The Phantom and I left Studley on Friday night and headed for the Dragon Woods. At first, it wasn’t looking promising—the heavens had opened and the rain was coming down like mad. We decided to just keep pedalling and see what it was like once we reached the woods.
Strangely, when we arrived, it was as if the rain hadn’t touched the place. There was a brightness about it, almost welcoming. We pushed on along the singletrack and up the usual climb to our regular camp spot. I was blowing by the time I reached the top—my bergen was seriously heavy and that climb is no joke. Meanwhile, The Phantom cruised up without a care on his electric bike.
Setting up camp turned into a bit of a faff for me. The Phantom had it easy—he went with his MSR tent due to his dodgy back and hip. I, on the other hand, was wrestling with a brand-new hammock that’s a foot longer than my old one, with completely different setup guidance.
I tried hanging it between differing trees using the recommended measurements, but it just didn’t feel right. Tried again with another pair—still no good. The instructions suggested the foot end at brow height and the head end at chest height, but the result was rubbish. My structural ridgeline was tight as a guitar string and I couldn’t work out what I was doing wrong. I was well and truly mithered.
After that, I ditched the instructions and went back to what I know. Found my usual trees, paced it out, and hung both straps around head height. I raised the foot end slightly and made sure the ridgeline wasn’t overly tight. Straight away, it looked better—and more importantly, it felt right when I got in.
Tarp setup went smoothly, and I was especially pleased with my lines and prusik knots. I fitted the under quilt and finally got to try out my new Otimos UL700 Hybrid Down (over) quilt, which—like the hammock—had been waiting patiently since last year.
Before settling in, I was “treated” to The Phantom’s dessert—a fire pit chocolate pudding that… well, looked better avoided. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t exactly a triumph either. What was a triumph, though, was the spiced rum my brother Rob Dog had gifted me. Proper good stuff. Shame he and others couldn’t join us this time.
Between us, we made a solid dent in the rum supplies—mine and Phantom's—and by the time we’d finished, listened to a few tunes, and had a laugh, it was time to turn in.
The hammock? Absolutely brilliant. That extra foot in length made a huge difference—far more comfortable. The quilt system worked a treat too. Even though my back was technically exposed, the under quilt trapped the warmth and kept everything toasty. I slept really well, which says a lot.
I did get up in the early hours for a comfort break and managed to find The Phantom’s hat—which was lucky, as the temperature had dropped. I also clipped a carabiner onto the under quilt to create a bit of a cocoon effect, which kept me snug for the rest of the night.
Woke up to birdsong—loads of it. A woodpecker and a cuckoo stood out in particular. The woodpecker seemed to be going, “Would you look at my hole,” while the cuckoo chimed in with, “Well bless my soul.” Still more melodic than The Phantom’s snoring.
Breakfast was spot on. The Phantom cooked bacon and black pudding sausages, and I handled the fried eggs. Washed down with a couple of brews—it doesn’t get much better than that. Wild camping really is something else.
A few oddities worth mentioning: a random hare bounded through camp, caterpillars kept dropping from the trees (I had to flick more than a few off me), and the rainwater on our tarps had a strange dark, murky tint—almost like it was mixed with sap or resin. Bit weird.
After packing up and leaving no trace, we headed home in the sunshine. On the way, we passed a bloke walking some Springer Spaniels—and it turned out to be the very guy I got Freddie from.
Speaking of Freddie, he’s been mostly brilliant. The family’s had loads of fun with him—and with Ernie too. That said, not all glamour… After the camp, I took them both out, and once I’d got Ernie back in the car, he promptly threw up. As great as they are, they’re still a handful.
I’ve been keeping up the cycling—mixing it up between different bikes and Zwift—and I’m already looking forward to the next gravel adventure.
Adventure awaits.
