Bivvy a Month 2024

[javatime]

that 'hut' looks a bit like one of these:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/15038/17318950596

minus the wheels!

I am sure it was. Very impressive heavy hinges still hanging, but no doors !

[Blackhound]

I got out for my October bam a week ago but not had time to write up. It was a short one into a local country park. I had often looked at a gate but it was locked but recently it has been open. I popped my head in a few weeks ago and under a couple of large trees was some lovely flat ground. I waited until it was dark and set off and sneaked through the gate. It was proper dark under the trees and it was difficult to see what I was doing but eventually the tarp was erected. I sat next to a tree with my Kindle and a flask of peppermint tree only to find the flask had failed and it was now tepid.

It was a warm night and I had taken my summer bag with a jacket and down trousers but that was probably too much and I was on the warm side. I heard a car go by but I managed to sleep better than usual but woke just after 4am and then a another car went past and 20 minutes later came back. It is a dead end really and wondered who was about. By 7am it was still a struggle to see what I was doing under the trees although it was lighter where my bike was leant against a tree. A couple more cars had come by at this point and I wondered what was going on. I left the wood and a couple of hundred metres later saw a car parked next to the horses. There are some stables and horses in the fields so I probably heard people arriving to feed the beasts.

I was home by about 8am for a quick breakfast, change and out on my road bike for a ride with my Thursday group.

10\12 and 34 consecutive months.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBt7E6OOajv/?img_index=1

[dorsetshirelad]

Oct 24 Bivi BAM compliation.jpg (160.15 KiB) Viewed 1836 times

October Bivvy

For Octobers Bivi, I decided to go back to a place that I've visited several times before. There is a quick way there along the coast, but I took the longer trail that goes inland and crosses a few heaths before arriving at St Aldhelm’s Head, my destination. The trip that I worked out was going to be about 100 km, with the greater part of the journey on the first day and a shorter more direct line home along the seafront on the second day. I also planned to cook some tasty food. Recently, we’ve had liver and bacon at home, and so I aimed to try to reproduce that on a bivvy, with the extra complication of cooking it on a wood-burner. I'd recently purchased a new Firebox folding stove and was keen to try it out in anger. There is no wood available there, and so I had to carry all my fuel for the evening’s meal, and the next day’s cooked breakfast too. This boosted the bulk of my already loaded bike. The reason I’d chosen this treeless location was the fact that it doesn't have too many visitors, as I would rather not attract attention cooking on an open fire, but is easily accessible to me along a bridleway.
I arrived about 4 o'clock after a five-hour ride, and had to prepare my fire and my food immediately, as it was going to be dark by 6:30. It took a long while to get my dinner plated up, but I was eating by 6 pm. I cleared away and was erecting my hammock by the light of the moon. As there are no trees it was suspended between the two remaining masonry walls that formed the entrance to a derelict World War II radar station.
After a reasonable night, I was cooking my breakfast as the Super moon set and the sun rose. I cleared away, and headed down to Swanage for a coffee and then over the hill to catch the chain ferry at Studland. It was a comfortable ride back along the prom to home.

Video:
https://youtu.be/kiV1QozMH3s

[sean_iow]

I enjoyed your video but a bit disappointed to get to the end and not find out how you hung the hammock between 2 walls?

[Bearlegged]

October done on Tuesday night. Lots to unpack, will write it all up properly in the near future.

[dorsetshirelad]

I enjoyed your video but a bit disappointed to get to the end and not find out how you hung the hammock between 2 walls?

Sorry about that. It was a bit too dark to film. This is from a previous trip there.

Hammock Between Walls.jpg (223.33 KiB) Viewed 1729 times

https://youtube.com/shorts/KyO84k5_CLM?feature=share

[Raggedstone]

I am a bit slow with the October report though there is not a lot to say as i went to the same place as last month and due to finding riding difficult at the moment i will probably have to do the same this month . I did go via the pub this time to make an evening of it and to be honest despite it being close to home its a cracking bivvy spot it was the night of the full moon so no lights required at the camp spot. I went to bed with a very big light on and listened to Under Milk Wood. I had taken a flask with me so enjoyed a cup of coffee in bed watching the sunrise.
PXL_20241018_055759445 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
I got up and packed away just before a lady walking 8 dogs appeared so narrowly avoided being licked to death she was going on up to the ridge to enjoy the sunrise unfortunately a couple of minutes later the mist rolled in ruining that idea. After a foggy roll home lots of tea and toast was enjoyed.
PXL_20241018_061145122 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr

PXL_20241018_061203797 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr

10/12 for this year and that was the 70th consecutive bivvy

[javatime]

Managed to get November BAM completed early, and far beyond the BS35 postcode for a change.

Had a loose loop planned around the Gower, from the in-laws place in Pennard, up onto Cefn Bryn over towards Rhossilli Down then overnight somewhere handy for the Brittania Inn at Llanmadoc. I hadn't really thought about how to get back.

A bit grey up on Cefn Bryn but big views all around.



Found a nice bridleway from Llandewi Church to the back of Rhosilli Down, cycled and pushed up to the top with Sean's suggested bivi site below.



Back down for a coffee in Llangennith, then tea and a stock up at the excellent Llanmadoc Community shop (still open later on a Saturday afternoon)

Found a hidden spot to pitch on Llanmadoc Hill. Had a quick look across at "Stormy Castle" - an impressive Grand Designs place with 360 views and lots of purposeful rusty metal to help the white concrete and glass blend in to the landscape.



Back down the hill for a very nice pint of Gower Gold (advertising strapline : Beers of Outstanding Natural Beauty), then back up again for a good night's sleep.



Think that is Llanelli in the distance



Yes, definitely Llanelli

In the morning I went along to Llanrhidian, then the marsh road to Crofty (coffee in the Crofty Inn, supermarket almost next door). Checked out the Gower Brewery Tap (limited opening hours) for a future visit, then up to the high ground again through Welsh Moor to Cefn Bryn and "home". Just a couple of tiny figures and running dogs on the beach below, and the caravan site empty. It will be different in July.



A good couple of days ad hoc pottering, and enjoying the marshes and pines of north Gower. Also the first overnight with the Ramin Plus - I liked the plushness off road of the 3 inch tyre, inevitably a bit of a "drag" on the tarmac, so planning more jaunts to the hills in the future.

[sean_iow]

November bivi completed by the 3rd

The data was chosen for me as I had a plan to incorporate another event. This also meant a Saturday night out which was a change from the usual week days.

I left home after dinner as it was only 6 miles to the location and with my ongoing hand issue I didn't want to ride too far. Once I'd ridden up to the top of the downs it would be mainly downhill to my spot. The following day's event would see this road closed from 06:00 to 20:00. To get to where I wanted to be would mean either a very early start or a fairly long diversion so going the night before made it much easier.

Passed the first clue shortly after starting on the downhill section.



There were some other clues on the way, barriers stacked up ready to close off roads the had junctions with my route, some white rectangles painted on the road to show where bales had to be places and some tapped off footpaths etc.

Made it to the woods and headed for the area where the kids have built the jumps. Normally I'd expect to be disturbed by dog walkers on a Sunday morning but as the road into the car park would be closed by 06:00 I knew I'd have the place to myself. A good nights sleep and up at 7 for breakfast and coffee.



In the daylight the jumps look even scarier to an old man like myself, they are quire wide gaps and the camera doesn't do justice to how steep the slope is. I could only bivi in this part as the hammock doesn't need flat ground.



After a slow start I made my way to the edge of the woods to a spot I';d checked out on the ride home on Friday. In place by 09:00 and first car through at 09:15



The picture is car 4* but the first 5 were all R5 class cars. At the other end of the field there were even a few historic cars, this one being older than most of the spectators. The photo doesn't portray the speed and noise of a modern rally car. When the stage direction was reversed you could hear the turbo cars popping and banging on gear changes from 3 miles away



That picture was taken after the stage had to be neutralized due to the issues of a drone flying over the road Hence the car behind. The event was the Island Stages tarmac rally, the first closed road tarmac rally to be held in the country since the law was changed a few years back to allow motorsport on closed public roads again. I had expected to spend the day stood on my bank on my own but in the end I saw loads of people I knew, most of which immediately asked if I'd bivied in the woods the night before Either they know me well or maybe the fact I was in cycling gear and had a loaded bike lent up against the tree behind me gave it away.

11/12 for the year, 57 months in a row and 33 night out this year.

*Fiesta R5 is a WRC2 car, 1.6 turbo, 5 speed sequential gearbox (on paddles in most of them) 4x4 and weights 1230kg and is 290bhp. Goes like a scolded cat! A quick google says you can get a second hand one for £100k.

[Verena]

Rallypacking, love it Sean

[sean_iow]

Rallypacking, love it Sean

I thought there would be hundreds of us, all night music and drinking, bands playing, fire-pits, flares and smoke blowing across the road, just like say the Col de Turini on the Monte Carlo was in the 1980's. But it was just me and Ralph, a can of 7% craft ale and an early night

[Bearlegged]

A trip that was long in the mind, but short on planning. I wanted to get away for a multi-day trip, but my wife’s work has been pretty intense recently, so I didn’t want to add to that by leaving her with the bairns for too long.
I wondered about North Yorkshire, either the Dales or Moors, but in the end plumped for the Calder Divide “Coxley” gravel route, which along with riding to the route from Sheffield should give me a manageable 3 day/2 night trip. I tapped up some locals for tips on cake stops/pubs/possible bivvy spots, then did very little to prepare. Thursday night, I managed to bundle some kit together; Friday morning I strapped it to the bike, and headed north on the TPT.

It was misty but mild, the kind of conditions that make everything a bit muffled. Sights and sounds were mostly muted, bar the kaleidoscope of autumnal colours hanging from the trees and carpeting the ground.
I had a massive all-day breakfast at Penistone – I’d have opted for the “small” version had I known. I was so discombobulated that I missed my turning and carried along the TPT as far as Dunford Bridge and Winscar Reservoir. As I rolled across the dam wall, visibility was down to approx. 50m, definitely not a day for big views, more one for noticing the minutiae of nature, including some dew-bejewelled fungi and spiders’ webs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBj2nDPOx_o/?img_index=1

Down Wessenden (an absolute hoot), through Marsden, and along the Pennine Bridleway towards Littleborough, where I found a pub. By now, darkness had fallen, and I was weighed down by a day of dampness, and the mental release and subsequent slump of finally reaching a break from everyday life. A beer and a hot meal were too much to resist. I’d also decided I was out for a good time, not a hard time, and when I discovered the pub did rooms, I took one for the night. I could always get my monthly bivvy on night two.

Saturday dawned with the view from my window showing valleys filled with mist, but it soon brightened up, with bluebird skies for the rest of the day. I was soon rolling along the side of the Rochdale Canal, enjoying the light, the birds, and the shared morning greetings with passers-by. Having made good progress on the flat towpaths, I soon reacquainted myself with the slow life, as the route headed up a valley furnished with temperate rainforest (do check out Guy Shrubsole’s “The Lost Rainforests Of Britain” for a good read about these!), and headed to May’s shop.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBoylrCuBd-/?img_index=1

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBo9WV_OhvA/?img_index=1

Fortified by a pie, and with a big cheese butty stowed in my back pocket for later, I continued on my way across the moors. This section had some lovely tracks and lanes and views. I was not so keen however on the slightly boggy grassy slog, or the massively eroded (by a combination of bikes and water run-off) downhill. Or indeed, the long, stoney, rattly section. Something of a curate’s egg this route. Anyway, I got to my planned bivvy spot, and polished off my cheese butty. One slight problem, in that I was massively ahead of myself, and it was 3pm. The eastern part of the planned route looked pretty unpromising for bivvy spots, so I rerouted through Halifax and Huddersfield (some lovely canal paths, Huddersfield possibly the most British Asian neighbourhoods I have ever seen), and found summat to eat in Holmfirth.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBo-8mwO0vB/?img_index=1

Promising bivvy spot 6km away (hurrah!) all uphill (argh!) turned out to be a bust. Tried again on the TPT near Dunford Bridge, but my heart wasn't in it, so I channelled my inner Trep and just smashed it home.

It was definitely a trip of good points and bad points. I enjoyed the solitude and some of the trails. And the pie. But I’d not really had my heart in it from the start, with lack of preparation, ambition, and most pertinently, no October bivvy. So that’s why I found myself in my local woods yet again on the Tuesday night, leaning back against the vestiges of an old tree trunk, sipping another silly ABV stout and enjoying some snackage before turning in for the night. That was nice.

2024 BAM 10/12
2024 total bivvies 10
Current streak (months) 71

[Verena]

it was just me and Ralph, a can of 7% craft ale and an early night

That sounds just about perfect to me.

[RIP]

It does indeed.

Going to be pretty parky here next week..... -1/-2/-3... so will probably pop out and, er, chill....

[NeilA]

BAM 30 Oct... 10 of 10, 34 of 34
Alturo Lounge gaming night with work colleague Sue, her hubbie, daughter, and their old friend Grant, visiting from USA.

A hastily arranged wild camp to coincide with my need to BAM, connecting Grant and I for a like minded souls wild camp. Sue arranged for us all to meet at a regular Wednesday board game evening in Malvern.
So there I am arriving at the pub looking to enjoy a few pints with Grant before ascending up the Malverns. My bike and luggage followed inside, whereupon my friends and I were rubbing shoulders with some serious looking geeky types (i say that respectfully!!!) all (18 of us in total) gathered for an interactive fantasy game 'Blood on the Clocktower!
Hours later, a fun and enthralling event, now history, Grant and I yomped up up and away to the top to Table Hill.
Camp set up sorted before the witching hour.
We sat under my tarp and shared whisky and some ginger dark chocolate getting to know each other long into the night and enjoying the view!! Btw This particular statement is not open to interpretation
Such a shame Grant would be heading home in the next day or so.
A mighty damn fine sleep we both proclaimed next morn. No stealth on this occasion!
Back to town for a coffee or two before we bade farewell.
I stayed in town and clocked in for 5 hours at work.

Looking North


Worcestershire Beacon in the distance. The fireplace was there before




Grant confessed he's happier in the wilds than with people!
Trekmaster Squall and Rab Ascent sleeping bag, Alpkit Drift air pillow and an old Thermarest self inflate mat, all carried in an Osprey Talon 44 litre rucksack while cycling


Latest acquisition an Alpkit Whisper Sleep Mat with R- Value of 2.5, impressive!

[RIP]

Only had expectations of a local placeholder this month but it turned out to be quite eventful after all. Bucketing down outside, convivial inside.... hmm.... nothing for it but to just gird those loins and get out there and do it....

11/11, 11/12, 108/108

[RIP]

A few from SnowyPete as well:

[MuddyPete]

Cheers Reg!
I was thinking of jacking it in, but a great night in a warm pub, your convivial company and a snowy wake-up has rejuvenated my enthusiasm.
Bravo, sir!

14/14

[RIP]

jacking it in

Another soul saved from eternal BaMnation . Hang on that's the wrong way round isn't it. Should be "saved for". That'll teach me to try daft wordplay at this time in the morning.

[JimmyG]

Last Tuesday I headed up to Aviemore to take advantage of a spell of dry, mild weather. I arrived late afternoon and got in a night ride round the Rothiemurchus trails, all of them very dry for this time of year. Riding in the dark on deserted trails - always an enjoyable experience up there. I spent the night in the woods in my van and next day I got a few hours of daylight riding in.

Day Ride by Jimmy G, on Flickr

After dinner in an Aviemore pub, I headed off into the forest to tick off November’s bivvy.

Leaving Aviemore by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Truth be told, I’d originally intended riding up to Loch Garten but in the end wasn’t feeling in the mood for it. Instead, I headed for a less distant spot that I’d used previously in March 2022, next to Lochan Deo at the start of the track to Loch Einich. In contrast to the surprisingly mild sunny day I’d enjoyed earlier, by the time I set off the wind speed had risen and the temperature had dropped considerably.

Decisions, decisions... by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Once I got going, though, I soon warmed up and arrived at my pitch after a ‘mammoth’ 7 miles.

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

I’d decided to trust the weather forecasters’ prediction of a dry night and didn’t bother taking any type of overhead cover with me. In the event, that proved to be the right choice. The wind eventually died down and I had a very good sleep, only waking once for the obligatory night time pee.

Lochan Deo by Jimmy G, on Flickr

After coffee and a flapjack I packed up and headed to Loch An Eilein and then on to Aviemore for a proper breakfast.

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Loch An Eilein by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Loch An Eilein by Jimmy G, on Flickr

That’s 11 from 11 for ’24 and 83 consecutive BAMs.

[gecko76]

Looks ace Jimmy. What's the tunnel?

I'm likely to be struggling this month. Fingers crossed for next weekend.

[JimmyG]

Thanks Justin. The tunnel's just down from the police station on the main street (opposite Cairngorm Mountain Sports shop) and goes under the railway line. Through the tunnel, turn right on the road and head towards the Old Bridge Inn.

Hope you manage to get out somewhere at the weekend!

[Mrs Polisherman]

With talk by vegancheese of a joint bivvy with a few other friends at a new high remote location on Saturday night, I had been looking forward to November's BaM all month; especially with the arrival of a cold snap and snow. However, once I saw the forecast for Storm Bert I decided to go it alone, early. Last Thursday seemed the perfect opportunity with the forecast of overnight snow, but a clear and sunny morning. Having mentioned my plan to my friend Janet and her daughter Sam (whose 23rd birthday was the next day) they decided to meet me at the designated spot at 9pm that night.

Fortuitously, with temperatures forecast to drop to -5 that night, the postman delivered my new down socks just in time. I was hoping that warm feet might help me get some sleep.

The designated spot on Upperwood Edge just below Dick Hill is only an hour's ride away so setting off at 8pm I rode and pushed my way up there through snow squalls and mist wondering if I would be able to find the flat platform I had in mind in the dark. Luckily I did, and was able to shine my torch towards where I knew Janet and Sam would be coming from to guide them in too.

Conditions were fairly unpleasant so we threw our tents up, swigged back some hot Ribena from Janet's flask (we know how to party!) and munched on chocolate digestives before turning in for the night.

I lay shivering in my winter sleeping bag and down socks for a while listening to the howling wind and snow battering my tent thinking it was going to be a long night, then the next thing I knew it was light and, on putting on my glasses, there was the lovely pink sunrise glow on the horizon I had been hoping for. Yes, I had slept! I'm definitely getting better at this sleeping on bivvies thing.


Hot tea, coffee and birthday cake followed - only after I had wrapped my hands round the gas cannister to warm it so that it would boil the water (and that was despite it spending all night in my sleeping bag to keep it warm). We then packed up in glorious still sunshine and went our separate ways again for the idyllic journey home.

[fatbikephil]

Snowy bivvy! I'm jealous....

[Tractionman]

superb ^^^