I’ve been telling myself for weeks that I needed another sleep under the stars but every weekend I seemed to find another excuse to not go away. I’d either have plans with friends, the weather would be terrible or I just felt too tired. Fortunately this week has a bank holiday weekend! I managed to have a very sociable weekend and as Sunday evening approached, the weather was too nice not to make the most of.
I’d been eyeing up Epping Forrest for a while, I’d be able to take the tube almost all the way and then lose myself walking into the woods. But I’d just bought a cheap bike for navigating London (old Peugeot single speed road bike that I re-sprayed blue) and thought why not get there without spending any money. So I loaded the bike with my sleeping bag, packed the rest of my gear in a backpack and headed off.
The best thing about bivi trips is how little stuff you really need to bring.
The sun was going down faster than I had expected and I wanted to build camp while being able to see so didn’t get a chance to stop and take any photos of my journey. But what a lovely journey! Watching as my surroundings changed from dense buildings to dense trees made the escape from the city all the more special.
When I arrived at the woods I left the main path, opting to push the bike through the bushes until I found the right spot, made my camp and lay down (because I’m not used to this cycling thing yet and was knackered!).
Nice and blurry but its home for the night.
I always love reading while camping by myself and I love reading about other people’s adventures so this one was perfect. It’s all about Alistair Humphrey’s first leg of his round-the-world cycle, and even though I’d only travelled 12 miles out of London, I still felt slightly connected. I dozed off while listening to the noise of the woods and watching the trees silhouetted by London’s light pollution.
Blurry and posing, ohh dear….
Woke up at 6.30 feeling reset. Made myself a cup of hot chocolate from a sachet I nicked from a hotel and ate some more chocolate.
Hmmmmmm….. Chocolate…..
I felt so relaxed that I took my time breaking camp. Left no trace but the faint outline of where my sleeping mat had been and set off home.
A me-shaped flattened area is all thats left.
Back onto the road I go!
As I didn’t have to worry about time, the journey back was a little more scenic. I made sure to stop off at the Olympic Stadium for some cheesy photos.
Almost makes it seem like I did more than just a 24mile round trip…
After realising how easy it was to escape London for the night and how cheap (didn’t cost anything apart from the chocolate bar I bought from a petrol station), I need to do more of these breaks. Just being away from the city for a few hours has made me feel far more grounded.
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