new to backpacking

simon said:

Hello to you all (first time poster)

Hello to you and welcome to the crazy world of URW. I hope you're
interested in GPS and cameras!

Yes there is an FAQ which gets posted from time to time. I'm not sure
where it can be found on the www. I know it's listed in someone's
sig, so perhaps you'll find it before I do.

I have absolutely no idea where it is legal to walk/camp and where it
is illegal. So, my approach is: if it looks like it belongs to
someone (because there's a house on it, or it's very close to a road,
or it's obviously private land) then I keep away. If it looks wild
and uninhabited then I may camp there.

When I started "wild camping", a few years ago, I was worried about
doing things correctly and I was quite un-confident about it all.
Nowadays, I'm happy to seek out a pitch which won't bother anyone
...... because no-one will find me.

Perhaps you should identify an area of the country in which you would
like to walk and which has formal sites. That way, you can plan to
camp wild but can easily change your mind if you decide that the
approach to the wild areas is too hilly/far or if you just don't feel
confident camping wild. I did this on my first wild trip; one night
on a "proper" site then one night up a hill (less than two miles away
if I recall correctly!) [1]

Your aim of 6-10km seems very conservative. I've no recent experience
of Dartmoor, but I'm sure someone will be along soon.

Judith
[1]I was trying to find a ridge that goes West out of Capel Curig. At
the time, I was certain that my map was wrong ..... but having
attended URW Exped 15 I now understand that ridges are nasty steep
things and I *was* in the right place. This was my first time with my
overpacked 65litre pack and I had bitten off far more than I could
chew. In fact, I think I ended up at the Dol Gam site ie the Exped 15
one!

simon said:

My wife and I are taking up backpacking and looking to find places that are
good for wild camping that arn't long walks as my wife is new to all this
(where as I was in to the scouts DofE and the like) we have all our
equitment and and I am an acomplished navigator

The thing is we are worried about is the legality of camping off formal
sites in the middle of knowhere and also we arn't mountain fit and are
looking for flatter moor like places to visit

Simon,

You're worrying too much. You can camp just about anywhere with discretion, even on low-level
routes, it's just a psychological barrier when you first start. Have a look at our wild camping
section, it may help.

http://v-g.me.uk

Regards

-- GeoffC

Firstly, welcome to the walking world!

In general, if you camp high level, out of sight of the low ground, you
should not have any problems. However, there is always the idiot who will
spoil it for all of us, by either camping in a very prominant place, in a
tent that shines like a belisha beacon, or leave loads of rubbish etc.
Provided you leave no trace of your presence, then MOST landowners dont get
upset. If you were unfortunate to pick a place where the landowner decides
to visit and protests to you, the best thing to do would be to pleasd
ignorance and offer to clear off his land immediately. I expect most
landowners would then allow you to stay for the one night. However, dont
argue with them.

With regards Dartmoor, I suggest you visit some of the Dartmoor websites.
Also, if you are intending walking on the North Moor, you will need to check
range firing times with the Army. There are live firing ranges at
Okehampton, Willsworthy and Merrivale. Access to the North moor is not
always available.

With regards distance covered, did you mean 6-10 Km over the 3 days, or
6-10 Kms per day for the 3 days? Walking on Dartmoor can be very tiring,
especially when wading through thick heather or lifting the legs high over
clumps of course grass (dont know the name of it). Even so, at worst case
you would be making 2 Km/hour. Therefore, an average days walking could be
15 Km or more, even for the inexperienced.

Hope this helps.

PU

"simon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello to you all (first time poster)

My wife and I are taking up backpacking and looking to find places that

are

Quoted message said:

good for wild camping that arn't long walks as my wife is new to all

this

Quoted message said:

(where as I was in to the scouts DofE and the like) we have all our
equitment and and I am an acomplished navigator

The thing is we are worried about is the legality of camping off formal
sites in the middle of knowhere and also we arn't mountain fit and are
looking for flatter moor like places to visit

we are planning a weekend to dartmoor for late september to get us

started

Quoted message said:

probebly about 6-10 km over 3 night

also is there a FAQ or website for this news group

simon said:

we are planning a weekend to dartmoor for late september to get us started
probebly about 6-10 km over 3 night

You'll prolly have enough replies to keep you busy, my only sugestion
would be that you have a trial-run somewhere closeby, over one night,
before you stretch yourself with a three-nighter. Three nights sounds
simple enough but, as Geof has recently posted, foour is what they
regard as a practical limit for load-carrying so, at three nights (for
a first-time bp) you're close to fully loaded.

You could also do a search on Google Groups for backpacking threads
and similar in this ng, there have been quite a few over the past few
months.

HTH

SteveO

NE Climbers & walkers chat forum;
http://www.thenmc.org.uk/phpBB2/index.php

NMC website: http://www.thenmc.org.uk

simon said:

The thing is we are worried about is the legality of camping off
formal sites in the middle of knowhere

Technically you shouldn't do it but in practice few people mind and
you'll rarely get any complaints. However, stick to wild land and don't
camp too close to roads. I've only been asked to move on twice in 24
years. That's about all they can do is ask you to move on, so it's no
big deal.

In my limited experience of England I gather that they don't tolerate
wild camping in the Peak District or the New Forest, but Dartmoor is
fine. Most of my camping is done in Wales, mostly the Beacons. Never
had any problems there, nor in Mid-Wales, even right next to roads. The
Rangers are more likely to move you on in Snowdonia if you camp next to
roads (they try to discourage overnight parking too) but there's no
problems away from roads.

Keep away from popular paths too, if you don't want hordes of walkers
filing past your tent in the morning, and especially if you plan to
leave the tent unattended. I've left mine unattended in the hills all
day many times with no problems, but I usually make a point of pitching
it well off the beaten track.

Quoted message said:

and also we arn't mountain fit
and are looking for flatter moor like places to visit

You don't necessarily need to worry about mountains, it all depends on
the route you take. In the Beacons for example there are many potential
wild places to camp that don't take much effort or distance to walk to.
Try following valleys for example. There are often high roads that
cross mountain ranges which are good places to start from so you don't
have to do much ascent. It's all a matter of choosing a good route.
Plenty of easy opportunities in Mid-Wales too, but Snowdonia isn't very
good for that, very difficult to avoid steep hills there.

Quoted message said:

also is there a FAQ or website for this news group

There is;
http://www.blencathra.demon.co.uk/ukrw/

I've also got a mugshot gallery on my site but it's a bit out of date
now, hasn't been updated for a while. A number of regulars are on
though, but not many of the newer members.
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/urw/mg/mg.html

See the URW Expeds thread for more info.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

Judith said:

[1]I was trying to find a ridge that goes West out of Capel Curig. At
the time, I was certain that my map was wrong .....

There's definitely a ridge that goes west out of Capel Curig.

Quoted message said:

but having
attended URW Exped 15 I now understand that ridges are nasty steep
things and I *was* in the right place.

Not all, but that one starts off a bit tricky. Not too easy to find the
best path between the crags.

Quoted message said:

This was my first time with my
overpacked 65litre pack and I had bitten off far more than I could
chew.

I did that ridge once with an overloaded pack and ended up doing my knee
in at the end of the first day. It got seriously steep going up Gallt
yr Ogof.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

In message <[email hidden]>, simon
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

we are planning a weekend to dartmoor for late september to get us started
probebly about 6-10 km over 3 night

Water!!!!!!!
That is the one thing that is easy to do wrong. I have never camped on
Dartmoor but I think it pretty certain that finding good running water
that can be drunk straight from the stream, as one can do in a
mountainous area, is not that straightforward. Carrying water is very
heavy so any planning must take account of restocking. It is as well to
have a clear plan for this from early in each day. {Note I said plan -
I'm not suggesting you actually carry tons of water from early in the
day]. Anyway you need to avoid the 'Oh, it's dark in an hour - better
think about camping - oh dear the water bottles are empty and no running
water - now where's the nearest habitation - oh bugger six miles away'.

BT DT GTT ***

Quoted message said:

also is there a FAQ or website for this news group

Yes, but it has had very little change for a long time. Pops up by
magic on the first of the month.

*** This is a competition. [No prizes of course]. Who knows what it
stands for?

--
Michael Farthing
Aardvark Ltd

simon said:

The thing is we are worried about is the legality of camping off formal
sites in the middle of knowhere and also we arn't mountain fit and are
looking for flatter moor like places to visit

I will concentrate on this bit: Dartmoor is one of the few places in England where it is legal to
'wild camp'. Further details can be found on the Dartmoor National Park website at

http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/dnp/moorcare/camping.htm

where it lists the regions of common land where Wild Camping is not allowed, and gives a set of
guidelines to follow when camping is allowed.

Hope this helps,

Geoff

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

BT DT GTT ***

Quoted message said:

*** This is a competition. [No prizes of course]. Who knows what it
stands for?

Bent To Disect The Gyratory Threaded Tandem?
Belfast To Dublin To Get The Taoiseach?
--
I try to be a good example to my children, but they just see me
as a dire warning.

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Fran <[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

BT DT GTT ***

Quoted message said:

*** This is a competition. [No prizes of course]. Who knows what it
stands for?

Bent To Disect The Gyratory Threaded Tandem?
Belfast To Dublin To Get The Taoiseach?

Been There, Done That, Got the Teeshirt.
but it should really be GtT, or GtTS .. 'the' doesn't really count.

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can
Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and indistinguishable from human typing.

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Fran <[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

BT DT GTT ***

Quoted message said:

*** This is a competition. [No prizes of course]. Who knows what it
stands for?

Bent To Disect The Gyratory Threaded Tandem?
Belfast To Dublin To Get The Taoiseach?

Been There, Done That, Got the Teeshirt.

Possibly. I happen to think my versions are more - prosaic.

--
I try to be a good example to my children, but they just see me
as a dire warning.

Michael Farthing said:

Water!!!!!!!
That is the one thing that is easy to do wrong. I have never camped
on Dartmoor but I think it pretty certain that finding good running
water that can be drunk straight from the stream, as one can do in a
mountainous area, is not that straightforward.

Actually Michael, if you had ever camped there you'd realise that
Dartmoor is covered with the stuff. It may not generally be thought of
as mountainous, but in shares many characteristics of mountain areas,
such as wild moorland, hills, rocks, bogs and lots of water! Even a
couple of mountains (i.e. over 2000 ft).

I've wild camped on Dartmoor on two occasions and neither time did I
carry any water with me. There's no problem finding it.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

In message <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Michael Farthing said:

Water!!!!!!!
That is the one thing that is easy to do wrong. I have never camped
on Dartmoor but I think it pretty certain that finding good running
water that can be drunk straight from the stream, as one can do in a
mountainous area, is not that straightforward.

Actually Michael, if you had ever camped there you'd realise that
Dartmoor is covered with the stuff. It may not generally be thought of
as mountainous, but in shares many characteristics of mountain areas,
such as wild moorland, hills, rocks, bogs and lots of water! Even a
couple of mountains (i.e. over 2000 ft).

I've wild camped on Dartmoor on two occasions and neither time did I
carry any water with me. There's no problem finding it.

Ah! Useful to know. I didn't doubt its existence: more its
consumability!

--
Michael Farthing
Aardvark Ltd

In message <[email hidden]>, GSV Three Minds in a Can
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Fran <[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

BT DT GTT ***

Quoted message said:

*** This is a competition. [No prizes of course]. Who knows what it
stands for?

Bent To Disect The Gyratory Threaded Tandem?
Belfast To Dublin To Get The Taoiseach?

Been There, Done That, Got the Teeshirt.
but it should really be GtT, or GtTS .. 'the' doesn't really count.

Jolly good. But then you did have three of you working at it!

--
Michael Farthing
Aardvark Ltd

Michael Farthing said:

Quoted message said:

I've wild camped on Dartmoor on two occasions and neither time did I
carry any water with me. There's no problem finding it.

Ah! Useful to know. I didn't doubt its existence: more its
consumability!

Seemed like clean fresh running water to me.

The fact that I now glow in the dark may have something to do with all
those depleted uranium shells lying around, but that's probably just
coincidence. More likely the effects of walking in the rain on
Chernobyl weekend, or maybe just drinking the water in Snowdonia ever
since...

Why be paranoid about these things? Life is short anyway, probably even
shorter now...

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

I would just like to say thank you to everyone for their advice and we are
now looking forward to our trip we have decided to take a route that keeps
us close to the east dart river so water shouldn't be a problem the only
range that is firing the weekend we are going is firing on friday and we
dont actually enter any of the ranges untill saturday so we should be ok se
are only walking short distances as my wife isnt the best walker in the
world "yet" and its only a tester to see if she gets on with the idea

I think we are a little over weight in the packing front but there are some
luxurys that we arn't willing to go with out just yet

all i can hope is the weather is ok and a storm doesn't come in but if all
goes well and the quiet of no traffic or human noise is found we should be
happy

I will be taking my digital camara so ill take plenty of photographs and ill
post a web page of our trip. I am really looking forward to seeing dartmoor
ponies, other wildlife,all the ruins ,carnes and what ever else appears

If anyone else has been to north dartmoor what other goodies are there to
look out for in the wildlife side of things please don't tell me about
rabbits I am expecting to see those.

Well see you all soon

simon

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Judith said:

[1]I was trying to find a ridge that goes West out of Capel Curig. At
the time, I was certain that my map was wrong .....

There's definitely a ridge that goes west out of Capel Curig.

Quoted message said:

but having
attended URW Exped 15 I now understand that ridges are nasty steep
things and I *was* in the right place.

Not all, but that one starts off a bit tricky. Not too easy to find the
best path between the crags.

Quoted message said:

This was my first time with my
overpacked 65litre pack and I had bitten off far more than I could
chew.

I did that ridge once with an overloaded pack and ended up doing my knee
in at the end of the first day. It got seriously steep going up Gallt
yr Ogof.

That is probably the very steepest part all the way to Glyder Fach (from
memory, not map). Although I think the hardest part was the first bit.
Finding a way through the nosy cattle was enough then having to find a track
through the rocky, cancer-causing fern encrusted landscape was not fun.
Then there were the boggy bits.

And then there were the goats on Gallt yr Ogof. Big horns have those goats.
More like cattle than sheep in terms of bravery too.

Then there was that complete sheep skeleton somewhere up there (well, it was
there two weeks ago). I don't think I have ever seen such a complete, clean
skeleton on the hills. Somewhere around Y Foel Goch I seem to remember.

All in all, a very interesting walk. And that is before I got to the
Cantilever, Castell y Gwynt and Y Gribyn. I also got sunburnt on the backs
of my calves of all places.

Quite a lot of fun for the shortest of my walks that week.

Have fun,
Paul

Paul Cummings said:

That is probably the very steepest part all the way to Glyder Fach
(from memory, not map). Although I think the hardest part was the
first bit. Finding a way through the nosy cattle was enough then
having to find a track through the rocky, cancer-causing fern
encrusted landscape was not fun.

I must have been lucky, I found a path through the crags fairly easily,
probably more by luck than judgement. Not so lucky on the way back.

Quoted message said:

Then there were the boggy bits.

Yes, a tad annoying.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk