The Reasons I love Wild Camping

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For me, wild camping has always been more than just discovering beautiful places to set up camp.

It has always been something that I have done and it’s always served a unique purpose at different stages throughout my life. It’s been a relaxing hobby, an enjoyable pastime and a useful tool. It’s given me plenty of memorable adventures and allowed me to see some wonder sites.

In my teens, I packed up a bivi and cycled along Northern Spain, the Pyrenees and the South of France and  wild camped along the way in some amazing spots. Staying anywhere else apart from the wilderness never crossed my mind.

In my twenties, I lived in Germany and I used wild camping as a way to see both Germany and Austria and experience their amazing natural scenery.

Many years later, my wife, our son and I used a tent to keep costs down as we travelled across the USA.

Now that I’m older and have more responsibilities, my longer and more adventurous trips have been put on hold and replaced by mini overnight adventures. The purpose of wild camping has evolved, and so too has the benefits as I and my life have changed.  

Here are a few reasons and benefits that I currently love about wild camping, which are listed in no particular order:

Exercise

Trekking and walking to camping spots is a great way to get some enjoyable physical exercise. With the bag on my back, stuffed with all my gear, I find it gets my heart pounding, improves my fitness levels, strengthens my body and increases my stamina.

The benefits of cardio are well documented and a great way to burn off excessive calories and reduce stress. At 51, and approaching the later stages of life, I know that bone density decreases after the age of 50 along with muscle mass which decreases by about 5% per decade after 30.

Regular exercise, like carrying a rucksack while trekking, can help counteract this by strengthening bones and maintain muscle.

Solitude

Solitude is a huge reason why I love wild camping and it’s a great bit of ‘me time’, away from all the distractions of life and work.

Being alone allows me the space to slow down and have clarity of thought. In everyday life, I sometimes feel that I am trying to put square pegs in round holes, but when I am alone and walking in the countryside, with no external music or videos and only my thoughts – things become clearer.

Things seem to fall into place and the mental clutter that clouds my decisions begins to lift and I find the pegs go in the correct holes.

The time alone helps me see the next step in a plan and what should be prioritised. This naturally happens and benefits me greatly. On my return, I am able to hit the ground running and with increased energy levels.

Planning

Finding the next camping spot involves some online research where and when to go. I love this part and I can spend ages doing it at any time of the day.

While planning, I take into account my energy levels and free time allowance in my decision making. I scroll Google maps for hours and I’ve just started using whatawalk.com to look at access such as bridleways and paths.

Times of the year and seasons play a big role in my planning. I live in Dorset and I avoid the coast and the Purbeck hills during the height of summer. These areas not only get flooded by visitors during the holidays but places such as National Trust land have increased patrols and this increases the chances of being found and moved on.  

I like to use public transport if I can and this is another element that needs attention and some planning. The reason I use public transport is mainly because of parking issues and security.

Some places don’t allow overnight parking and many rural spots and car parks have warning signs reminding visitors about the risks of leaving a vehicle unattended overnight and the fact that these car parks are targeted by thieves. 

A growing appreciation of the natural world  

I’ve always loved the night sky and the great landscapes the world has to offer- especially mountains. But, as I get older, I’m beginning to see and appreciate the smaller things.

While walking, I notice things I’ve never taken the time to see before. I love the starlings over Corfe village and the migrating geese heading south for winter and the blooming wildflowers.

I know this sounds nuts, but I even take pictures of slugs and snails if they are doing something interesting. The only relationship that hasn’t bloomed is between myself and the mosquitoes and other biting beasties.

The world is a beautiful place and you just have to take the time to appreciate it. The transitional sunrises and sunsets and all their colours can be extraordinary and I never get bored of just staring up at the night sky for hours and observing all it has to offer as it comes to life.

There’s a lot of depth to be found and more to see when you’re not focusing directly on one thing but rather seeing through peripheral vision.

Occasionally something moves as a solid dot of light streaks through the sky, it’s an absolutely magical experience. It totally slows and calms me down and I just feel that I am living through a privileged moment.

The more time spent in these wild and wonderful places the more my connection to them grows. Every time I ‘m out, I have a feeling of personal responsibility to the environment I am in. A responsibility to be respectful and to minimise my impact on these places that give me so much.

I learn about my limits

I hope that this doesn’t sound pretentious but wild camping and trekking give me the opportunity to understand my limits and what I am capable of. 

It’s a great pastime full of skill learning that may seem insignificant, but the skills used can be applied to other aspects of my life. 

Previous adventures have always been a great source of learning and I’ve come out of these experiences knowing a lot more about myself than when I went in. At times, I did push a bit too hard and risks were taken, but again, I got to learn the limits and became even more respectful of those environments.

Once those skills are learned, the old adage – ‘if you don’t use it, you lose  it’-  applies here. A couple of the skills that wild camping really helps me keep topped up is the ability to adapt and accept discomfort.

Things don’t always go to plan (and for me this is a really common occurrence). The ability to think quickly and calmly to come up with an alternative is an awesome life skill that I like to keep topped up.

Sometimes there’s only so much you can do to adapt or mitigate issues and you’re left with a mess and some discomfort.  A little discomfort for a night or a few hours won’t hurt as far as I am concerned and the biggest takeaway from this is that most problems and discomfort will not last long and discomfort is usually only temporary.

I could go on about the many other benefits of wild camping, but I think I’ve shared the main reasons why I choose a night under the stars over a night under the bright lights of the city.

Wild camping holds different meanings for everyone and benefits us all in different ways. We all have our reasons for heading out – and for or me – it’s like medicine, bringing a bit of solitude into my life and a chance to slow down and recharge.

These nights out are not purely hedonistic and all about us – they come with responsibilities. A responsibility to minimise our impact on the environments we visit.

If you venture out, please take care of both yourself and the beautiful landscapes that give us so much. Respect the environment and let’s all do our part to keep it unspoiled for others to enjoy.

Please leave no trace.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via social media or the contact form which can be found on the contact page.

Your feedback is important. Let me know if you enjoyed the blog – and even if you didn’t, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for taking the time to read the article.

Many thanks

Dan

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