I think one of the things I miss about living in Farnborough and thinking about it Crook, is being close to land you can wild camp in, practice setting up hammocks etc.
Back in Farnborough I could be walking the wolf pack, stopping for a brew in a quiet spot within 10 minutes of leaving the house. 30 minutes or more and I could be at Frensham Little Pond doing the same.
My old stove talk videos were filmed in the woods around Farnborough. And I often just chilled out in a quiet corner with the wolf pack and a brew.
In fact back in 2008 when I was told I was at risk of being made redundant, and because of this shocking bit of news given the option to take the rest of the day off. I didn’t even think twice I took them up on the “kind” offer.
Within an hour and half I had taken the train home, thrown a brew kit in the car, found a quiet spot at Fleet Pond with the wolf pack and was contemplating life, the universe, and the days events over a hot brew.
In fact apart from one other occasion during the redundancy process for signing some papers I never returned to the office. I wasn’t required to. That bit was a blessing because it was at this time Kate decided she no longer wanted to be married to me. It would have been hard to go into the office each day, concentrate on work, and pretend life was good. When it obviously wasn’t. The redundancy process spared me from all that.
But here in Wisbech I’m not so lucky on that front. I’ve yet to find those spots of refuge.
Up to an hour away is Sandringham which I think if I wild camped there might see my sleep interrupted by armed officers. My other option is around a similar traveling time, possibly a bit longer Thetford.
I do plan to explore Thetford a bit more in the future. It does seem to be a popular spot for some YouTubers to show off their bushcraft skills whilst wild camping.
There are some interesting wooded areas nearer (but still not local) that need to be investigated for suitability.
But it’s only when you no longer have it that you truly miss what you once took for granted.
In the meantime as I try and find spots that I can do a quick on the spur of the moment wild camp I’m practicing my knots.
When it comes to using a tarp and hammock I don’t like using cord with plastic (or metal) tensioning bits on them. They break, limit what the cord can be used for, etc, etc. I’m of the school that prefers to tie knots.
For me the knots I need to know when using a tarp or plan to use with my hammock are the following:
- Bowline
- Clove hitch
- Prusik knot
- Trucker’s Hitch
- Tautline hitch
So how would I be using these knots when setting up my tarp?
The bowline I’m using to attach the paracord to a tie on point of the tarp. Or giving me a loop to use for tying one end of the paracord round a tree for creating a ridge line between two trees.
The clove hitch I use to secure the paracord to my trekking poles.
Whilst I use a truckers or tautline hitch to go round the tent peg (or tree) and tension the line.
Where does the prusik knot come in? That’s for when I’m using a ridge line I can use this knot to attach a tarp or bug netting to it. I do carry a couple of pre-made prusik loops for quick and easy use. I know these prusik loops are not intended for mountaineering and climbing ropes. So the knot I’ve used for them is the common overhand knot instead of the more appropriate double fisherman’s knot for joining two ends together.
For me those 5 knots allow me to do everything I need to do with a tarp or hammock.
I’m also in this downtime prepping meal ideas.
My current experiment/idea involves soaked, then cooked, and then dehydrated beans! Which I will added freeze dried garden peas, dried carrot, dried sweet corn, dried shiitake mushrooms, and/or sliced dried mushrooms (that I dried in the dehydrator).
The idea is that these packets can be added to vegetable stock and some herbs/seasoning to make either a bean soup or stew that requires minimal cooking.