The Lake District is still my favourite place, the high ground is pretty empty and ideal for wild camping. Coming down there are cosy villages with nice pubs, and shops with tourist stuff which is not always horrible. If you go to the popular spots such as Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Helvellyn you will find the 'human sheep' - but they have gone by late afternoon, and are not there early mornings. The Lake District is like a giant playground, or a mini-wilderness, you can take it easy or challenge yourself. It's play because you can be camping and pretend it's an adventure - although 'civilisation' is never far away, yet it is real - you can easily die of hypothermia if you haven't enough clothes with you or get wet, you can get lost in the mist, you can break an ankle and die there (then there will be no-one who just happens to come along and stumble across you, you will be lost forever amongst the boulders and hummocks).
What is it about wild camping? Suddenly it's real... dusk is coming... you're high up and you're gonna be here until morning! You have everything you need, but what if there's a storm - with lightning..?! So you hunt around for a level spot to pitch your tent and decide which way the door should face for your morning view, and take the tent from its bag. Those metal poles are cold! Even though you have a warm sleeping bag the air is cold, your head is outside the sleeping bag and your face will be cold - a balaclava would have been a good idea!
The tent is up and it's time to make food. Outside isn't even worth considering in the mountains, it's inevitably windy, and food gets cold as soon as it's out of the pot. Inside the tent it's wind free, the stove heats the air inside the tent, and perhaps something simple such as noodles + whatever heated in a small saucepan is easiest and best, good to eat something hot! The sun goes down and it's suddenly chilly. The quiet roar of your gas stove burner...you put your torch where you can find it during the middle of the night when you have to get up to go for a pee (unavoidable, get up and get it over with!).
It's so quiet, just the flysheet rattling. Sometimes it's calm, but then there's the gust shaking the tent. What a cosy feeling as you eat your soup/noodles. Rain begins to spatter on the flysheet. You're inside and safe and have a comfy sleeping bag to slip into once you have gotten your pyjamas on (long thermal underwear is ideal for pyjamas when camping methinks). And if you have a good book to read that's nice to look forwards to. And of course, before going to sleep there's the cocoa and a wee whisky.
Now it's black outside. You shine your torch to see if you can spot any crazed axe-murderers approaching your tent but the beam just vanishes into the void and you realise that, actually, if there IS anyone out there after you, you're just giving your position away! Really, there's no-one else there. Just you. You may spot lights twinkling away far down below in the valley and wish you were there tucked up in bed in a 16th-Century Lakeland farmhouse touching a hot water bottle with your feet - but that's everyday stuff, going to bed in a house, here you are having adventure! Tomorrow you'll set off and have the mountains to yourself until 11am-ish when the first lot arrive. And photos to prove it, and folk at home will say 'Wow! You were brave!'. And you were.
what was i thinking- ruining the ozone with all those exotic flights.....i should have gone to haweswater and saved my pennies....
I didn't mean that! It was directed more at those who feel that there's nothing good in the UK and so feel the need to go elsewhere. My school often organises hugely expensive trips abroad for activities that can be done at a fraction of the cost here in the UK. They once went off to Morocco for mountain biking, having paid over £1000 for less than a week. A similar thing in Wales was available for about £300.
Thats hugely small minded of you!
I really can't think of a much more life affirming thing for children to do than travel. To see, experience and be part of other cultures.
As for the Welsh thing..... maybe you need to look a tad bit further than errr... 'mountain biking'
"and folk at home will say 'Wow! You were brave!'. And you were." - rather a crappy last line, I admit, but I was a little drunk and it was time for bed...! I was trying to capture the feeling of wild camping in the Lake District.
Kids don't really appreciate going to places such as Morocco. What are they doing flying at that age to do mountain biking in Morocco?! They'd be much better off if you bought them a rucksack, tent, sleeping bag and a train ticket to Windermere! Flying is too cheap these days, all those folk flying at 500mph and not having a clue as to how fast they are going, how long it would take to walk that distance! And such hippocrites, always on about Saving the Planet, Global Warming, Climate Change - yet try to stop them from getting on their plane at the airport and you'll soon get a fist in your face!
But that's OK with me, the more that go to Morocco means the less there are tramping all over the Lake District depositing their rubbish
There is a balance to be met between exposing kids to abroad and home experiences.
We are lucky enough to have been able to take them trekking in Bolivia, New Zealand, Venezuela and Guatamala. Through primary jungle, to 5000m in the Andes, canoeing on the Orinoco, riding in the Atacama desert, etc. BUT they also have 50 Munros under their belts and are capable wild campers and bothyers.
Their experiences abroad have widened their horizons immeasurable, and I'm sure they see themselves as global citizens not just xenophobic 'Little British'. But I know, the eldest (14) especially, loves Scotland and its wild places and won't forget her roots.
Too many kids don't know their own country and are ignorant and disinterested in the rest of the world too. A bad state of affairs. I know not all families have the resources to do the same as us. I also accept that we contribute to global warming on our travels but to more point, than say trotting off to a beach resort to slob in the sun, 3/4 times a year.
We may be the last generation to be able to fly so easily, and I shall be happy to enjoy our own little bit of the planet.
As a DoE leader I see other groups traipsing all over the UK by minibus for Bronze and Silver expeditions and I wonder why? OK, I live in the NW,so am spoilt for choice but rarely take Bronze out of Lancashire - which is 1 hour max travelling time (I have heard of Bronzes travelling 3 hours each way) - with the kids coming back and raving about toasting marshmallows on campfires, playing frizby on a field, getting lost and finding themselves etc etc.
They dont need to be in the Lakes or N. Wales or even (in one case I came across) Glencoe for that - never mind anywhere else.
Thats said, I am talking to school management about a possible trip to Morroco to do Toubkal (6th form only) and have travelled regulary with my kids (taking a pride and pleasure in being as far as possible from tourist destinations so as to really experience the cultur, country and environment)
I really can't think of a much more life affirming thing for children to do than travel. To see, experience and be part of other cultures.
As for the Welsh thing..... maybe you need to look a tad bit further than errr... 'mountain biking'
That's a bit harsh - I wasn't saying that you shouldn't go abroad; I know how important travel is. Of course everyone gained something from experiencing different cultures, but my point was that there are amazing places in the UK. You can't experience the different cultures of the world by staying here but you can do similar activities.
As for the "Welsh thing" it was part of a week of climbing, caving, canoeing etc in the Brecon Beacons - OK, so we didn't experience exotic cultures, but it was really good fun.
... and have travelled regulary with my kids (taking a pride and pleasure in being as far as possible from tourist destinations so as to really experience the cultur, country and environment)
Admirable. We try & do both, camp out in the countryside & go places we find by chance combined with visits to the like of Rome, Venice, Granada, Carcasonne. Even in such places you can get away from the (rest of the) tourists.
