After my first wild camp in a soggy Kentish field in March with Sophie, and another damp night by myself in the Spanish mountains in May, I had high hopes for a clear night and starry skies for an Autumn bivvy in the Surrey Hills. It didn't quite work out that way, but that's all part of the fun!
It started out with another (micro) microadventure - to find a gas cylinder for my new Alpkit brukit. Apparently they're more widely available at the start of the summer when 'normal' people go camping, but after trying lots of places, I finally found one in a little camping shop in Shere, so managed to squeeze in cake and coffee at one of my favourite cycling stops (The Dabbling Duck) too.
When Sophie and I did our 5-9 adventure in March we didn't have time to recce camping spots until after a) it was dark and b) we'd shared a bottle of wine in a local pub, so we decided to make the most of pre-drinking daylight hours and explore a bit of the North Downs Way in advance so we were camp-ready.
On the advice of my go-to adventure community (Adventure Queens Facebook Group) we decided to base ourselves near St Martha's on the Hill, with great views overlooking the Surrey Hills towards the villages of Chilworth and Albury, not far from the bigger town of Guildford. Located right next to the North Downs Way, it's a popular spot with hikers and mountain bikers.
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| Never too old for a swing! |
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| New season heather |
Once we'd found a good spot to camp, we headed down the hill to the village of Albury, and dinner at The Drummond Arms pub.
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| #treehugger |
A whole baked camembert, smoked pork belly, steak and ale pie and bottle of red wine later, we headed back up the hill with our head-torches, dodging tree roots, toads and the first of the evening's raindrops...
It didn't rain alllllll night, but even when it did, we were bivvy-ready, so it was worth it for the peace and quiet before the first of the morning trail runners hit the North Downs Way. And with a working gas canister, the brukit's first outing was a success. So after a massive cup of coffee we headed back to the relative comfort of the car and a massive cooked breakfast. Next time the challenge will be to cook breakfast outside too!
