think I have at least one other newish one to share in another post. So more to come.

Boundless Voyage Titanium Cookware Set

#28MilesInFebruary, #backtothehills, Camping/hiking gear, charity, Cooksets, fund raising, hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors

This is the first in a series of posts where I will look at recent purchases that can be used as a cookset for backpacking/camping. These are cooksets for a single person, not intended for cooking for multiple people.

I think any of these cooksets covered in this and future posts would be great in a day pack for a walk, or possible backpacking trip.

Yet again a YouTube video got me ordering more gear.

This time it was the Boundless Voyage Titanium Cookware Set.

What do you get for your money? For starters you get an 800ml canteen cup aka a pot, a mesh storage bag, a lid for the pot, and what they describe as a wood stove. Like some of the canteen sets out there this cooker allows you to have a fire to do your cooking. However for me that would be a last resort.

The problem for me with using this type of cooker/stove with a fire is the scar it would leave behind. Not very leave no trace. Yes you could use something to place this on to try and avoid that. But I think it would still leave a mark on the ground.

Everything inside
Wood stove
folding titanium spoon, and a BCB Fireball Flint and Striker
Goshawk OP-100
800ml canteen cup aka a pot
800ml canteen cup aka a pot
Goshawk OP-100
Wood stove
Lid
Mesh storage bag

My preference for heat source would be a Trangia or some other alcohol/solid fuel stove. The stove then acts like a windshield and pot support.

The lid itself for the canteen isn’t very tight fitting.

What I like about the pot is that you have the handles on the side plus the handle to hang it with. Although to be fair I’m more likely to be using this handle to remove the pot off the heat than hanging it over an open fire.

I’ve not weighed it but it is listed as weighing in at 230g.

To this cook set I’ve added the Goshawk OP-100 alcohol stove, a folding titanium spoon, and a BCB Fireball Flint and Striker.

Plus at just shy of £38 (from Aliexpress) this isn’t bad value for a cookset.

This is a nice compact cook set that doesn’t take up much space. The only thing I’d need adding to this is a cup of some sort.

Another fine mess tin!

#backtothehills, outdoors, Touching My Father's Soul

In a previous post I wrote about what army surplus gear means to me.

That post explains this latest purchase from eBay.

For my money I got these British army mess tins, that came with a Firedragon stove and fuel. I think these Firedragon stoves replace the esbit stoves and fuel. Apparently esbit fuel has become illegal to use, sell, own without a license from the Government. It turns out nasty people can use it to make things go bang. Or that’s the thinking behind this “ban”.

They also had a pleasant surprise included that I wasn’t expecting. But more on that in a moment.

I’ve not been able to confirm one hundred percent that these are the mess tins that the Paras were using when Dad was serving in the late sixties.

But the likely hood is very strong.

When mum saw these mess tins after I opened up the parcel they came in, her words were “didn’t we have some like this?”

Which makes me think that at some point in my childhood we did have them. Most likely dads. What happened to them I have no idea.

The surprise I mentioned above was the seller had included a bag of “random” ration kit stuff.

There was a plastic long handled spork! Pot scourer, matches, water purification tablets, wipes, sugar, couple tea bags, hot drink whitener, some mystery sauces. My French (I think that’s the language) is nonexistent.

I do want to play with the Firedragon fuel. That will work in the Crusader mk1 or mk2 stove.

Will I use this mess kit? I think this may be used when I’m car camping with the Naturehike duel stove I have. But this in reality was bought as a piece of nostalgia.

Touching My Father’s Soul

#backtothehills, outdoors, Touching My Father's Soul

I think I have an addiction to army surplus gear.

Part of my gear refresh has seen me purchase one or two items. Such as the BCB crusader mk1 cookset, a British army basha, a British army artic sleeping bag, US Marine bivy bag from the modular sleep system, a Dutch army hooped bivy bag, and a USGI poncho are the items that come to mind as I start writing this post.

Why?

The gear isn’t the lightest, most hi tech latest and greatest walking/outdoor kit. Although it is great value. Often cheaper than a similar “civilian” product.

The gear is also usually a lot more robust. Able to keep working after taking a lot more abuse than regular gear could. Yes it’s built to a higher spec. It has to be. A soldier has to be able to rely on the kit in much more harsh environments than your average hiker/bushcrafter will ever experience.

But I think there is another reason why I’m drawn to it.

My dad was in 2 Para D Company in the late sixties to early seventies. He left the army not long after my brother was born.

Although I was born in Wisbech. The first two years of my life were spent in Aldershot. Which at the time was the home of the Parachute Regiment.

Growing up my brother and I were very typical little boys. Always playing soldier. Especially on days out to Sandringham, or camping trips to Thetford. We had dad’s old beret as part of our play gear. We even had homemade shields from old playboards.

I have vague memories of going to army shows as a kid, along with family days held by the TA. Which saw kids being able to fire guns on the firing range. Supervised obviously. Of the shows I have memories of helicopters, armoured personnel carriers, and tanks being there for kids etc to explore and climb over. I remember cargo netting for climbing, even death slides.

Some of our birthday parties were at the old TA hall in Wisbech (now long gone and replaced by an Aldi).

There used to be an army surplus store at Eye. Which dad took us to once or twice. I enjoyed my visits. Always leaving with something. I was in the scouts at this time. It was on an over night camp at the old scout hut (now built over) that I wore a surplus wool shirt purchased from Eye. Boy was it itchy.

I think part of me sees getting and using this army surplus kit as Jamling Tenzing Norgay describes so well with the title of his book, (and I borrowed for the title of this post) Touching My Father’s Soul.

There was never a chance I’d join the army. Despite that being my life ambition when I was under the age of ten. There would only be one regiment I would ever be able to join. As a teenager I knew that I wasn’t up to doing that. My skills lay in other areas. The home computer boom of the early eighties had shown me I had a talent for programming.

I know that in his note to me dad said I was a good son. But I can’t help thinking that if I’d followed him into the Paras he would have been really proud.

I did have a spell in the air cadets (mainly because my mates were in it) and got my marksmanship badge. I’m not sure how dad felt about that.

I think this is my way of saying my early years were as an army kid.

Dad took his own life in 1988 at the age of 42. I was 20 at the time. Going over the events of that morning is maybe for another day. I’ve now lived more than 14 years longer than him. That day has been with me ever since.

This surplus gear for me on a personal level feels like I’m connecting with dad. Yes it’s not gear he actually used. But similar. However just having it, using it (eventually), somehow creates a link between us.

Using the protractor to work out a compass bearing on a map. It’s something dad would have done. Somehow in that moment I’m following in his footsteps.

One day before I get too long in the tooth I too will under take my version of the journey Jamling Tenzing Norgay took by jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.

Until then I will continue to think of dad every time I use a bit of military kit.

Mystery Solved!

#backtothehills, outdoors

Did you even know there was a mystery that needed solving?

I have recently been tempted to purchase a BCB Crusader Mk1 cookset.

This is a cookset that was apparently issued to British forces (replaced by a Mk2) It consists of a cooker, pot, water bottle, and cup. These all stack into a neat tower that fits into a storage pouch.

I went for the Mk1 over the Mk2 because of the shorter form factor. The stove and pot are shorter. I particularly liked the look of the smaller pot over the taller mk2 pot.

So I went onto eBay and bought the BCB Crusader Mk1 cookset, along with the BCB mini fireball flint and striker, the BCB cup lid, the BCB pouch. I also bought the Mk2 Multi-Fuel stove as well (just out of curiosity, it should work with the Mk1 stuff nicely).

But whilst I was waiting for my new purchases to arrive I kept seeing how to modify your BCB Crusader Mk1 to work with a trangia strove videos on YouTube.

I was asking myself why aren’t they using the stove cross stand you can get for the trangia? Is the stand too big and won’t fit?

Granted with a trangia sitting in the stove the pot has to sit on the trangia itself. Which means you can’t use the trangia. The video below shows the issue and their solution.

But does it warrant cutting out the base of the stove as I saw in one video? Or as above the use of a grill? Even not using a trangia but using a coil of wick?

When the kit arrived late last week I quickly opened it, and dug out the trangia and the stove cross stand.

I inserted the trangia in the stove base, assembled the cross stand. Lo and behold it fitted.

Why were all these bushcraft YouTubers making life so much more complicated?

Yes the crusader pot isn’t sitting nicely partially enclosed in the cooker base. It is slightly higher.

But you aren’t cutting the cooker, carrying a grill, etc.

I haven’t used this in bad weather, so I have no idea how the stove works without a windshield in its intended way. I’d imagine a windshield of some description would be needed. I have a lightweight windshield in my bag anyway. So this cross stand seems the perfect addition to me to allow the trangia to be used without any flaffing about.