Camping, British Style!
Ever the adventurous types, Dave and I got out all of our camping gear and headed north to the Peak District - for those of you who have never heard of this part of England, it is a nationally protected park spanning 555 square miles. It has amazingly stunning views, walking trails, lots of wildlife and a fun fact for you: it's the second most visited national park in the world after Mount Fuji National Park in Japan!
After a bit of research, we found a little campsite located in Winster. I must preface the reason for the selection of the campsite we stayed at by saying that most British campsites cater only to "caravans" a.k.a RV's and/or they don't allow campfires. The campsite we found a) allowed tent camping and b) allowed campfires and also happened to be on the grounds of a pub called The Miners Standard. Oh, and to camp there, it only cost us £5 per person! =)
After we checked in and got our tent set up, we settled up with the owner of The Miners Standard and had a pint. We were excited as this was our first camping experience in England! Now I know what you're thinking...why would camping in England be any different or any more exciting than camping in the States...and I'll tell you - because we were camping in England!!!!! =) Plus the views were breathtaking. We were at the top of a ridge, at dusk, admiring our little campsite, the view and despite Dave's busy week at work, everything seemed so calm and peaceful.
Dave's a pro at grilling and not just the grilling part - as he'll tell you, it's an art just constructing the pit and starting the fire! This bit makes me smile because I can see a slight little grin begin to creep across his face in satisfaction as he builds the ultimate man fire! If Jered were here, there would have been an exchange of "roars" and the two would carry on like a bunch of cavemen! Meanwhile, Beth and I would be looking on with the "oh gees" face! We miss them...
Dinner was great - we grilled some smoked Italian sausages and cooked rice. We sat around the campfire and talked about anything and everything - of course home came up and we both missed it.
When it was time for bed, we got our tent all set up with our sleeping bags. For those of you who don't know, I am usually cold all the time! I'm pretty sure I wore almost every piece of clothing I own! I put on my thermal underwear, hiking pants, ski socks, under armor running shirt, a long sleeve shirt, my long sleeve zip up running shirt, my coat, hat and gloves. I think Dave only put on another long sleeve shirt and a hat - and I must add, I think he only wore his hat because he really likes it, not because he needed it!
About an hour later, I woke up freezing! I debated on waking Dave up and eventually...had to. After doing so, he knew immediately what was wrong and unzipped his sleeping bag. I climbed in and was immediately immersed in warmth! Dave has this un-human ability to create an abundant amount of body heat! An hour or so later, I could feel my right hip and leg start to ache from being immobile - there's not a ton of room to spare with two people scrunched in a made-for-one sleeping bag! So, I got out and climbed back into my sleeping bag and eventually fell asleep.
Despite not having the best nights sleep, we had a lot of fun!!
After a bit of research, we found a little campsite located in Winster. I must preface the reason for the selection of the campsite we stayed at by saying that most British campsites cater only to "caravans" a.k.a RV's and/or they don't allow campfires. The campsite we found a) allowed tent camping and b) allowed campfires and also happened to be on the grounds of a pub called The Miners Standard. Oh, and to camp there, it only cost us £5 per person! =)
After we checked in and got our tent set up, we settled up with the owner of The Miners Standard and had a pint. We were excited as this was our first camping experience in England! Now I know what you're thinking...why would camping in England be any different or any more exciting than camping in the States...and I'll tell you - because we were camping in England!!!!! =) Plus the views were breathtaking. We were at the top of a ridge, at dusk, admiring our little campsite, the view and despite Dave's busy week at work, everything seemed so calm and peaceful.
Dave's a pro at grilling and not just the grilling part - as he'll tell you, it's an art just constructing the pit and starting the fire! This bit makes me smile because I can see a slight little grin begin to creep across his face in satisfaction as he builds the ultimate man fire! If Jered were here, there would have been an exchange of "roars" and the two would carry on like a bunch of cavemen! Meanwhile, Beth and I would be looking on with the "oh gees" face! We miss them...
Dinner was great - we grilled some smoked Italian sausages and cooked rice. We sat around the campfire and talked about anything and everything - of course home came up and we both missed it.
When it was time for bed, we got our tent all set up with our sleeping bags. For those of you who don't know, I am usually cold all the time! I'm pretty sure I wore almost every piece of clothing I own! I put on my thermal underwear, hiking pants, ski socks, under armor running shirt, a long sleeve shirt, my long sleeve zip up running shirt, my coat, hat and gloves. I think Dave only put on another long sleeve shirt and a hat - and I must add, I think he only wore his hat because he really likes it, not because he needed it!
About an hour later, I woke up freezing! I debated on waking Dave up and eventually...had to. After doing so, he knew immediately what was wrong and unzipped his sleeping bag. I climbed in and was immediately immersed in warmth! Dave has this un-human ability to create an abundant amount of body heat! An hour or so later, I could feel my right hip and leg start to ache from being immobile - there's not a ton of room to spare with two people scrunched in a made-for-one sleeping bag! So, I got out and climbed back into my sleeping bag and eventually fell asleep.
Despite not having the best nights sleep, we had a lot of fun!!
posted by Sarah Anderson at
3:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home