I am jealous of you Welsh, Scottish and northern folk. You’ve got hills and mountains on your doorstep, which makes trips to wild and remote places easier than picking up a dodgy belly in Delhi! For us southerners though it is a right pain in the behind. My nearest mountain is probably Kinder Scout in The Peak District. To enjoy a trip here involves a round trip of over three hundred miles. Fancying a bit of wild camping and a much more manageable drive, I decided recently to head to some local hills nearby. I’d try wild camping in The Chilterns.
But Where In The Chilterns?
For those who aren’t familiar with them, The Chiltern Hills stretch from Oxfordshire all the way to Bedfordshire in south east England. They aren’t particularly high, but are still considered an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Living in Hertfordshire, I decided to head to the far north of The Chilterns to an area called The Pegsdon Hills. They are not far from the lovely town of Hitchin and I had never heard of them if I’m honest until I stumbled across them on a recent drive. There are some great walks you can enjoy in the area such as this one.
Finding A Pitch
As I left the car behind with only an hour or so of daylight left, I felt apprehensive. In front of me weren’t the wild remote moorlands of The North Pennines or the empty landscape found in The Welsh Cambrian Mountains. I was very much in the commuter zone and much populated home counties. A wild camper found in a national park is likely to be seen as an adventurer, whereas I believe that when wild camping in The Chilterns, I would probably be considered destitute! Despite these concerns, I pushed on.
I decided to climb high and looked for wooded areas, where I could hopefully hide the tent a little. The walk proved more challenging than I expected with steep slopes and dry valleys to negotiate. The Pegsdon Hills certainly impressed me more than I expected them to.
The light soon started to fade and I had to quickly find a suitable spot. I headed away from the main path and ended up pitching at the far side of a large field, with a forest bordering its edge. I wasn’t very well hidden at all and torch light inside my tent would soon turn me into a beacon. Not the original plan I had to stay well hidden, but never mind!
Settling In
Those of you reading who are regular wild campers will know that winter camping is so very different to heading out there in the summer. By 5pm it is dark and you are confined to your portable home, getting to know your tent inner better than you perhaps want to. I’m unusual in many ways and this is no different. I actually enjoy chilling in my tent with some good food, booze and a book for company. My tried and tested head torch from Decathlon was more than strong enough to ensure I wasn’t straining to see the words on the page.
On this little trip it started to rain soon after the tent was pitched, which proved very relaxing indeed. Drifting off to the rain sound effects on Alexa is soothing, but the real thing is always better. The forest also seemed to come to life too with all sorts of nocturnal sounds. As I cooked my dinner on the Jet Boil, I could hear owls tooting and deer and/or foxes barking. Bliss!
The rest of the evening was spent sipping on some rather nice beer, eating all sorts of foods I probably shouldn’t have done and enjoying a good read. A good half an hour was spent on the phone to a mate too, who thought I was bonkers when I told him where I was. That reaction happens rather a lot for some reason!
A Broken Night’s Sleep
Feeling adequately tipsy, I finally settled down for the night at just gone ten. There had been no sign of any people and with my light now out figured that I’d be very safe until the sun came up in the morning. The rain continued to fall and it was very relaxing indeed laying there with the sound of it on the tent.
I soon discovered though that my sleeping bag wasn’t up to the job in keeping me warm enough. My Thermarest XTherm sleeping mat was certainly doing its job well, but my season bag wasn’t. I can’t say I was freezing, but my wild camping in the Chilterns wasn’t exactly warm either. There was just that nagging cold feeling, which I couldn’t shrug off and it meant it took ages to finally drift off to sleep.
Thankfully, I have since invested in a much warmer bag, which I have since discovered is excellent all the way down to -5 degrees celsius. Annoyingly, Decathlon appear to have now stopped selling it, but do offer the same model with a comfort rating of 0 degrees and a limit of -5. It is lighter than mine and even cheaper again at £69.99. Click here if you wish to have a look.
An Interesting Walk Back
By around half past eight, the tent was all packed away and I enjoyed breakfast in ever improving conditions. The clouds were clearing and there was hardly a breath of wind. Almost perfect conditions to sit and enjoy the start of the new day.
Once my tummy was filled, I headed off in the rough direction of the car. The plan was to take a bit of a detour and enjoy some of the hills I hadn’t visited the previous evening due to the failing light. It was a very enjoyable walk and some excellent views were enjoyed from the higher ground.
I even came across sheep, which was a huge bonus. It seems you don’t need to go all the way to Wales to enjoy these true bosses of the hills. Unfortunately I discovered that southern sheep are rather more brazen than their Welsh cousins. I enjoyed my usual stare off with one particular flock, but then several started to walk towards me and got quicker and quicker as they got closer. I am thankful nobody was around to see a six foot man running away from what can only be described as a gang of sheep.
