I should just start with a list of what I didn’t bring this time. So this time I didn’t bring enough food. A decent power bank, or any idea how windy it was gonna be.
Admittedly, the last thing isn’t a thing as such, but might have prepared me for trying to get the tent up. As I am car camping, I very optimistically brought chair and table, although I now realise that they will blow away as soon as I am not sitting on one and resting my feet on the other.
It’s nearly 1800 and I’ve eaten my two meals and my biccies, and already starting to get hungry. I thought I had an emergency pack of noodles, but this is apparently not the case, so I will fill this post with pics of the gorgeous countryside, whilst avoiding thinking about my tummy.
I mean there’s not much more to add, conversation-wise, but I’m definitely loving the peace and quiet here.
So after yet another collection of bungled decisions, I find myself in a campsite just outside of Stockbridge.
Original plan was to get a train to Winchester, meet a friend, get a bus to Stockbridge and walk to the campsite. When I double-checked the bus times, it turns out there are only two a day, one going in, one going out.
This meant that I had to contact my friend to tell them that I could no longer meet them, throw everything that I needed into a bag, forgetting a few essential items, of course, and then jump on the next train. The bus journey was terrifying, although well worth it when I arrived at Stockbridge. I have always loved the village and was very tempted to spend an hour browsing one of the local pubs.
Duckies
The walk to the campsite was up a hill that looked a lot easier on a map. There were so many bumblebees; I genuinely think it’s the most I’ve seen in my life. I will add a quick vid of them although I recognise it’s not a very good one.
Site is small and basic, but was worth the walk. Pitched up next to a picnic bench and made some more of the dehydrated chilli and rice. Now laying in the tent listening to the birds and the occasional car. Been a little rainy, but nothing too extreme.
First camp using the tempest rucksack. I can fit everything into a 30l rucksack, as long as I leave out the things I forgot.
All in all, I quite like this site from the hour or so I’ve been here, but I think I’d prefer a bigger tent and a car to get me here.
This is not going to be a very interesting post. It is, however, going to be a step-by-step guide on how I made a cup of tea this morning. Again, I did warn you it wasn’t going to be interesting.
First, you need to assemble, fill, and light the stove.
Then fill the pan with just enough water to fill your mug.
Lid on the pan to help it boil faster.
Now just to clarify, I have not been bleeding on my teabags. On my camp last week, I had brought with me normal teabags and decaffeinated teabags but realised that you cannot tell the difference between the two, so this week I have put red food colouring on the leaded and green food colouring on the unleaded.
While the water is boiling, I use some milk powder and water to make a small bottle of milk. This works slightly better than just putting the milk powder directly in the tea. 
The water is boiled, apply water to mug.
Apply milk to mug, grab biscuits, and enjoy. This concludes my TED talk.
So after my last camp, I very much enjoyed having a much lighter pack, so I decided to lighten things up a bit. I purchased some titanium cookware and smaller, lighter stoves, and a lighter rucksack.
Conversely, I also purchased a heavier tent, but it’s huge and has so many vents and openings that it’s a miracle of tent engineering. I will be adding the link to the kit used for this camp at the end of the post.
Just a cute tree
Got to site and found a pitch that would take advantage of the front opening of the new tent, currently named ‘The Villa’. Basically the vestibule has a door on each side, and the front can be unhooked and rolled up.
Outside looking in
This means you can lay in bed and look out at whatever the view has to offer.
Inside looking out
I have also purchased a dehydrator, so made chilli and rice yesterday which I dehydrated overnight. This was a test to see how easy it was to rehydrate and if it still tasted okay.
Dehydrated chilli and rice portionsTitanium pots and Trangia mini
Food was a triumph, even if I should’ve bought extra bowls to be able to rehydrate everything. Finished my dinner, did some washing up and then made myself a chocolate drink, then lay here watching the sun go down.
It’s getting slightly colder and I’m expecting it to rain in the morning, so it’ll be interesting to see how the tent holds up. It has been very windy and it was a pain in the arse to try and pitch the tent even with the slight wind.
Sunset from my bed
As is the norm, I will update this when I can’t sleep through the night, when it starts pissing with rain, or when the tent collapses.
So after noodles, a pint felt like a good idea, so I went to the nearby pub to grab a beer and maybe some more food.
After a bowl of chips and another into keep the first company, I returned tentward, for a potter about and to setup the new campfire.
Not exactly the roaring camping focal point the marketing suggested, however it was quite pleasant. Lazed for the afternoon and evening before settling in for the night.
2am and I’ve woken up, and cannot get back to sleep, so thought I would add this update and get a pic of the tent with the string lights on.
Two posts in 24 hours, aren’t you lucky ducks.
As I cannot find a way to embed this on here, I’ll include a link to my kit instead
So I realise that I normally start these things with an apology for having not posted for so long. This time, however, I haven’t been camping since my last post, so nothing really to talk about.
Today was mildly sunny and looked like there were no plans for rain so I decided to come back to Ashurst, and spend the night in a field. when I left the train station at Ashurst, I decided to investigate what looked like a small path in the corner of the car park. Turns out that there is a small path that cuts straight into the field by the campsite for the last number of years I have consistently walked around and down the road and over a style to get to the same field. now it turns out I can get there in seconds.
I decided to pitch up my tent somewhere different for a change so I am currently slap bang in the middle of a field. The rain didn’t start until I had taken the tent out of my bag but hasn’t been too bad since I got here.
I have been lucky enough to see some birbs, they were cute. 
I have cooked some noodles with new smaller trangia, and now just chilling with some Oreo biccies.
I will update you later with astounding news as it happens.
However, having nothing to say has never stopped me from saying things before now, so I feel now reason to change this.
Full English breakfast before going back to my room to chill before heading to train station. It was supposed to be a twenty minute walk, but even plodding along it seemed to be much quicker, so I sat for a while on the seafront. I don’t believe that the sea air makes me feel as good as woodland air; I may need to investigate further on this.
After a suitable amount of chill time, and a few photos of the sea and cliffs, which, incidentally, were glowing in the sunlight and the photos I took definitely did not do this justice, I went to the train station and headed home
I did warn you that this was not going to be that interesting, and I did not lie.
Well another fantastic idea, executed poorly. I found a campsite that is open 365, so in a huge burst of enthusiasm and lack of any kinds common sense, I am currently on a train to Weymouth. Weather does not look too bad, which is good because I do not think I have packed very wisely.
I am taking the tiny tent, and the minimal cooking set, so I may be relying on local restaurants for main meal tonight, although I we there is a dominos in town, so this may be an option.
Bus journey was nice and easy from train station to the campsite, although I wandered around looking lost for quite some time before finding the right bus. View was amazing and there were plenty of shops about, and once I had pitched and had a quick lay down, I went for pizza.
It was a cold night but I was pretty toasty in my sleeping bag, it was only a problem if I wanted to get out at any point. By and large it was a quiet night with nothing but the animals making any noise. When I got up the next morning I went for a walk to the beach, that actually turned out to be a puddle.
I had planned to stay at the campsite for two nights, but I was struggling with the fact that although I slept quite well in my sleeping bag, outside the bag it was bloody cold. With twenty minutes before I had to either depart or pay for another night , I decided to go to a Prem.
Booking was a bit of an issue, but was resolved and I was booked into Weymouth Prem. On my walk along Weymouth sea front I smelled the nicest fish and chips ever. When I had checked in, had a bath, and felt a little more human, I went off in search of fish.
The thing was huge and delicious. Took a slow walk back to hotel, full and tired. I had nothing to watch so had to accept the junk on freeview.
I went had dinner that was a perfectly cooked rump steak with onion rings. This basically filled me to capacity and I went and slept.
I will include some pics of the scenery and the swimming horses.
So a mini trip back to Poole, getting a train to Hamworthy and walking back to Poole along the water edge. Met a couple of cute robins this time and finally saw the cows.
To be fair, there wasn’t much else to discuss about this trip, except I will include a couple more pics below. Went to Upton manor place, felt chilled and close to nature for a bit, went to hotel and crashed out.
I will update my previous post with the brekkie and morning walk pics at some point in the near future, but since then, due to rain and the fact that all the campsites have closed, inactivity has pretty much ruled.
But this weekend, I had the itch to get out of the house. So I have been in Poole. I wasn’t able to get two nights in the central premier inn, so booked Saturday night at the Poole north Prem, and the Sunday at the central one. I even splashed the extra few quid for a room with a view. Shame it came with the view but no heating, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Got train to Poole and had plotted out a walk to the hotel, which on paper didn’t look too bad. In reality, it was a long tedious walk, taking me through dark back streets and past a sewer farm that turned out to be right next to the hotel. Hotel was horrendous, skip in the car park, and the smell didn’t help, but when you got inside it was way worse. But it had a bed and a dominoes near enough. Ordered pizza and cookies for dins and lay in bed eating and watching telly.
Next morning, tried booking an uber to the new hotel, but none available, so off I went on my merry way. Determined to avoid the sewer farm, I found a route onto the cycle path next to the harbour. It was next to the road but was strangely peaceful, if you ignored the noise.
It was quite a walk to the hotel, and I resisted risking my life yet again to run across the dual carriageway when I was close to the Prem. it was too early to get my room, so I put camera and a few things in my spare bag and decided to walk to Upton House and leave main bag with reception. Wasn’t an awful walk, and saw lots of geese and swans and the occasional rat. Oh and a sheep.
Got to the Upton House place, and it was squirrel city. I sat on a bench and thought I could hear leaves falling, but turned out to be a collection of squirrels playing around the bench and tree.
Had some lunch at their cafe and walked my way back, although by this time I was definitely flagging. It was a loooong walk back, and I was very happy to get back to the hotel. Got checked in, and turns out my room has no lift to my floor so I had two floors to scale before I could collapse. I realise two floors isn’t a death sentence, but after the walking today, it was a penance.
One bath later I was eating my makhani with onion rings, going for that health kick. I am typing this while I mop up the last of the sauce with the rings, and then I intend to sleep.
