IN WHICH I
  • ... Write
  • ... Explain

Sleep on a hill on New Year's Eve

10/1/2015

6 Comments

 
What better place to enjoy New Year’s Eve fireworks than the top of a hill? And what better way to make sure you’re on the hill at midnight than sleeping there?
Microadventure view from hill
We threw our bags in the car, picked up a very late lunch from a chip shop and headed to a nearby carpark to watch the sunset. It was completely overcast. We ate our chips overlooking a half-derelict old bus as the light faded and cars left the carpark one by one. A family flying a kite packed up. A couple of dog walkers came and went. By 4:30pm it was dark and ours was the only car left.

It was a brisk, windy walk to the top of our hill. Towns snaked away in a line of light on one side, and on the other was a skin of darkness, speckled with lights from farms and villages and cut through by the main road twisting out from the closest town.

We set up camp in a hollow to keep out the worst of the wind and, having learnt our lesson from last time, donned extra pairs of socks and trousers before hopping into our bivvies. We weren’t hungry and there wasn’t much else to do, so we decided to get a very early night. A few hours later, we woke up, cooked some noodles, brushed our teeth and went back to bed, setting an alarm for 11:45pm.

In the breaks between the clouds, it looked like the stars were speeding across the sky. I could hear gusts of wind approaching over the ridge and through the grass before they hit our little camp, whipping the bivvy bag around my head and making it rustle and snap like a sail. It was so strong that I moved when it buffeted me, like vehicles judder in the cross winds on a bridge. “How am I ever going to sleep in this?” I wondered . . .

. . . and then the alarm went off. I was warm and comfortable and had to convince myself to get up and watch the fireworks - that was the reason we were out here, after all! We spent a cold half-hour jumping up and down, running on the spot, shivering and rubbing our arms as the wind tore around us. There were a few sparkles here and there, but when it turned midnight every town and village within sight began sending up fireworks in earnest. We could see some big ones in the far distance - from Brighton, we decided - and the flares hanging over a nearby town demonstrated how useful they must be in an emergency. A village below us gave us a good display, but seen from high up and from a distance, most of the fireworks seemed rather puny. Still, we agreed, it was a new experience to watch the whole horizon twinkling so prettily. We wished ourselves a happy (Gregorian calendar) new year and dove back into our warm nests.

We woke up at about 5am and had a chocolatey snack to try and ward off the chill. I was thankful for my extra pair of trousers, but the three pairs of socks were still unable to keep my feet warm. At least I wasn’t tangled up in my sleeping gear like my partner. It was quite amusing (for me) to watch him wallow around like a walrus trying to sort himself out. We dozed again, then made porridge and tea as the sky turned from grey to pastel pink.

As we arrived back into the car park, we passed the first dog walkers of 2015. I wondered if they could tell that we'd slept out there?
Chips
These were good chips!
Pot and stove
Cooking noodles on the camp stove.
Blurry lights
The phone camera didn't quite catch the fireworks!
Our camp with me in bed
Sleeping near a trig point - proof that we're at the top!
Morning view, pink light
Couldn't ask for a better view from the bedroom.

This microadventure cost £14.90 (for two of us), including petrol, food and drinks.

Like the idea of sleeping outside every month this year? Join in with Alastair Humphreys' year of microadventure! Love the idea of microadventuring, but not 100% sold on camping? Join our alternative year of microadventure!

6 Comments
Muddy Mum link
9/1/2015 21:10:21

Sounds like a marvellous start to the new year!

Reply
Jonathan link
9/1/2015 23:44:36

Indeed it was!

Reply
Mags
9/1/2015 22:01:25

A great start to a new year!

Reply
Jonathan link
9/1/2015 23:45:58

It was pretty amazing!

Reply
Emily
10/1/2015 05:35:39

Beautiful! I'm a bit jealous. Not of the cold, though :D

Reply
Jonathan link
10/1/2015 11:25:43

It was pretty brisk! But it's definitely a special feeling to wake up there, alone, on top of the world...

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    In which I

    In which I do things and write about them

    RSS Feed

    In which I tag

    All
    #30DaysWild
    Art And Architecture
    Audio And Music
    Australia
    Battle Observer
    Birmingham
    Books And Stories
    Bristol
    Buckinghamshire
    Cambridgeshire
    Cooking
    Cycling
    Devon
    East Sussex
    Eating And Drinking
    Film And Video
    Foraging
    Gardening
    Gippsland GunaiKurnai Country
    Grand Union Canal
    Hastings Independent
    Hertfordshire
    Heysen Trail Prep
    Housekeeping
    Imagining
    Interviewing
    Kent
    Lake Field
    London
    Manchester
    Marketing
    Melbourne Wurundjeri Country
    Microadventure
    National Trust
    Netherlands
    Norfolk
    Northumberland
    Paddling
    Q&A
    Reporting
    Review
    Share The Love
    Sheffield
    Snowy River
    Somerset
    South Gippsland Bunurong Country
    Suffolk
    Swimming
    Tea
    Victorian High Country Jaitmathang Country
    Victorian High Country Taungurung Country
    Wadawurrung Country
    Wales
    Walking
    West Sussex
    Wiltshire
    Year Of Sleeping Variously
    Yorkshire

    In which I archive

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.