Day 3
- David Edworthy
- Apr 11, 2022
- 3 min read
Wild camp near Ashbury to Court Hill
28795 steps, 22Km / 13.6 miles
Monuments and a strong headwind!
I survived my first night "wild camping". I managed to find a nice, small and quiet bit of woods not to far from the trail.
I had decided to just use a bivy bag as it was supposed to be dry all night. In the end, I had to set the tarp as there was a strong breeze from the South.
A good night's rest, only interrupted by a deer barking and some owls calling.
My camp is below, along with a photo as I left showing only flattened grass as evidence that I was there.
I was really grateful that I decided to camp before Wayland's Smithy last night as it meant I could take my time to explore it fully.
It was wonderfully peaceful there and lovely in the sunshine.
I found a rattle just behind the right hand big stone at the entrance. It was made from rawhide and a bit of Hazel.
I went inside and it felt so peaceful and cool.
Next was a short walk to Uffington Castle Fort and the White Horse.
The wind started to pick up along the walk and it was so strong at the Castle Fort that I was almost blown off the ramparts as I walked around them.
The views were amazing though, you could really see why they built the Fort here.
I walked down to Dragon Hill and then climbed the steps to the top to see if there was a good view of the horse, but you could only see the tail end!
All these steps and climbs reminded me of Hadrian's Wall.
I walked back up to the Castle Fort and managed to get a bit of a better view. It seems odd that you can only really appreciate the horse from above.
I was able to refill my water bottles for the first time since the pub last night at a tap dedicated to the memory of Peter Wren, aged 14 years! It was sad to think about someone so young, but I was very grateful to be able to rehydrate properly.
Walking into the wind with a big pack really takes it out of you. It is amazing how the constant noise seems to fill your head. It seems as though a lot of the Ridgeway trail is along hard ground and this has been made worse due to the recent dry weather. As a result I took the opportunity of a bench to stop for some lunch and give my feet a good air and a bit of first aid. As I got up, I realised that I was missing my merino hat. I asked some walkers who were passing me if they had seen it and they said they had passed it a couple of minutes before. So I packed up my kit in quick time and started back along the way I had come. One good thing about this was at least I got to walk with the wind at my back, but never underestimate a couple of minutes walk for a long distance walker, it was more like a mile back, but at least I found it!
I managed to get my tent pitched before a quick bit of rain then made my evening meal, using up the last of my supplies. Good job I'm meeting the family tomorrow for a resupply.
It's a long section tomorrow, but I'm really looking forward to seeing them all again and having a bed for the night.
. This has been staple food each night. It has worked out pretty cheap, light to carry and I'm not quite bored of it yet!
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