All The Wild Camping Options

By Dave Roberts   

on March 4, 2016    5/5 (1)

All The Wild Camping Options

For those of you who want to spend the night under the stars, there’s more than just the simple wild camping option. Here’s how to make your overnight trip one to remember.

Bivvy it. As light as you can get overnight. Basically a sleeping bag and a waterproof cover. Bivvy tents provide a bit more comfort, but they are certainly more tent than bivvy! All you need is a good sleeping bag, mat and a waterproof bivvy.

Snow Hole – Obviously an option for winter only, but well worth the experience. Great care must be taken both while building and sleeping on one of these – so take care.

Tarp Camping – In our climate, you’ll also need a bivvy bag. A tarp is simply a flysheet you set out, usually with sides open to the elements. that provides welcome shelter in the UK climate. The blue tarp below is actually a poncho tarp.

Hammock camping – if you can find a tree that is. Maybe not the best option for the mountains, but where you’ve got two trees you’ll have a bed! You’ll probably need a tarp overhead as well as a mozzie net for a comfortable night’s sleep.

Hammock Camping

Photo credit: Gronkca via Foter.com / CC BY

Lightweight Camping – Of course, the most practical option for most conditions in the UK is your typical lightweight wild camping. You can keep your pack weight down so it doesn’t weigh you down, meaning you can go as far with a camping pack as you can on a day walk.

night camping

Wild Glamping – Forget Yurts and fixed tipis, you can get all of that whilst wild camping. Large and light tents mean you’re carrying a little bit more weight with you for a lot more space. If it means you have a decent meal at night, and a cooked breakfast, then so be it. Table and chair? No problem. Real roasted coffee? Popcorn? A projected movie? The only limit is your imagination. And a really good single malt is essential, with ice and lemon for the gin and tonic.

Caves and Howffs – These are natural shelters, but few and far between. One of the best known is the Priest’s Hole in the Lake District, which is reasonably dry and has an excellent view (below). Howffs are usually a natural shelter and can be exceptionally basic, but provide welcome shelter in poor conditions.

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Photo credit: mattcyp88 via Foter.com / CC BY-ND

All hot and bothied.. The mountain bothy provides a luxurious night out. Don’t get these confused with summit shelters such as Foel Grach and Cadair Idris, which can provide nothing short of a miserable and damp night out. Bothies are often warmed with fire, full of good company and one of the most sociable nights you’ll have in the wilds.

Find more bothies and wild camping spots on our location search – coming soon!

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Dave Roberts

Dave Roberts founded Walk Eryri in 2004, with the aim of providing routes that are off the beaten track. Walk Eryri is now part of Mud and Routes which continues to provide more off beat routes and walks in Snowdonia and beyond. Dave has been exploring the hills of Eryri for over thirty years, and is a qualified Mountain Leader. Dave also established Walk up Snowdon, Walk up Scafell Pike and Walk up Ben Nevis just to mention a few.

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