By: Blonde Two

Wild camping (or backpack camping) in a bivvy bag has many advantages, the main one being that you don’t have to carry a tent around. But how can you make sure that your wild camping night in a bivvy bag ends up being one with some sleep in it? We have a few tips:

1. Buy a bivvy bag that is big enough to allow you to snuggle right down inside it should the weather get chilly or damp.

2. Keep your head outside the bivvy bag if you can and earn to love the feeling of wind or mist on your face.

3. Don’t get frustrated if you wake up during the night. Relax and enjoy your situation.

4. If you do wake up and the night is clear, try tracking the stars across the night sky. It is both a humbling and uplifting experience.

5. If you have a tendency to fall off your sleeping mat, put it inside your bivvy bag.

6. On a damp night, a groundsheet can make it easier to get in and out of your bivvy bag without getting a wet bottom.

7. Permavent membrane (used in the building industry) makes a great lightweight groundsheet.

8. If you are worried about what is around you, choose a bivvy location that is surrounded by rocks or tucked into a hollow (not one that might fill with water!)

9. A balaclava makes a great alternative to a hat when you are bivvying.

10. Learn how to pitch a tarp in case the weather does get a bit too wet (walking poles and a few pegs are great for this).

We Blondes can thoroughly recommend bivvy camping. It is great fun, gives you maximum exposure to the night air and saves a lot of faffing around with a tent in the morning. Please remember though that even if you are not pitching a tent, you still need to make sure that you have the landowner’s permission to wild camp in England. Check out the Dartmoor wild camping map here for your bivvy camping experience!