Strengthening my connection with Nature through water

In my last blog I was having trouble with my new raft camping/floating hide idea and thanks to some old bits of heavy metal I have made some achors so I can lower into the water to keep each side of my raft into the mud so I wont float off in the night and now that I have a 2 door tent that I can access the front, back and sides of the tent for emergencys and mooring up in wild spots. With my raft ready to go for wild camps I have decided to use more over the winter more as theres more darkness, clearer skys and the countryside comes more alive under a winter sky on land and in water.

Hearing the tick tick of the Robin as the light falls and rises especially as the temperature falls

My only issue was that I may have to insulate abit more with a thicker sleeping bag and tent carpet to as the problem with camping on water is your losing heat from above as well as below but I'll get more into that another time. One of the things I decided I wanted to do more of was spend more time in water wild swimming or wild dipping if its especially cold and this year I have just done that from rivers, lakes and the sea.

 

It was so refreshing and life affirming to see Swans swimming by while in the water under the water through huge shoals of sand eels in clear blue seas that you would not believe was in the UK.

Having an hour and a flask of tea in a quiet bay on the Menai straits

Paddle boarding the river always ended with a dip in more secluded locations to cool down my body after being out on some really hot days watching large Barbel speeding about on the gravel river bed.

 

 

Under the water the Minnows seem to be in good number meaning healthy river providing food for the abundant Kingfishers that have done well from low rainfall meaning barely any floods in the breeding season. One thing I did notice was the Minnows seem to have developed the same appetite as the skin-nibbling, toothless carp that to be used in fish based pedicures which got banned to due health issues.

 

I have just received a couple of books to read & review which I'll post soon and as I have a long weekend off every month till February 2022 will mean I can get out and reconnect with the thing I love for the next 4 months so I'll be posting more when I get the chance to. The one thing that never changes for me is the feeling of being outdoors wearing my comfy outdoors clothing heading off camping with everything I need to survive in one back pack by the coast.

 

Thanks for reading

Mike

Stay wild and be free

Connecting with Nature - Wildlife + camping = Wildlife camping with a twist

Earlier in the year during Winter and what felt like the 100th lockdown we have had I decided once that I had planned, booked and paid for all my holidays I wanted to do some creative unique things I have thought of but not seen people do as who wants to be like everybody else "Not me".

After kayaking and paddleboarding for many years and my love for camping this got me thinking and I wondered if I could combine the two things together. After many searches on camping on water including rafts and life rafts I found the perfect product which I bought straight away with much excitement. 

 

I enjoyed using 8by2 sturdy well made product in the spring of 2021 it was wonderful that unlike a sup board or kayak to have space and beable to hang my legs in the water on hot days while watching all the river wildlife. So I had the raft base now I needed a cheap tent from Argos that measured just right to place on the raft to test my theory and see what issues there maybe from camping on water whether a river, lake or canal each one brings its own challenges and positives but if it gave me unique moments with nature it was worth it.

With shallow rivers I can moor up to the banks by stepping out into the water with using a mooring pin or rope onto a tree as there are many isolated areas not accesible by land and only via water especially in this time of overgrown river banks my local river felt like a small piece of the Amazon making there even more of a reason to enjoy camping on the river. On canals and lakes I cannot just step out into the water so it makes the toilet situtation tricky but I solved that quite easily with common sense but thats not for this blog for two reasons. So first I camped alone on the lake and it was amazing no problems except abit wet under the tent from the heavy rain but I slept well and had a good night sleep with the door open I could see the geese and swans plus other various creatures moving in the darkness including bats feeding on the insects buzzing on the waters surface so a bat detector is a future purchase I really want to use while sleeping on the water.

Feeding swans from my comfy bed I even brought my bed pillows from home

With my first camp out of the way with a few small issues depending on weather I decided to try with another person in the tent as it was 2 man tent and the says it holds 3 adults and one child so 2 adults and gear for comfort and filming should equal below the maximum weight it can take. The 2 man attempt was on a dry clear night under the stars unlike the first this time we could hear the tawnys calling from the tall willow trees on the lakes edge. My main problem in windy weather is staying still and accesing the front and the boat of the raft for storage and mooring but I'll go into that in my next blog hopefully in the next few days.

Camp raft 2.0 on its way and in a more inconspicuous color

Thanks for reading

Mike

Stay wild and be free

Marine life and time to move!!!

Well its been a month or two since last posting but there has been a good reason for it as I have been searching for my perfect home closer to the coast. I've started my search near wild coastal locations for doer uppers or something that needs a little bit of work. From the edge of Anglesey to the edge of Wales/Cheshire. Ive been working extra hours and prepping things for the day when I do finally make the move so when I find my dream place I can keep my orignal job and get things going for my future move.

While on Anglesey Wild camping last week we had some amazing locations to sleep at plus our wild camping kit/clothing is so refined now its quite a pleasant expirience sometimes I wish I could do it for a few months at a time.

Newborough at 6.30am on a late summers morning

I did some research on when the Rissos Dolphins show up in the area and previous years its been late August to end of September and we just missed them after sleeping one night off the coastal path with the previous afternoon and next morning we got some lovely encounters which you can see below including Porpoises with calfs, Seals and the odd Gannet.

 

Mother and calf

Seals coming close to the rocks where we waited for the marine life to breach

We did 5 nights camping 2 at one place, 2 at another and one at a new site but I won't reveal any of there locations as it took me a long time to find these spots where we can camp without being disturbed or disturbing anyone else so proper stealth camping.

Leave footprints take memories

When I got back from my trip I went up to Shining tor in the Peak District it has wonderful views and I felt so far from home even though it was about 2 hours walk from the bus station where I caught the bus to Macclesfield. I hope to do more Tors(Large hills) in the area over the Winter months. 

I saw my first CHESHIRE Wheatear in the area and heard from somewhere there are Choughs ringed on Anglesey have been in the Peak district area of Derbyshire so that would have been a alovely thing to hear.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the start of Autumn

Regards

Mike

The summer is over well my holidays are for now-July Holiday 5 nights/days wild

Well, I thought this time would not come so fast but as I have just had my last and fourth week of this year's Spring/Summer Wild camping holiday season. Our wild camping trip began with our heavy looking bags on our bus trip which began with rain and a bus diversion. We started on Saturday at Cowny with a walk to see if there were any Oystercatchers nesting on the cliffs but no luck so had some sunbathing while waiting for night to come so we could go to our secret wild camping location.

As soon as I walk over the bridge I forget everything and start to become to the person I have to bury away in normal working life as I feel so free and stress-free knowing I'm in the elements getting stronger and healthier as I adapt to being outdoors. My DD tarp kept the rain and wind off and plus made us more stealthy and hidden plus my mesh tent and golf umbrella kept the bugs away although when packing up each morning and leaving no trace I'd find a few earwigs trying to hitch a ride in my bag.

We set off early the next morning after the best nights sleep I have had wild anyway. We set off to our next location to visit which was Newborough as the sun was blazing and our journey was long.We ended up getting to our next rest location on the straits and at about 7am I made a cup of tea on my spirit stove. While waiting the tide went out to reveal some wonderful things nearby there was a large rocky area and under every rock, there was so much to see elvers (Young eel) and fish were left in small pools alongside there Crabby friends.

Large sandbanks prompted me to go explore them but while paddling through we found lots of Sand eels shoals which brought in the Terns to feed probably with young at a place I have wanted to visit for a while. 

We spotted lots of small Lobsters and shrimps combing the sandy floor for food. The special thing we found was Hermit crabs probably heading into battle for a new home and some really had the odds against them so what we thought we would do is collect any Hermit crab shells pushed away by the higher tides out of the crabs reach and return them back to the strait where the crabs will use them. I think we found about 14 shells in good condition with no holes or damage to them. We left to get breakfast and head to the forest for some shade then relaxation on the dunes at Newborough so we had plenty of sunbathing where we saw three hooded crows but as the beach was packed with sun lovers I thought best to leave and hopefully may see later in the week which we did near Amlwch.

 The sunset was gorgeous and I fell asleep just after and we woke up too late to catch a bus so we slept on the edge of the forest ready to get up early the next day but we slept in and had breakfast at Anglesey model village - http://www.angleseymodelvillage.co.uk/ which was very tasty and close to the forest plus the service was wonderful. Earlier in the week on our first day, I spotted a Kingfisher along the straits and a blonde tailed Red Squirrel and after 5 minutes of being up, it was quite wonderful and reminded me why I love Wild camping in a respectful way. I also spotted a pair of Common Sandpipers and as I have a new Tamron lens which I prefer compared to the more expensive lenses. One flew away but one remained to leave me with a quick chance while hidden behind a wooden post down on the side of the straits. I loved the green vegetation in the background as was a nice photograph to start the week.

After leaving Newborough we returned to our original camping area with plans to go to Amlwch and walk from there to go caemes bay then onto Cemlyn bay to photograph the Terns there. There were plenty of Artic and Sandwich Terns feeding their chicks speedingly flying back and forth with food ranging from small fish to insects. We only had a couple of hours there so we stayed on the ridge and never went past the stone building which we found out had Little Owls in residence but at least we know for later in the year or next summer.

 Beautiful colors as the adults landed on the hill to preen

Calling for food as the chick sees its parents coming in

Not sure what its brought in?

Wings like Angels

Preening on the beach and a well earned rest

Returning to fishing

Laying low as Black-backed headed gulls patrolled the edges of the colony

Returning with food

Adult and chick resting together

It was lovely arriving and seeing the adult's meters away landing on the posts of the colonies boundary fence.

There is a small Fulmar colony near Almwch and its one of the best places I have ever seen with some quality views of the noisy pairs nesting but I did not see any eggs or chicks but I'm sure they will be there sometime soon.

 After leaving the Terns and having a rest on our walk back to Cemelyn bay and going onto the coastal path towards Almwch we decided to sleep just off the coastal path as the weather given was a clear night. We refreshed in some sea pools refresh by the tide before heading onto some stunning beaches and cliffs. We stopped with a view of Middlemouse an unpopulated rock covered in nesting birds Razorbills, Guillemots and recently this year a small colony of Gannets were reported by some kayaker but I have no seen any photographs hopefully I wish to rent a boat to take us past there to get some cool views of a brand new colony on this stretch of coastline.

We slept well again and even heard calls of Manx shearwaters under the moonlit sky we which was a nice to hear when my sleep was disturbed sliding down the hills in the night. The next day we decided to do some sea watching and get some rest and nourishment while the high tide came in and brought in some Porpoises and Gannets 50m offshore.

Over the whole week from Saturday Lunchtime to Thursday evening, we walked about miles and I even had the energy to do 20 miles around the peak district the following day to the Three Shires head where I found a few pairs of Dippers and saw a female Redstart plus some beautiful views.

I have some local projects including exploring nonnavigational rivers in my kayak and camera trapping some locations. Hopefully, some weekend trips away to enjoy the last couple of months of summer before the cooler evenings commence.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of summer

Regards

Mike