Wild camping in the Lake District with a tarp tent



Perfect pitch at Haweswater: Standard DD 3x3 tarp




Dropping down the steep embankment and bush-whacking through a jungle of ferns brought me to the expected stony bridge across the gill.



Crossing the bridge revealed a perfect looking wild camp ground at Haweswater Reservoir in the English Lake District. 


                                           
 



                                            A little slice of tranquillity


A couple of fire-pits indicated that it had seen some use in the past, including on a few occasions by myself. I had used this spot at the start of multi-day hiking treks before.





I soon had the tarp (DD 3mx3m) pitched by the tree and had the Kelly Kettle fired up for a brew. As I had arrived by car I used a sturdy wading staff for the main pole. I've found that the ideal pole for the tarp tent pitch is about 160cm, about shoulder height for an average sized man. I can only get 140cm with my trekking poles, which does work but leaves a bigger doorway. As seen above, I used one trekking pole to raise the back of the tarp and to help secure it too.


                                                   


Haweswater was extended to form the present day reservoir in the 1930's. The village of Mardale was flooded to achieve this and it reappears in periods of summer drought like a Lake District Atlantis.

It was a warm and muggy night so I strung up a mosquito net inside the tarp. This was very much needed as it was swarming with the blighters later in the evening.

First thing in the morning I took my fly rod down to the lake and made a few casts hoping to reprise my previous success at catching breakfast the last time I was here. That time I had limited cookware with me so cooked the fish on a flat stone that I positioned close to an open fire. Rocks piled around it formed an airy smoker. The Wild Brown Trout was delicious.

I cast repeatedly into the same place, where the gill tumbled into the lake, but nothing was doing.

I reached for my camera and caught some photographs instead. They came out very nicely. Here is one, the others deserve their own post!


A July dawn at Haweswater


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