Wild Camping in Wyre Forest with a Bloke I met on Facebook

A night in a secret camping spot in Wyre Forest with someone I'd never actually met, and exploring a strange rocket testing facility.

Wild camping in Wyre Forest

I spend quite a lot of time camping on my own. That's partly because I like the peace and quiet, partly because I enjoy the sense of adventure, and partly because most normal people I know think it's stupid and wouldn't want to come with me anyway. 

Every now and then though, it is nice to camp with other people, share some daft stories, have a few beers and for someone else to confirm that the weird noise coming from the darkness probably isn't a serial killer. I suppose the risk with camping with a person you haven't met before, is that they could be a serial killer. *Spoiler* I wasn't murdered on this camping trip. 

About a year ago, after I'd posted some photos in a wild camping Facebook group, I got a message from a chap called Matt. He said that he went camping quite regularly in the Wyre Forest with various people and that he'd add me to their Messenger group if I was interested in joining them one day. I was happy to be added. It's only an hour up the road from Ledbury and it would be good to get to know more people that enjoy wild camping. It sounded like a good way of occasionally swapping solo camping for something a bit more social. 

We'd arranged a couple of meet-ups over the following months, but neither of them had quite worked out. When we were supposed to camp in the Wyre Forest over Christmas, I came down with a stomach bug. Matt then ended up in hospital with a virus when he was supposed to join me on a camp on the Blorenge. This time, though, it actually happened.

Matt and some of the others in his group have a hidden camping spot somewhere in the northern part of the Wyre Forest. I was sent a What3Words location and set off with what felt like far too much stuff on my back.

I parked up and lugged a ridiculous amount of gear as close as I could get to the location. The problem was that, despite apparently being very close to where I needed to be, I couldn't actually find a way through to it. Eventually Matt came to meet me and led me through.

Entering Wyre Forest

A footpath in Wyre Forest

Even now, having been there, I'm not entirely convinced I'd be able to find the place again in the future without assistance. It is properly hidden. Which I guess is exactly what you want from a quiet camping spot. I could have left my tent there for next time and I'd be confident no one else would find it.

So, after about a year of Facebook messages, we finally got around to having some proper introductions in person. I pitched my tent while Matt sorted out his hammock. He's a big fan of hammock camping and said he finds it much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. He only really uses a tent when he's hill camping and there aren't conveniently placed trees available to suspend himself between.

My tent

A hammock and a tent

A hidden spot

As the evening went on it got dark and properly cold. The sort of cold where you start wondering whether you really packed enough layers. Apparently this part of the forest is always cold at night. 

Fortunately, we had a few beers, a laugh and plenty to talk about. Eventually it was time to get some sleep.

Camping in the dark woods

There were some loud muntjac barks during the night, because apparently no wild camp of mine is now complete without them screaming in the darkness. Despite the wildlife commentary, I managed a solid seven hours of sleep and woke up feeling surprisingly good.

Matt was still asleep and I wanted to go exploring while I was there. So rather than hanging around waiting for him to wake up, I decided to go for a wander around this part of the Wyre Forest. It was quiet, beautiful and interesting. 

Walking in Wyre Forest

A footbridge in Wyre Forest that has seen better days

A disused water tank in Wyre Forest

I followed the paths through some lovely stretches of woodland and headed towards something that I'd spotted on the map: a rocket testing facility sitting in a valley in the middle of the forest.

It was about a mile or so from camp and the walk there was great, winding through the woods before eventually reaching the huge perimeter fence around the site.

The paths around it were another matter. They seemed to go relentlessly up and down around the valley. At one point it felt less like walking around a forest and more like I'd accidentally wandered onto a ski jump. It was a fairly short distance, but pretty gruelling.

The sloping perimeter of the rocket testing facility 

Path or ski jump?

Not a lot to see but some good exercise 

There wasn't actually much to see through the fence, but the whole place felt incredibly random. You're walking through peaceful English woodland, surrounded by trees, and then suddenly there is a massive fenced-off rocket testing facility in the valley.

Thankfully there was no testing today

It all felt a bit like something from Lost. Like I'd walked through the wrong bit of forest and found a secret scientific installation that I wasn't supposed to know existed.

I followed some different paths on the way back and had a proper wander around the woods before returning to camp. I also managed to catch a glimpse of one of my shouty deer friends hopping about in a nearby field. 

A beautiful path in Wyre Forest

Me in Wyre Forest

A muntjac hopping through a field

When I got back to the camping spot (without having to call for help), Matt was up. We packed everything away and wandered back towards the cars, making sure we left no trace of ourselves being there. The only thing remaining was the set-up that had already been established for storing firewood for the winter. It had been a really enjoyable little trip.

Leave no trace

Leaving camp

I still love solo camping. It's class heading off on your own with everything you need on your back and finding somewhere quiet to spend the night. But it doesn't always have to be a solo adventure.

Sometimes it's good to meet someone new, disappear into a forest and have a few beers. I definitely wouldn't recommend that as a general rule though. It would be pretty irresponsible of me to suggest that camping in a hidden spot in the woods with a bloke you've only spoken to on Facebook is a particularly sensible thing to do. Obviously, use a bit of common sense and make sure you know who you're meeting before heading off into the wilderness. Because of the long history of group messages and shared photos, I was 99.9% sure this chap wasn't going to kill me. Always use caution though and if you have any real doubts, please don't venture into the unknown with a stranger. 

Matt is a good bloke, the camp was great and it was nice to finally meet properly after about a year of messages and several failed attempts to arrange a trip. I'll definitely be joining him and some of the others for more camps later in the year.

And next time, rather than just wandering around looking at mysterious rocket facilities in the woods, I might have a go at the 15-mile Wyre Forest Wonder walk to make it a bit more challenging and a bit less weird.