The weekend’s weather was variable. This is standard UK phraseology for one day warm sunny and dry and the next day howling winds, cold and damp! And so it was this weekend. Saturday was warm and dry enough to for me to carry out a full load-out in preparation for next weeks Christmas bushmoot.

Although only overnight, I want to take all the sleeping options as I don’t know the area too well. Also I’m not sure about the weather, which will probably be…variable. I’ll write up a full kit list mid-week.

I started off by trying to get in and out of my new fleece liner, whilst getting in and out of my sleeping bag, while trying to get in and out of the bivvi bag and then trying to get in and out of the hammock(!) As previously reported, no easy task. It was so much easier in summer when there was only the sleeping bag. This is really putting me off even contemplating the hammock. Another option is to buy another sleeping bag, but I really can’t justify £90 for a Nanok bag that I’ve got my eye on just before Christmas. Looks like I’ll just have to struggle if I decide to go for the hammock option.

I also wanted to ensure I could remember the tarp knots. I tend to use an Evenk overhand knot for one end and a slippery knot for the other end of the tarp. It works quite well and I’m able to keep the ridge-line pretty taught.

The last thing to do on Saturday was to try out my new UCO candle lantern. I like this bit of kit and I originally bought it for my tent option. Being enclosed and thus protected from the wind, I thought it would also be alright for the tarp as long as the chain is long enough not to burn it. The result was that the tarp didn’t even get hot. I’m not keen on white light at night except in an emergency, but I think this little lantern makes a nice addition to a camp. It packs down small, very light, very safe and cosy. In a tent I can imagine the heat is just enough to ward off condensation. The candles are reported to last 9 hours, but I’ll let you know on that. I’ll do a full review later.

Sunday’s outing was very different. Overnight there was a storm and very high winds. I ventured out in the afternoon with my bow when the wind had abated a little. I noticed quite a bit of debris and some fallen branches and it got me thinking about the only reason I wouldn’t go into the woods. In woodland, especially unmanaged woodland, there is a real risk of injury by falling branches and even falling trees caused by high winds. It’s easy to think that it wouldn’t happen to you, but the felled tree in the photo is not too far from one of my regular tarp sites.

As the afternoon progressed and my shooting got worse, the wind started to increase in ferocity again. Taking my own advice, I withdrew gracefully from what I considered were dangerous woods. I reflected that this is probably the only occasion when I didn’t feel 100% comfortable in the woods.