bivvying

I had a lovely sleep in the woods last night and was definitely warm enough. Because I wasn’t far from home, I could prioritise warmth over weight and picked some ex-army gear - a quilted sleeping bag and a goretex bivvy bag. I also took a nice furry Buffalo liner and a thin inflatable mat, plus a wee camping pillow.

The beauty of bivvying rather than usuing a tent isvthat you feel part of nature, rather than being insulated from it. I was in a wee grove of Silver birch trees and could see the stars between their branches. The night was still, with not a breath of wind.

Mary Oliver wrote this beautiful poem which describes the experience of sleeping in a forest ten times better than I ever could : www.best-poems.net/mary_oliver/sleeping_in_the_forest.html

The photo is the view I had upon opening my eyes this morning.