Supposed to be doing the first of a friends “bivi a month” next weekend. The temperature outside at 6am this morning, on the way to work, indicates we may well die. We looked at camping barns but they are all booked up for burns night, and it kinda doesn’t count?

Top tips for not freezing to death?

Any good sheltered spots up on Dartmoor anyone can recommend? I was thinking the old ruined huts up on hound tor? Hound of the basket meals for breakfast? Setup in the light and early to bed,or hide in a pub till kicking out?

Top tips for not freezing to death?

– Camp choice: Low, dry and sheltered from wind/driving rain on as many sides as possible (from prevailing wind at minimum)

– Insulation against ground frost/water: Thermal mat. Nothing makes you cold like the cold ground.

– Keep your sleeping clothes bone-dry and use a good dry 4
-season sleeping bag. For face/head – Sleeping bag hood or balaclava.

– Luxuries: Hip-flask, headtorch, podcast, piss-bottle. 🙂

It’s been a very mild winter. Have fun!

Piss bottle? I can see the appeal, but bit risky in a fancy sleeping bag?

You’ll be surprised, waking up in a frost covered bivi bag can be very satisfying….

…until you realise you have to get out of it 😉

Personally I layer up in thermals, that way if i do have to get up for a wazz etc I dont freeze. Oh and eat well before you kip.

on day’s like today, the valleys on dartmoor tend to be colder than the tops. it was -6 at the bottom of dartmeet this morning, -3 at the top. -1 at princetown.

looking at the weather forecast for next weekend, frost isn’t going to be your issue…

That advice for camping “low” should be taken with a pinch of salt. In still conditions it can be significantly colder in hollows and valleys, especially if near water.

As for what counts, my definition is everything as long as your not paying 🙂 Bothies, huts, doorways…..

on day’s like today, the valleys on dartmoor tend to be colder than the tops. it was -6 at the bottom of dartmeet this morning, -3 at the top. -1 at princetown.

That’s a good point! Sun-less valleys, frost hollows, watercourses, low and damp places all worth avoiding in the winter months. I’ll get me coat…

and pick somewhere east facing, you’ll get the sun about 7.45

Olly,

You will not die. Make sure you have a good sleeping bag, bivi bag and sleeping mat and you will be alright. (Take a stove if you can)

However, i’d probably give the deserted village/huts below Hound Tor a miss. It’s a Heritage Site and camping/biving is prohibited.

This time of year, I’d probably head to Princetown. Enjoy a drink in the Plume of Feathers until late in the evening and then head South West along track towards South Hessary Tor. Carry on until you reach Older Bridge at GRID REF: SX 598 705. Only 4km from the pub. You could camp here at Older Bridge (nice flat area if you have a tent) or continue due south for 200/300 metres (Towards Drivage Bottom.) There are a few little sheltered spots in amongst the clitter and tin workings if you just want to jump into your bivi bag….. (BE CAREFUL!!!! and don’t fall in to an old mine!)

Best thing is that all of this route is on the Burrator/Sheeps Tor loop. You could be up early next morning and finish the route (about 20km altogether) and be back in the Foxtor Cafe for Breakfast at about 9/10 ish.

Also the bivi site is only 4 km away from civilization if it all goes bad during the night and you have to beat a hasty retreat.

Have fun.

PS…. If you park in the Main Carpark at Princetown, make sure you get a ticket….. only £1 and will save you a £25 fine! (Voice of experience here!)

Couldn’t you just book a hotel room & leave the window open ? You could build a den from the curtains, some pillows & a trouser press…
Nobody will think any less of you…

keep your core warm, wear a down duvet jacket, beanie, dry baselayers etc inside whatever sleeping bag, unless it’s a proper winter sleeping bag, then you’re sorted really.

i take the kids to sleep in a potato cave near burrator, great cave dry and tucked out of the way, would be nice and warm too..!

Any good sheltered spots up on Dartmoor anyone can recommend?

Gidleigh Park? Forgo the mint on the pillow if you want to keep it authentic

Screw all that. Find a nearby Inn with warm rooms, beer and food. Can still wander outside in the middle of the night and be amazed at all the stars you can see an then get back in the warm.

F that. It was fing freezing last night cycling. Bivi would be insane.

when you get a make sure you make an appointment to see a psychiatrist….. coz you’re **** mental! 😛

Any good sheltered spots up on Dartmoor anyone can recommend?

Bovey Castle Hotel.

Lewtrenchard Manor.

My parents’ wedding reception (I’ve never been) was the Gidleigh Park Hotel. They liked it.

HTH

Is there a Beast of Dartmoor or is that Exmoor?

What could possibly go wrong?? 😉

Took my brother up to Hound Tor for his first Bivi just before Xmas & he’s still alive! 10 min from car park so he could take everything he thought he might need just in case… Walked through Widecombe in the Moor (20 min on bikes) & had some food & a couple of beers in the Old Inn before heading back to Hound Tor for the night

Exmoor Beast. The Dartmoor Lynx was recaptured 😆

My top-tips for staying warm:

– Remember that your sleeping bag “traps” heat, so you need to get into the bag war, star jumps, run on the spot, whatever works for you before you get in.

– Eat or drink something warm before you get in to doss-bag so metabolism is working.

– If really cold, put hot (not boiling) water in your water bottle, place in a spare sock and stick it between your upper thighs, so it’s next to femoral arteries.

– Make sure what you are wearing is dry, if if you are cutting weight, dry socks, a woolly hat and long johns can have a great effect.

I remember a trip to Dartmoor years ago when I was a student.There were 4 of us with a dirt cheap single skin 2 man tent, the sort you used to sleep in the garden in as a kid, so 2 in the tent two sleeping in the car. It was January and there was snow on the ground and the tent doors were broken. I slept in the tent the first night wearing every bit of clothing I had with me and it was utterly miserable. My whole body ached in the morning not from the hard frozen ground under me but from a whole night of laying awake shivering violently. I slept in the car the second night which was a slight improvement. I found some photos from the trip the other day more than 30 years on and boy did we all look miserable in them. We didn’t die though and a bit of me thinks it wouldn’t have been anywhere as memorable if it hadn’t been so bloody awful. 🙂

You won’t die. Keep out of the wind and keep your clothes on so you don’t freeze when you get up for a piss.

Could be warm in some parts!

having an unhealthy snack for in the night can help too. chocolate peanuts are a pretty good option.

Fricking cold up there tonight.

A few places to bivi on Dartmoor IMHO

1 – Bellever forest – there is a car park & you can bivi in the trees near the river, plus there is a toilet & Postbridge is nearby for food etc.

2 – Foggintor Quarry – Park at Princetown & ride down the disused railway line towards Kings tor/Burrator – Foggintor quarry is on the right near North Hessary Tor TV mast. It will be sheltered in there & close to water.

swelltor quarry (about 1km from foggintor) has better views.