Hobbies / Books   (Gardening, walking, books, films, theatre etc.)

I have a hobby which I don't believe that I share with other members, though I would be delighted to hear from anyone wishing to prove me wrong.

I usually call it minimalist camping.

But it perhaps more commonly goes under the name of stealth camping, or bushcraft.

In days gone by, you could get 'Open Forest permits' to camp off site in New Forest: it even permitted you to light fires.

You may recall in the News, a couple of weeks back that we have now lost the right to wild camping on Dartmoor, other than a small concession the landowner made.

So, now no longer legal in England, though it is in Scotland, and especially so in Scandinavia, which is now probably the main venue. I do have sympathy for the English landowners though as people do abuse our rural spaces.

Minimalist camping eschews stuff like tents and camping gear: goes in for tarps/paracord and whatever you can make with the universal tool, that is a survival knife.

The real challenge is to be as comfortable and secure as needed whilst carrying the absolute minimum of tackle.