Solo Wild Camp on the South Downs in the MSR Elixir 1 tent

I found a new wild camp spot on the South Downs and took advantage of some good weather to spend a peaceful night out in my MSR Elixir 1 tent.

[@glennt8687]

Beautiful scenery and dark skies. Doesn't get any better than that!

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

I was surprised that the views were so nice Glenn. I was trying to get a photo of the Milky Way above the illuminated tent, but the moon was a bit too bright for that. I was pleased with the starry sky though.

[@tullyfisher]

Beautiful views..seems like a relaxed camping adventure. 👍🏼 Thanks for taking us with you

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

Thanks Michael, it was a very relaxing trip out, helped by the lovely weather.

[@nigellack2576]

Brilliant wee video Jon. Gteat views and a real pleasure to listen to your positive patter! Keep up the good work. Love your astronomy vidros too. Nigel, Scotland

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

Thanks Nigel, glad you enjoyed the video. I was trying to get a picture of the tent with the Milky Way above it but had to content myself with the illuminated tent with a starry sky. The moon was too bright I think, and in the end I gave up at around midnight to get some sleep 🙂

[@lily2916]

Beautiful views, thank you for sharing.

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

It certainly was a lovely camp, helped by the sunny weather. Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment, its much appreciated 🙂

[@grahamscothern4319]

Nice one John. One of my favourite areas. Does stay busy but a great place for winter camps stunning sunsets. Atb Graham

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

You are right about this being a great spot for winter. It might be quite windy, but the sunsets and starry skies would be great.

[@OthmarsVlog]

outstanding footage 👍💪💥

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it. Hope you have a good weekend 😊

[@OregonMikeH]

THANK YOU, GOOD TO SEE YA AGAIN, BLESSINGS FROM OREGON, ... MIKE

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

Glad you enjoyed it Mike. Best wishes to you over in Oregon 😊

[@StuartThow]

Looked like a great chilled camp 👍

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

It certainly was Stuart. It was very nice to have a camp where its not windy and / or raining 😊

[@AstroSoundscape]

Its always great to be out in a tent John, I get it. I'm off for a two nighter soon, hopefully the legs will hold out 👍 I hear you with the shops, last yime I was back in the UK the street in my home town were looking a mess half of them closed. Cheers 👍

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

Hope you enjoy your trip out Ollie. I guess your winter will be coming along soon.

[@h.bsfaithfulservant4136]

Good to see you out and about Jon. I wondered how someone who has a pudding of chocolate and red wine is so slim...then you mentioned training to cycle a 100 miles 😉 I haven't cycled a 100 miles in 2 decades, or more 🤭😏. Well done you for keeping at it 👍 I hope you and the family are doing well, and thanks for another lovely camping video on the South Downs 👌

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

It was great to get out, and this turned out to be a very restful camp. Whether I make 100 miles on a bike is up for debate at the moment. Last year I did about 75 miles, and this year I am up to about 50 miles at the moment. It all depends on how much chocolate I manage to eat in training 😅. Hope you and yours are enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend 😊

[@h.bsfaithfulservant4136]

@@thecampingastronomer8554 Thanks Jon... I've enjoyed the weekend so far, despite working. Yes, keep up the chocolate training ☺️👌

[@AstroAF]

Beautiful views John! Sorry to hear about the shop closing but happy you made it through the transition! I did a few metric century rides a few years ago and one very long day of a 100 miler. I am certainly not in that condition today but I am planning on getting back on the cycle for some 10-20km rides.

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

The views certainly were lovely on this one Doug, helped by the nice weather. 100 miles will be a long day for me also, hence me wondering whether I want to do it or not. 100km is generally more enjoyable, especially as most of my rides are around the 40 - 50 km mark.

[@AmatureAstronomer]

Never big on camping out. Did camp out for a while in 1978-1979 in the Coronado National Forest. But, let the mountains when I developed bad dental impactions. Came back down and haven't gone up since..

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

Blimey, I am not surprised that put you off camping 😲

[@ChrisSmith-di7un]

Lovely video John. I’m looking for a place to take my son for a wild camp after his exams, would you recommend this area?

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

Thanks Chris. I reckon that this would be a good spot to go, it's likely to become a favourite of mine. You need to be up fairly early as it is a bit exposed. This also means it might get a bit windy in bad weather. Near where I was is the remains of a tumulus, probably an excavated iron age burial mound. It is possible to camp inside the outer walls of this, which gives protection from the wind and also is more hidden. The downside is that the walls of the mound hide some of the views. An alternative idea, where you don't have to worry about being disturbed, is the nearly wild camp spot at Merrion Farm near Partridge Green. This is a woodland glade that you get to yourself and gives about 80% of the wild camp experience without the worry of being caught. A bonus is that there is a fire pit so you can make a camp fire. I did a video of my visit here below kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6mmlX-VmNGVg7Msi=VM4YvYOpP86Ch60n Good luck to your son for his exams 👍

[@ChrisSmith-di7un]

@@thecampingastronomer8554 Thanks for advice I’ll have a look at your video.

[@zafiracamper]

It’s interesting, I look at these vids now with a whole new lens as I’m planning on doing the same - probably more north than South Downs. But the thing I’m interested in, were you pitched on the main footpath? Or was this more of an untrodden footpath? Ps my rc car racing prowess, sounds the same as your racing prowess 😂

[@h.bsfaithfulservant4136]

Oi, what are you doing here? 😂 I s'pose you're going to brag about commenting before me, eh Matt ? 😝 Yes, stick with Jon buddy... he'll have you clambering over the Brecon Beacons in no time 😳😁

[@zafiracamper]

@@h.bsfaithfulservant4136 lol, it Twas you that pointed me Johns way ages ago 😂

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

🤣

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

🤣

[@thecampingastronomer8554]

One of the things I reckon about our sporting past, is that the further away you get from it, the better you remember you were at it. Given enough years, I'll probably think I was national champion 🤣. That path you see is a sheep track / pony track rather than footpath. There are two footpaths in the area shown on the map, but they are each about 100 meters away from where I was. One of these paths was visible to me, below where I was, and this was where I saw the odd person trotting down to the pub. The other path was just over the top of the hill above me and not visible. Having said that, two young lads cut away from the upper path across country, heading for the lower path down to the pub, which is where they stumbled across me and had a chat. It's really hard to avoid people completely here (same problem on the North Downs I think). In general though, I tend to see people at a distance, and they wouldn't really spot me in my green tent.