Phoebe Smith - Wild Nights: Camping Britains Extremes

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WILD NIGHTS

Copyright Phoebe Smith, 2015

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, nor transmitted, nor translated into a machine language, without the written permission of the publishers.

Phoebe Smith has asserted her right to be identifi ed as the author of this work in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Condition of Sale

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Summersdale Publishers Ltd
46 West Street
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1RP
UK

www.summersdale.com

eISBN: 978-1-78372-480-2

Substantial discounts on bulk quantities of Summersdale books are available to corporations, professional associations and other organisations. For details contact Nicky Douglas by telephone: +44 (0) 1243 756902, fax: +44 (0) 1243 786300 or email: .

PHOEBE SMITH

Having grown up on the edge of Snowdonia National Park, in North Wales, Phoebe's love of dramatic landscapes has taken her on walking and backpacking adventures all around the world - from wild camping on the Scottish islands, sleeping under a swag in the Australian outback, pitching a tent among penguins in Antarctica and watching the Northern Lights from a wigwam above the Arctic Circle. Phoebe is an award-winning editor of Wanderlust travel magazine (Editor of the Year 2015 PPA New Talent Awards) but of all the places she's been it's the UK that holds a special place in her heart and she is adamant that you don't need to travel far to have an adventure. Phoebe has written extensively for a range of newspapers and magazines both in the UK and overseas, and is also author of Extreme Sleeps: Adventures of a Wild Camper, Wilderness Weekends: Wild Adventures in Britain's Rugged Corners, The Camper's Friend, The Joy of Camping, the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path guidebook and Book of the Bothy. When she's not planning her next escapade she's most likely found in the mountains with her trusty tent or bivvy bag.

For Neil, who's always believed in me no matter what. And for my granny, Margaret Smith, whose tales of her wild adventures during the Second World War and beyond made me grow up knowing that there's nothing a woman can't do.

Finally, this book is dedicated to all those people who have told me that reading about my early wild camping mistakes and escapades has inspired them to get outside you make every diffi cult river crossing, every new blister and every worn-out pair of walking boots worthwhile...

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

By ALAN HINKES OBE

The only Brit to have climbed all 14 of the world's highest mountains over 8,000m high

Unorthodox Nights, Crazy Nights or Gnarly Nights might come to mind when reading this stimulating book. I blatantly admit to respect for Phoebe tinged with some envy, as this book is about adventure and I like adventure. I have always revelled and taken great delight in exploring the British countryside, as she does.

My mountaineering career started in Yorkshire exploring the local terrain near where I lived and making my own adventures in the woods and becks. When I got into my teens these mini-expeditions and adventures progressed to the hills, mountains and rock faces of the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales and Lake District, where camping or sleeping in YHA hostels allowed me to explore and expand my adventures.

I have had a few wild nights in the British hills myself, and sometimes just for fun I would sleep out in a basic bivvy bag a big heavy-gauge polythene sac, big enough to cover a sleeping bag. I even tied myself onto ledges on rock faces as practice for sleeping or bivouacking on big vertical rock walls in the Alps and higher mountain ranges. Some friends understood and even joined me, others could not be enticed, it seemed uncomfortable or dangerous to them too wild!

I have had some near-death experiences and close shaves on some of my expeditions, especially in the Himalaya, but I do not have a death wish, I have a life wish and adventure enhances my life. Like Phoebe I have had great fun and rewarding experiences in the UK. One memorable mini-expedition I had was to summit all the high points of the 39 English counties in a week. This was a fast-moving, physical challenge, as some of the high points are big hills, and it required intricate route planning and navigating through England.

An adventure does not have to be abroad or death-defying. Phoebe admirably proves this and delightfully describes her experiences here in Wild Nights: Camping Britain's Extremes. It does involve a certain level of risk and danger, though, as she is frequently alone on mountaintops, far from the shopping centres, supermarkets, takeaways, TVs, pubs, ambulances and A&E facilities which we all take for granted.

It takes enthusiasm, drive and determination to plan and have a fun adventure and a successful expedition; Phoebe has plenty of these qualities as well as a real sense of humour, which is an essential trait when the going gets tough. She genuinely enjoys her adventures, conveying them graphically with vivid, entertaining descriptions of her escapades.

Phoebe does not have a beard, she is not a hard-core climber, tough mountain guide, wiry fell runner, salty sea-dog sailor or any other specialist full-time adrenaline junkie. She has a full-time job as a successful journalist and travel writer. I first met her in the Lake District when she was a features writer for an outdoor magazine and we have spent several days together in hills.

She has shown skill in planning as well as pluck and resilience heading out alone and map reading, navigating and camping in the wild, remote parts of Britain. Some might term solo camping or sleeping out in extreme places quirky or eccentric I would prefer to term this behaviour curious and exceptional. I empathise totally and applaud her.

Phoebe has broken boundaries, showing people what can be done in the UK, inspiring and empowering everyone to get into the outdoors and have an adventure. And I hope it inspires you too.

Alan

INTRODUCTION

It all started in Kendal during an argument with a cyclist. Not on the road, you understand this wasn't a near-collision or a quarrel about rights of way this was in a pub. There we were sat at the bar, enjoying a particularly rich pint of the locally brewed ale. He had just been telling me about his most recent trip on two wheels following in the tracks of the Tour de France. I was recounting my experience the previous summer pedalling my way through Austria, Germany and Switzerland in a week. Then it happened.

A couple, who were standing at the bar waiting for their drinks, were looking as if they knew me. The woman said something to the man, who then looked down at the purple rucksack that was sat beneath my walking boots and nodded. 'Are you Phoebe?' he asked. 'The one who wrote that book about wild camping? I recognise your black-and-blonde hair.'

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