One item of kit you didn't have which might have made the world of difference Lindsey: Hiking Poles. Use them to ford rivers, knock chin-high ferns out of the way, also use them as braces for your tent doors or even as tent pegs. Anyone that wildcamps will have failed camps under their belts, its invaluable experience in hindsight....at the time it's a pain in the ass though. The Big Aggie range of tents are more suited to long distance US through-hikes than they are coping with UK weather. Those doors will bow in terribly even in mild winds. One solution is to brace the doors with a hiking pole - same as MSR tents, they'll bend in at the doors. I wouldn't be rude enough to suggest alternatives, that's one of the joys of camping for me - researching and finding a tent that works for you. It's not easy lol. Enjoyed the video and I've popped a sub on. Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for this comment, and sorry for my delayed reply (we’ve been up in the Cairngorms, and I’ll post new videos from there soon). Walking poles are a curious topic for me: I was dependent on them for my recovery when I couldn’t walk, and found them brilliant. The downside is I can’t easily film whilst using them! I also feel better balanced when my hands are free, and they add more weight too… so we leave them behind. This ‘failed’ trip did make me reconsider our wisdom in leaving them, though, because I looked up river crossings and can see that poles can be crucial. I didn’t realise we could prop up the Big Agnes with them either (thought that was just tents that specifically use poles as a weight-saving part of their construction) so that’s really useful to know. I think we’ll get a stronger tent if we end up doing many camps in poor weather. Not sure which, yet. We’re still loving the Tiger Wall 2 for average weather and for the super light weight. Thanks again for commenting!
I don't understand why you keep calling it a "failed" trip. You were out there, you experienced sights, sounds, smells, emotions that you had never experienced anywhere before, and probably never will again. You met challenges and found a way to cope with them. And you found what doesn't work, so you can change future plans accordingly. It took me well into my seventies to realise the wisdom of "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing badly". I'm in Western Australia, and found your page because I wanted to know a little more about the Forest Of Bowland, which is part of a Virtual Challenge I'm doing, relating to the trial of the Pendle Witches and their travels from Barrowford, through Barley and the Pendle district to Lancaster. So there you go - if you hadn't posted you're allegedly failed trip I wouldn't have got to experience - virtually and vicariously - this part of my Challenge. Thank You. I lived my first 22 years in Yorkshire and spent many hours hiking, hitch-hiking and cycling around Yorkshire, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Again, many thanks for taking the effort to film, edit and post your travels.
you would have been awake all night in that wind, sometimes going to an area for a day walk first and noting the location of possible camping spots works well
I’ve done this exact trail. You should of gone straight on past that barn. It takes you straight up into the hills. When you look back through the valley the view is amazing. I rotated around and ended up where you were you are in those boggy bits.
I know that particular area by heart, all around it for miles and miles. I fellrun in those places a lot. I wish I was there to show you where to wild camp.
Look up the ancient meaning of forest, it doesn't mean a place full of trees, it's a term for a royal hunting ground , if you did plant trees all over the "forest"of Boland you would lose an entire ecosystem. If you buy any new gear always test it at home to make sure it is complete/not broken, it also makes it easier to put it together in the field when you might need to do it in a force 10 or when it's chucking it down , and always take extra pegs and guy rope , handy for all sorts of things from repairing the soles coming off your boots, or tying old fertilizer bags to you to keep the rain off 😂
Thanks for commenting! Yes, the word forest comes from the Latin ‘outside’. The Forest of Bowland was more forested until recently, though… if you count the 1600s as recent, which I do 😃 Much of it was cleared and I’d love to see at least some put back. We don’t have forests up North West! We definitely learnt the ‘check it’s all there’ lesson! (We did put up the tent at home but overlooked counting guy lines which was… well you know the story!)
@@lindseyhollandwalks I believe there are plans for selected tree planting in some areas , but the fells have been tree free since the bronze age with various flora and fauna reliant on this environment. You going to have another try there?
It’s excellent that there are plans for tree planting. I don’t know whether we’ll return there soon. It’s relatively close so ideal from that point of view but we have other ideas too. I’m not sure where would be a better camping spot in the area, plus neither of us can shake a feeling that the atmosphere was quite hostile somehow. I don’t mean the people at all, but that the place itself was… almost eerily keen to push us out. I’d usually find that intriguing. Don’t know, in short!
