And so our Christmas meal in a wet, windy Wales continues as Andy Howell and I continue to enjoy our 3 course Christmas meal, cooked from ‘fresh’.
Here was the planned menu;
Aperitif: Warm spiced mulled wine with the hint of a fruit zest and Hors d’Oeuvres
Entree: Winter aromates roasted soup of tomato served with herb and black olive croutons
Plat: Bordelais Chevreuil cooked in a fond brun complimented by a paysanne of organic vegetables and railfort pomme de terre
Dessert: Moist genoise au chocolate with luscious heart of molten chocolate noir
Digestif: Home made Sloe Gin liquor, coffee with mousse au chocolat blanc
Following our excellent main course, we had to rest as it was extremely filling.
Your join us in part 2 on the Digestif course, as Andy and I enjoy Rose’s Sloe Gin and white chocolate as we continue the banter relating to the outdoors and Social Media.
The night was very, very windy and wet so the rain was driven hard against the side of the WickiUp3. So much so that the water went ‘up’ through the air vents and dripped inside in small amounts onto the sleeping area. It wasn’t the end of the world, but my sleeping quilt was a bit damp in the morning. Thankfully as it was only for one night it was no big issue.
The picture of the shelters was the best I could take in the conditions as the wind and rain continued to batter us all the way back to the car later that day.
We called into Hay On Wye for a full breakfast (we skipped the one I hoped to cook in the end) and sat quite content in front of the roaring fire.
Andy having had the tiring challenge of not planning the event, not working on the menu, not helping with the cooking and not doing the washing up, was so overcome with exhaustion on the return journey home, that all conversation was terminated until he had a nice little snooze. (It’s an age thing)
It’s a tough life being a top blogger eh 🙂
You can read all about his version of the event over on his blog site here.
7 thoughts on “No 381 – Wild Camp 3 – Xmas Special Pt 2”
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Hi Bob
Thanks for the time and effort putting these two podcasts together,was going to lsten to pt2 tonight at work,decided to listen this afternoon.That was interesting about social media and bloggers,Your podcasts and video productions have lasted because you have a unique platform with the outdoors station,and they are still interesting to listen to and to view,TGO video diary’s were great with the viewing aids,and the podcasts you still need to use your imagination.
Good job Bob .
Have a good crimbo.
Rich.
Thanks Rich. Very kind of you and it is reassuring to hear that the content is still of interest to folks. You have a good crimbo too 🙂
Accept that you took a large tent for the purpose of cooking and recording in shelter the podcast, but given the weather wouldn’t you have been drier inside a waterproof bivi inside the fly?
Possibly true Nigel, however the decision was made when packing everything and I had a lot of prepare so I decided this would be the better option at the time. Had the weather been better, it would have been.
Once again thanks for the podcast. We got just fresh snow and it was a pleasure to listen when walking.
When you mentioned luxuries I started to think about the mental side of outdoors pursuits. Over the years I have been in some nasty weather and usually we have managed to organize ourselves in a dry and warm fashion and the experience has been rather pleasant. Adding some little luxury to that (like popcorn) gives you the feeling of mastering the situation, instead of being a victim of nature.
A related mental thing that might be useful for newcomers is to learn that things do not go as planned. When you start to do proper wild camping, you can look at a map and make plans, but then you meet reality and find out that the planned campsite is a swamp. Or weather changes. When you have planned the route and meals at home, it is easy to get stuck in the plan and forget that since you are carrying your home on your back, you are free from any plans. You just need to find yourself somewhere when the food ends. As weather affects paddling more than walking, on one occasion I have ended overnighting 2 km from my home (hard wind, but as we had all the gear, people wanted to camp) and on another occasion lack of wind enabled us to head to a lighthouse in the middle of Baltic.
Perhaps you might want to discuss this on some of your wild camping podcasts? Kind of give the newcomers an understanding that things do not go as planned and sometimes you even have little disasters, but you just adapt to whatever happens and everything will be fine (unless you have a big disaster, but for that you have a plan). And that being able to adjust your plans gives you opportunities.
Looking forward to the next podcast, and Merry Christmas to everybody,
Timo Kiravuo
Cheers Bob and Andy. That’s just the inspiration I need to carry on preparing for my mini (solo this year) Christmas backpack in the Highlands. Given the forecast it would be easy to stay put here in Southport. But listening to you two guys reminds me of the fun that can be had in camp even in foul weather – lots of spare batteries for the head torch, a good book and maybe a drop of Baileys.
I’m pre-cooking my Christmas camp dinner as we speak: turkey, 3 or 4 sprouts, a couple of roast spuds, roast parsnip and so on.
Great stuff. Well done.
Dave Porter
Hi Bob,
More interesting podcasts. In your Christmas podcasts were you heading for Sinc Y Giedd?
In one podcast you mentioned a site where one can find a list of podcasts relating to the outdoors. Can you repeat the link please?
Happy New Year