 On many occasion I have camped out in the hills without any peoblems mainly due to leaveing an area the same way I found it and taking all rubbish out with me. Many weekends have been spent lugging the tent up a valley and spending anight or two out in the wild, most of the time no one apart from walkers are the people I see but if you are closer to small towns etc or fams you can get people regularly walking around. As a rule fo thumb dont leave an area any different than you would like to finsd it, it's as simple as that!
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 Absolutely. I firmly believe in minimal impact camping. I was really annoyed when I camped at Sprinkling Tarn in the Lakes once and found kitchen cloths frozen in puddles and wrappers from breakfasts under rocks, those people clearly lacked any respect for the environment they were using.
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 They're not wild campers Ben. They're actually tame campers in an element entirely unsuited for them.
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 I've just finished reading Ray Jardine's PCT Hikers Handbook, I'm hikning it for my 50th birthday. I'll be 33 in a couple of weeks. Anyway, I digress.
He had a really good tip, find a site next to water cook up your meal, have a brew and then take enough water for your breakfast needs and then walk for a couple more hours, or however long you want to.
Therefore you don't need to be pitched next to a water source overnight, which increases possible pitches a hundred fold, or thereabouts.
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 Those foldy flasks are a good idea for that, take up very little room until you actually use them, and pretty lightweight, too.
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Interesting comments on wild camping! I'm off to Norway with a group of kids soon - treking and canoeing - five nights wild camping. last year some of the girls decided wild pooing was not for them so we had to go and find a commercial site! at least they appreciated a real loo! Has anybody got any ideas on a lightweight airbed - my old bones can't cope with self-inflating things. last year I took a Balloon bed - very clever but unreliable. The gelert airbed looks OK but it's still quite heavy. All thoughts gratefully received!
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 All air beds a re a bit heavy and large really though. Not something I would consider taking on a trip. I find my vango self inflating thing really suprisingly comfy for something only about an inch or so thick. Even on yor side your hips and shoulders dont suffer. But each to their own really.
Anyone got any good reccomendations for one of these folding flasks. Really good sounding idea. Ta
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 Chalres (or are you Charles?!), have you tried one of the self-inflating mats with a tubular structure instead of a flat one? I find my Exped downmat much more comfortable than my fat airic largely because of the tubular structure - I find it provides much better back support than the flat ones. I guess it's like the balloon beds only you're less likely to burst!! Various other companies do them too, including Pacific Outdoor, and they're much lighter than airbeds, though much more expensive. I bought the fat airic because of the price, and its luxurious size - you can spread out on a fat airic in a way that you can't with most other mats, but the much higher cost of the Exped mat was worth it.
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The folding flasks are called 'Flexi-flasks', and they come in a variety of sizes. You can probably get them all over, but I got mine at a 'Yeoman's Outdoor' shop. Only a couple of quid or thereabouts.
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.jpg) Chaires I find its also the choice of pitch which makes a night more comfortable.I sleep well with a 3/4 length thermarest but try to find a pitch where the grass is longer to help act as a cushion.In good summer weather dried out mossy spots are very comfortable.Stick the bottom of my sleeping bag into my Gust to insulate my legs from the ground
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 Gregory, I have had over a decade of reliable use from a 4L Ortlieb water bag . It is very versatile - can be inflated as a pillow on buses and I have filled it to make a hot-water bottle for my other half on more than one occasion! Hung from a tree and left to warm in the sun, it makes a tolerable shower too. My 4L one has carry straps at each end making it easy to hang upside down... the 2L looks less versatile . My only gripe is that it can be a bit of a fiddle to pour water without spilling it as it gushes under all that pressure. On the matress front, there's a current forum thread that might be of help here . John
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 I agree with everything said so far about wild camping... remember the land you're camping on is owned by someone and whether you've asked permission or not you are their guest... the same as if someone decided to camp in your back garden! I always camp discreetly, never light a fire, never leave rubbish and if possible set up just before sundown and leave at dawn. Ideally, if you don't (or can't) seek permission, nobody should know you're there or ever have been. If you can't respect all of this then you should stick to official sites... pissing off up into the hills to get drunk and rowdy with your mates is a bad idea too and spoils it for everyone... remember, it's a long way from help when one of you falls into the fire or staggers over and cracks his/her head open! In the Rhinogs, nobody can hear you scream! Has anyone ever had any less than good experiences with Farmers? I did the Cambrian way last year and had some good and not so good experiences! Now I tend to avoid paths through farmyards wherever possible, just to be on the safe side!
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 Intersting but not always true- 'All air beds a re a bit heavy and large really though. Not something I would consider taking on a trip. I find my vango self inflating thing really suprisingly comfy for something only about an inch or so thick. Even on yor side your hips and shoulders dont suffer. But each to their own really.' I have 2 exped down mat 7's. The weight is in the thermarest/ self inflating scale but they are far, far warmer and far more comfortable! Ok, they arn't cheap but not much worth buying is. http://www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage.nsf/b43HomePageE?openframeset
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 I took up wild camping this year. Love it i could never go back to noisey campsites. I agree with letters about leaving a camp with no trace of you being there. Why leave rubbish behind, you would`nt leave empty bean tins and wrappers around your home would you. People just don`t seem to have no respect for the enviroment and others these days. It really maddens me when i hike round mountains see a lovely view and look down and see empty bottles lying around. So all wild campers and walkers leave no trace, think about the people camping after you, dont want to give them any bad habits do you? 
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 well I'm off for a wildcamp in the brecon beacons this weekend and cant wait and I am going to make sure i go nowhere where slovenly packers go!
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 When and where Dave?
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hi Mal at the moment its looking like friday night over to saturday afternoon and then home (I am semi under the thumb) but after having taken the kids camping for 12 week ends out of the last 16 i think I am due some me time I am not sure on location yet. its a toss up between mynydd du/fan hir etc and table mountain, pen cerrig calch, pen-y-gadair fawr, Waun Wach ridge etc in the black mountains are you up for it?
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 I second the inflatable matressess. I've the exped down one which is a kilo, but luxurious and will find it's way out in the colder months. I've also a 3/4 length synthetic one from the states (thermo max one) that weighs not much more than a thermarest (500g) but is much more comfortable if a little short. Are these folding flasks the same as Platypuses (plural? apparently Platypode - me pedantic, never!). They've done me ok, but like all other plastic containers will taint quite easily. So i use one for plain water and then i've got one that i put orange, brandy, etc into.
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 We saw some cracking places for a wild camp at the Beacons meet last weekend, next time I'm in that neck of the woods I'm gonna partake!
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Hi CB, yes thats a good area for wild camping and hence one of my two possibities for the weekend have you recovered from the weekend yet?
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