So I am starting to get the itch to bivvy this year but time is tight at the moment. Was thinking of a local bivvy but it kinda feels weird sleeping outdoors when your near your bed.

I do have some ideas of localish (10miles max) places but trying to get my head around it.

So wondering what’s the nearest others have done? Garden doesn’t count as thats just weird!

I’ve done a couple at 10-15 miles. God for getting kit worked out and, if you choose the right spot, it can still be a very worthwhile experience. I sat one evening watching the haar envelope Edinburgh, observing how it ebbed and flowed up, over and round the castle and various other wee hills. Truly fascinating if you’ve the patience.

Depends where you live. 15 miles gets me to Loch Lomond for some great bivvying. The top of Conic Hill is nice.

The beauty of a local bivvy is you don’t need to plan. Just pick a night with a good forecast and head off a couple of hours before dark.

yeh with you on the lack of planning needed. At the moment its always gonna be dark before I set off though.

Sounds like out your door is a bit more scenic for it 🙂

Watching a chap called Dean on YouTube. I’m amazed at how much can be carried
In such small bags. The stoves are tiny. Are noodles the only food option and how do you cope with the cold at night.
Interested in trying this out.

I would love to give it a go but I think the night time monsters would not let me sleep.

I ‘bivvied’ in the back field of our house in Killin with the kids. 8)

Does losing your keys on a night out on the lash and waking up in a wheelie bin count?

Are noodles the only food option and how do you cope with the cold at night.

Other foods are available…
When carrying you are basically balancing the food, water to cook, cooking time and flavour.
Something like gnocchi packs well takes a bit more water but cooks in 2 mins and is good and tasty mixed in with some other stuff. Some things are good for delivering flavour such as chorizo so depends how much you want a nice meal.

As for coping with cold the right clothes and shelter is the key.

Thank you for the info 🙂

I’ll just leave this here for inspiration…

[video]http://vimeo.com/149862595[/video]

How close? In the back garden in 2′ of snow. None of this tarp nonsense. A bivvy bag was used along with a GoreTex covered ME Redline 😉

In the back garden with my boy. Felt weird getting up in the night for a pee down my own grid.

There’s a nice spot by a river about 1500m away. Its not as good as a longer ‘adventure’ but its better than nothing…

Less than10 miles away, in Delamere.
Like others have said, it’s great for working out kit.

About a mile up the road at Hurstwood.

Mrs S bough a chemical stove recently, so any excuse.

Watching a chap called Dean on YouTube. I’m amazed at how much can be carried
In such small bags. The stoves are tiny. Are noodles the only food option and how do you cope with the cold at night.
Interested in trying this out.

Pour and store bags are great, I like couscous, chorizo, chilli, garlic etc, all mixed up, pour in boiling water and zip it closed. Pop it inside a home made ‘envelope’ made of that 4mm laminate flooring underlay to keep it warm whilst it ‘cooks’.

I sleep on the Malverns quite regularly. They’re only 2 miles away, and often I’ll drive up on to the hills first anyway, so that then I can do an evening/night ridge walk there and back, stopping in a favourite spot not far from the last pub.

Planning a couple soon, as Scotroutes says to practise for a bigger trip. Will be hoping for the same experience he had too!

I sleep on the Malverns quite regularly

I’m feeling inspired by this thread and was thinking somewhere down your end – though it’s more like 10 miles to there for me. Any recommendations on spots? (aracer At mail Dot com if you don’t remember my main email address)

YGM @ cpmc

Stanage popular end is about the closest we’ve been. About 5 miles from our doorstep.

Not without it’s risks though. I woke up in the early hours with that nagging full bladder sensation. Middle of nowhere, so I just crawled out my sleeping bag in nothing but my tighty whiteys and let fly off the edge. I’d been back in my bag less than 30 secs when a pair of headtorches appeared in the mist and a couple of runners trotted past…

Back in the day when bushcraft was still called survival, i used to have two caches in Northumberland with cheap army surplus tent, kip bag and tinned food etc. Was bloody great being able to travel light but ve warm and comfortable at night.

I’ve been a few times within five miles of my house and I live in a relatively build up neck of the woods – Get on Google Maps and head for the nearest sizeable patch of green on the map – It’s been mainly for kit testing – Better to go with a friend as you’ll probably find it less relaxing than being miles away from populated locations – I’ve enjoyed it but to reiterate – The impending threat of being ‘busted’ has taken a slight edge off the fun factor – I’ve always felt as though I’m in stealth mode so to speak .. I’ve been caught by a farmer once and he was initially a bit cheesed off but a bit of sweet talking calmed things down – Go for it I say but don’t expect it to be the ‘at one with nature’ experience that your perhaps seeking .. Double down on the pitch late / leave early rule ..

Stanage, Malverns, Loch Lomond…Nice if you can get there from close to home. 🙂

Yeh I was meaning near farmland, small patches of woodland, local parks and nature reserves on the edge of a large suburban area.

The threat of a bust is always going to be a bit more prominent. For the sake of another 10 or so miles I could be a lot more secluded.

My first bivvy was a commute to work. Bolton to Chorley via a bivvy off Winter Hill/Anglezarke, so about 10km.

The MrsMcMad thought I was barking but was great fun & a good tester.

Yeah, I guess it very much depends on how much easy it is to find a good spot nearby. I used to have the Pentlands in my doorstep, 2-3 miles would be more than enough to find a nice quiet spot. Now it’s the Cairngorms. I could walk for 15 minutes and find somewhere suitable. 10 miles puts me on a few summits.

Bird hides on nature reserves in summer.

Wasn’t close to home, but was still close to the rest of the world. Quite nice as it meant I could travel properly light, think I took a stove, bivi bag, and a LS top and ronhills.

Back in the day when bushcraft was still called survival, i used to have two caches in Northumberland with cheap army surplus tent, kip bag and tinned food etc. Was bloody great being able to travel light but ve warm and comfortable at night.

Liking the sound of that.

I’ve potentially got another work assignment on the horizon in Teesside and was debating how daft it would be to to camp on the NYM’s.

Id not want to kip anywhere where there was a risk of getting stumbled upon. I’d not sleep a wink.

As Druidh really i have the Pentlands on the door step . Also the east Lothian coast. There is a lovely little spot down at Gullane Point which is only half an hour from home on the road but by going coastal i can stretch that out to a good couple of hours . Got to love any chance for a night out

Id not want to kip anywhere where there was a risk of getting stumbled upon.

Even in quite busy areas this isn’t that likely, if you pick somewhere out of sight, ie: behind hedge, over a bank etc.

Not many people wandering around off the paths over night, and if they are they are likely to be other people like you!

Even if you do get spotted, unless it’s by the land owner chances are most people will give you a wide berth as they’ll be more scared of you than you are of them.

Stoner, its amazing how remote you can be very quickly – I have bivvied the just other side of a hedge many times whilst riding and you may as well be in another country from most people – occasionally caught but generally have a quick chat and people are fine, usually interested more than anything

On the other side you look like a homeless person so are practically invisible to people anyway

There’s a fine line between bivvying and sleeping rough (urban bivying from my hitching days…)

I’ve potentially got another work assignment on the horizon in Teesside and was debating how daft it would be to to camp on the NYM’s.

My first ever bivvy was on the NYM. Parked in Osmotherly (so not far off the A19) and walked a couple of miles. Email in profile if you want the exact spot/route.

2 miles, on a mid week trip. my mate was closer about 8 miles.

Id not want to kip anywhere where there was a risk of getting stumbled upon. I’d not sleep a wink.

dog walkers walked past us, about 200 m away, they never even looked in our direction.

So wondering what’s the nearest others have done?

Always done it at quite out-of-the-way spots TBH. Sorry!

In 2013, I was bivvying in the Beacons. It was the day before the tragic deaths of the SAS reservists.

Id gone up from Talybont reservoir around the lip taking in the , Fan y Big, Cribyan, Pen y Fan and Corn Ddu and was heading towards a pub in Pontsticill for a pint. I was out of water, having under-estimated what I’d need on the top by about 25%. I dropped off the ridge and found a clean stream on the road into Pontsticill.

I didnt like being that close to Merthyr (who does?) so crossed the valley and started heading back into the hills to find a place to bivvy for the night.

I found a nice tussock out the way up by the Merthyr Sailing club. Itself at the end of a long track, gated off from traffic.

It was late on a friday night and the valley was singing out with the sound of Barry-boy-bean-cans ragging up and down the road on the other side of the lake.

The midges had launched and were horrendous. I tightened the opening to my bivvy bag, tight with just a breathing hole left. It was hot and really uncomfortable. When I heard voices approaching. The moon wasnt up, and no other light than starlight.
I slowly sat up, still in my army bag. Pretty much invisible. As 5 barrys in their friday night finest walked past to the fenced boat compound, shinnied over, and the next thing I heard was a poor dingy being hauled along its keel on the concrete and then man-handled over the fence. The lads obviously fancied a spot of Chay Blyth-ing. That’s when one clocked that they were being watched.

I am thankful that what with SAS being regularly in the area, I think they were more scared of me, than I was of the 5 of them. Which was daft of them, coz I was shitting myself. In my manliest gruff voice, I bid them goodnight, Rolled my bag up and walked off into the woods.

3 or 4 miles later I tried to get to sleep resting against a tree, but I was wired. The slightest noise had me wide-awake. I knew I’d never get back to sleep again, so packed up and walked the 10 miles back to the car that I had been saving for the early morning. The wife was surprised to see me at home for breakfast.

Id not want to kip anywhere where there was a risk of getting stumbled upon. I’d not sleep a wink.

dog walkers walked past us, about 200 m away, they never even looked in our direction. [/quote]

I once pitched a tent in Fitz park in Keswick after a late night session. Woke to find lots of dog walkers looking in our direction. No one said a word though, except a polite nod hello.

I once bivvied down tucked in behind these walls. A very convenient stagger of 200yrds from the bar underneath, but no risk of being disturbed.

I’ve bivvied in my garden, on my own, more than once! Out of choice, my wife thought I was wierd, dog too. Turns out I am 😀

I’ve also bivvied about 3 miles from my house, in one of the few bits of inner M25 green belt