As I stare at the stream of red lights making their way south on the M1, I am buzzing and feel totally alive. I know that this makes me sound like some mad traffic spotter, which I’m not by the way. What I am is a man, who has just enjoyed his first solo wild camp on Kinder Scout, and if you didn’t already guess, I absolutely loved it.

Perhaps one of the main reasons I can hardly sit still in my seat is because this trip so nearly didn’t happen. I had originally arranged to visit the Peak District with my girlfriend Louise. A Premier Inn near Chesterfield would be our base and we’d enjoy day trips from it. Sadly, she caught Covid the day before we were meant to leave, so was forced into isolation. The accommodation was non-refundable and it seemed the trip was a write-off. Rather than spending the evening in the hills, I was delivering food to Louise’s front door and then having to keep my distance for obvious reasons.

It was here that we discussed me still visiting on my own. I clearly couldn’t see Louise that weekend and the accommodation was booked for Friday night too. I procrastinated for the rest of the evening, wondering whether it was right to go and enjoy the hills while Louise sat at home. In the end I took the bull by the horns and decided to head up late on the Friday. My camping gear also came along for the ride too!

Friday night at the Premier Inn was very comfortable. Those adverts with Lenny Henry crashing onto the beds are certainly true. It was the most comfortable bed I’ve experienced in a while and I slept like a baby. Breakfast the following morning was also divine. I enjoyed cereal, pancakes and a delicious fry-up. My body would be very well fueled for what I had planned on Saturday.

I decided to take the drive over to Edale, as I wanted to explore the famous Kinder Scout. It wasn’t far from where I’d searched for snow and found it two weeks before. At over 600 metres, Kinder Scout qualifies as an actual British mountain and also The Peak District’s highest point. As a geographer and lover of big views, I couldn’t resist! I had also decided to camp near the summit. Watching far too many videos on YouTube had made it look like a wonderful spot. Rude not too surely!

As I searched for a parking space in the valley, I soon realized that this spot was very popular indeed. It seemed every bay in the car park was taken as were any spots on spare verges. Luckily, I finally secured a spot, but it happened to be on a 16% gradient. I couldn’t help worry about whether my car would still be there the following day, as I wondered off downhill.

Once out of sight, those fears soon vanished and I was filled with anticipation and excitement once more. I love this feeling and I stand by my belief that the start of a trip is always the best part. You can’t help but wonder how the trip will play out, what you might see and who you might meet.

The walk started gently enough, but the path soon steepened as Jacob’s Ladder came into view. It looked near-on vertical, but the incredible scenery made up for it. I’ll never tire of babbling mountain streams and this one was no different. Apart from the wind, all I could hear were the sounds of distant waterfalls. Lovely!

I really enjoyed the climb. My cycling training has fallen off a cliff so to speak, but this ascent was great work for the legs. The burn in the muscles felt good and I enjoyed the fact it got me out of breath. The faces of others around me suggested they didn’t all feel the same way! I allowed myself the odd stop to enjoy the great landscape around me.

Eventually, the gradient became less severe and the landscape changed. I was now in the clouds and rocks of all shapes and sizes started revealing themselves. I’ve seen many videos showing great weather up here. At first I thought it a shame to be stuck in fog, but I soon changed my mind. It made an already unusual landscape even more mysterious and other-worldy. I could almost have been in Jurassic Park and I half-expected to hear the distant roar of a T-Rex.

After taking in the incredible scenery around me, I set about searching for a spot to camp. I was wandering for while, as it seemed impossible to find a flat piece of ground. The wind was also very strong, so shelter from it was important. I finally found what looked like the perfect spot and set about getting the tent up.

I really struggled with the wind and it seemed I’d never get it pitched. Anxiety was starting to kick in a bit, but just then I heard an unexpected but much welcomed voice. There in front of me was a smiling young woman offering me a hand. We got chatting and I soon discovered this hero was actually called Vanessa. She had come all the way from Kent to experience some down-time and happened to be a bit of a camping pro.

As we ambled back up to her spot, we realized she was only about two minutes way. It may sound soppy, but I was actually really pleased to have a neighbour. I had been nervous about wild camping so far from civilisation and knowing she was this close gave great peace of mind. The fact that she was brilliant company and just a cracking person made it all the better. We had a good chat and it was almost uncanny how much we had in common. Up here I’d just so happened to meet another primary school teacher with a love of travel and wild camping. I thoroughly enjoyed her stories about camping in Scandinavia, which were both hilarious and inspiring. It was also great to learn, how like me she had reduced her working hours after covid struck. It seemed she was in a really happy place in life, which I could certainly relate to.

Vanessa decided to get an early night as it appeared a good sleep marathon is part of her usual camping agenda. With that, I headed back to my tent and set about sorting my stuff out. I learned very quickly that I’m one of the world’s worst faffers. All I seemed to do was move things from one side of the tent to the other. I then sat on a sandwich I had carried up with me and knocked over a bottle of water. I hope Vanessa didn’t hear too many of the choice words coming out of my mouth!

Dinner was rather delicious as I enjoyed a bean stew. I did think at one point that I would be eating it cold. The Jet Boil just wouldn’t stay lit and it took ages to find a decent sheltered spot. My food was washed down with a lovely beer and topped off with a Bakewell Tart for dessert. Does it get much better? Perhaps it does, but for me that night it was heavenly.

Once I had filled my tummy, I lay back on my comfy Thermarest sleeping mat and relaxed. Finally, I would get to enjoy my sister Ellie’s Christmas present- the excellent book by Simon Reeve. I’ve only read part of it, but already highly recommend a read, especially if you already love the work he’s done on TV.

By 10pm I was exhausted and ready for a good night’s sleep. I snuggled up in my sleeping bag and just enjoyed the darkness and silence. The wind had almost vanished and it was blissful. I had no issues drifting off, but sadly I was woken only a couple of hours later by my bladder. Perhaps those couple of whiskeys before bed weren’t the best idea after all! Anybody who camps knows that getting up to go to the toilet is one of the worst things a human can face, especially in winter. It was freezing and once back inside, it took me ages to warm up again.

I endured broken sleep for the rest of the night and was pleased to get up and start breakfast at just before seven. It was still dark and I sat for a while, just taking in the peace and solitude. The landscape was slowly starting to reveal itself. I could trace the outlines of hill tops across the valley and the smooth edges of the rocks littering the landscape.

A coffee with beans and sausages woke me up and set me up for the journey back. I even enjoyed the flattened sandwich with it from the previous day. At just gone eight, I knew Vanessa had woken as I heard a distant swear word. It made me giggle as I knew she was probably experiencing one the many things that had made me do the same thing during my stay. With that, I rambled up to her spot to see how she was. It turns out she had really felt the cold too and hadn’t slept brilliantly. She may not have felt 100%, but I reckon she modelled the MSR tent pretty well still.

Soon afterwards, I left Vanessa to enjoy her breakfast while I packed my tent away. It took me a ridiculously long time once again, so much so that Vanessa came by with her pack loaded to say goodbye. I was slightly embarrassed by how long I was taking, but impressed with how quick she was. Hopefully I’ll get there eventually with a few more camps under my belt.

At just before nine I started the journey back. I would re-trace my steps, but this was easier said than done in the fog. I got a bit lost and started to worry about where I was heading. Kinder Scout covers a huge area and I didn’t fancy getting stranded up here, especially with little water left. The few streams I had seen marked on the OS map were as dry as the Atacama. This was taking dry January to a new level!

Thankfully I located a familiar pile of rocks on a path, which I’d taken the previous day. This put some wind in my sails and the rest of the descent was enjoyable. I even had a bit of a wash in the mountain stream at the bottom of Jacob’s Ladder. That certainly woke me up!

The final leg of the walk back saw me reflecting on the previous 24 hours. It felt like I’d been out much longer than this. I suppose I’d done so much, as there are many little jobs to do when wild camping in between the relaxing and soaking in the surroundings. I had really felt like I’d properly lived too. I had put myself out there and challenged myself, not knowing what it would be like or who I might meet. It turns out it was more than worth it.