2015, where have you gone?

Oh my, are we almost half way through the year already! I can’t believe it, where on earth did all that time go?

Before I know it we’ll be turning our clocks forward/backwards/whatever and heading into darkness again, let’s all panic!

Okay, maybe I won’t panic (yet) and instead write up a list of what I really must do by the end of 2015 in terms of adventures close to home.

 1) Explore the ‘lonely hills’ of High Leicestershire
Leicestershire isn’t far from my fenland home and feels like uncharted, undiscovered territory. The Iron Age hillfort at Burrough Hill is 660 ft above sea level, a veritable mountain!

Hillside pasture above Stathern, Leicestershire
Hillside pasture above Stathern, Leicestershire.
© Kate Jewell and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

2) A night hike on the Norfolk coast
The idea is to start at point X as the sun sets and 6 hours later arrive at seaside resort Y as the sun comes up.  That sounds like an ADVENTURE to me!

norfolk-coast
The Norfolk coast near Happisburgh

3) A very early morning hike on the river Little Ouse
The Little Ouse runs through Thetford Forest in north Suffolk. I’ve walked the riverside trail a number of times and it is gorgeous.

The idea is to arrive at the Little Ouse an hour before sunrise and follow the trail eastwards, though the forest, as the sun rises.  On a clear sunny morning it will be a joy.

the Little Ouse at Santon Downham
River Little Ouse at Santon Downham

4) Hike the the Boudicca Way (Norwich to Diss)
The Boudicca Way is a footpath running 36 miles between Norwich and Diss.  36 miles is a bit much for one day so we’ll camp out in a nice looking wood I’ve spotted along the way.

Boudicca Way
Boudicca Way

5) A wild camp spent gazing at the stars and the moon from the banks of The Wash
Few people venture out to this remote part of the Lincolnshire wilderness between King’s Lynn and Boston.

I doubt its ever featured in the ‘Rough Guide to FAB PLACES TO WATCH STARS!’.  Well that’s fine with me.  I have feeling the night sky will be fantastic, no light pollution in this obscure corner of the east coast.

Wide open skies on The Wash
Wide open skies on The Wash

6) A 5 to 9 after-work wild camp in the Chiltern Hills
Leave work, tube from King’s Cross to Chesham, hike to the Chilterns Hills, camp in a wood, food, wine, sleep, coffee, cake, tube from Chesham to King’s Cross, walk to work.  Yeah!

Ivinghoe Beacon seen from The Ridgeway
Ivinghoe Beacon seen from The Ridgeway
© by Pointillist and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

7) Wild camp at least once with my dog, Smithy the Cairn Terrier
This really has to be done! I think he’ll enjoy it, I know I’ll be glad of the company. Only drawback is he might stay-up barking at things…or maybe he’ll just sleep the night away?

Only one way to find out.

smithy the cairn terrier
“All I want to know is will there be snacks?”

8) Three days hiking in the high Pyrenees in July

So this one is not close to home but a boy has to strike out every now and again and it certainly counts as an adventure.

The idea is to spend three nights at a refuge in the high, high Pyrenees, just south of Luchon.  The days will be spent hiking the peaks and the nights getting by with my crapola French. Though my decent(ish) Spanish will no doubt come in handy.

I really, really want to stand with one foot in France and one in Spain, small things like that please me.

Oh, and a bear, I want to see a bear.

Le-refuge-de-Venasque
Le refuge de Venasque
Photo borrowed from the website of the refuge, hope they don’t mind!

So there you go, that’s my list and I don’t feel so panicky now. Hopefully I’ll do all these, maybe I won’t, a few of them are heavily dependent on good weather, we’ll have to see.

What about YOU?

Are you in a panic?  If not, why?  What’s on your list? Tell us your plans!

14 thoughts on “My wild camping, hiking, microadventuring plans for the rest of 2015

  1. Sounds exciting! I hope the coastal night walk isn’t like the GR 34 though – doing that in the dark is more than I could cope with!
    You have made me very keen to do some walking through England 🙂

    1. Hi Melinda, I know the stretch of coast I have in mind so it should be okay : ) England is lovely for walk, especially in the summer.

  2. That’s quite a list!
    I hope you’ll get to do all of them. I might steal your idea of a night hike. I’ve never thought about it before and it sounds quite exciting to walk through the night and see the world through a different light.

    I have to admit, I haven’t really thought about my plans much. I know for sure that in July I’ll be wild camping in France along the Camino de Santiago.
    And I’m hoping I might get a wild camping opportunity next month in Northern Ireland (but as I won’t have any of my camping gear that might prove tricky…).

    1. I’ve been on one night hike and it was completely unlike any day hike I’ve done, certainly worth trying!

      Wild camping on the Camino in France sounds kind of perfect to me : )

  3. ‘A boy has to strike out every now and again’ and it certainly counts as an adventure’. And so does a ‘girl’! Just purchased a tent, will be on my way to the Pyrenees – by train, natch – in 29 days time – there will be plenty of wild camping. If weather is bad or descents are too steep for my knees I have a Plan B – to walk the GR65 Via Podiensis from St Jean Pied de Port to Le Puy en Velay. Either way, a tent will be central to the hike!

  4. Hi Martin, I’m also looking to walk the Boudicca way sometime this year, but I want to do the Marriotts way in the coming weekend and join it up with the Bure valley 9 mile walk to Wroxham.
    Its been years since I walked the little Ouse path between Thetford and Brandon. I’ve slept in the woods there many times as a youngsters after a heavy nights drinking in Thetford. May have to do it again but without the drink.

    1. Hi Cliff, the Marriotts Way is on my list but I hadn’t heard of the Bure Valley walk. Crashing out in the woods after a night on the sauce sounds like a a fun idea ; ) You should definitely do the Little Ouse path again, it is lovely.

      1. The Bure Valley starts in Aylsum where the Marriotts way finishes. It follows the rail line to Wroxham, from there its less than 5 mile home for me.
        I may well do the Little Ouse path again but I might incorporate it into the Iceni way, then perhaps a walk around the coast.

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