Super excited to share this weeks YT video on my wild camping adventure in the Yorkshire Dales. It had been quite a few months since my last camp but after a little spell of sunny weather I decided at the last minute to set off on a camp. Stick around to hear all about the stunning sunrise I got the next morning!
I decided to head to an old abandoned smelting mill and then head along the valley and up towards a trig point. My plan was to hopefully set up camp just after sunset and to then wake up early to catch the sunrise and get my tent packed away leaving no trace that I had even been there.
The weather was originally forecast for a cloudy summit but what a fantastic surprise it was. As I set off from the car along to the old mill the sun was shining!
The remains of the old mill were really interesting to have a look around. It was actually quite an impressive sight I’m sure you’ll agree looking at the photos. The mill was used for lead mining and was one of the largest in the area. Today it is a protected site.
Once I had explored the mill I followed a stretch of river along and up onto the moors. I was maybe 15 mins off the trig point when the sun started to set. The rays of light through the cloud was beautiful. I did sit for a moment soaking in a bit of the golden hour before making my way to the summit was sunset itself.
It was a beautiful evening. After sunset I set up camp had some dinner and enjoyed a bit of star gazing before getting into my sleeping bag and nodding off.
I’ve got to say I was in a deep sleep when my alarm clock woke me at nearly 05.00 that morning. If you’ve ever been camping you’ll know how hard it is to get out of your lovely cozy sleeping bag on a morning. But determined to see the sunrise I managed to get myself up and after a quick hot chocolate I was ready for the sun to make an appearance.
It was so still on the morning. I could hear the grouse starting to chirp and wake up. The sky was already a mesmerising pink colour. They say you want between 20 and 40% cloud cover for a good sunrise and that’s exactly what I got.
The sky just came alive with colour and I had it all to myself. It is definitely moments like this that make it all worthwhile. I’d happily lug all my camping gear up hill to a trig to do it all over again for a view like this.
