🎂 Surprise Camps, Corned Beef Wellingtons & Strawberry Moons: A Weekend Under Canvas

Some of the best camps are the ones that creep up on you. No months of spreadsheet planning, no packing anxiety. Just a message, a meeting point, and a rumour of cake.

This past weekend, I pitched my trusty Fjällräven tent in a field on a Yorkshire farm… not too far away from some nesting curlews one one side and grazing cattle on the other side. The reason, for a surprise birthday camp out with fellow EDCCooperative friends and their families. It was one of those glorious low key, high laughter gatherings where things go wrong, meals go sideways, and somehow it all ends up perfect.

This is the Fjallraven tent, Hilleberg tent and the Helinox Field office set up ready to go… just before the rain came back.

 

🌧 Friday Forecast: Wet but Well Fed

The weekend didn’t exactly start with sunshine and singing birds. Friday gave us the full British buffet: drizzle, gusts, and the occasional soggy boot. Spirits stayed high though because what’s better than a damp tent? A hot meal and a dry sleeping bag.

I fired up my EDCCooperative Cloudberry Trangia 25, paired with the brilliant Hajka oven, and knocked together what I can only describe as… a poor man’s Beef Wellington. Stay with me.

Picture this: a tin of corned beef, lovingly wrapped in prosciutto, then enveloped in pastry and baked to flaky perfection. Served with veg and a big grin. Honestly? It was pretty amazing.

Later, we gathered around the fire, dried out a bit, swapped stories and snacks and then I turned in for what might’ve been one of the best sleeps I’ve had outdoors in ages, thanks to the new Therm-a-Rest NeoLoft. Warm, quiet, and just soft enough to make me forget I was lying on a field.

🌦 Saturday Vibes: From Drizzle to Dazzle

Saturday began with drizzle, again. But the clouds didn’t hang around all day. In classic British fashion, we got some sun in time for Hawaiian Shirt Day, which wasn’t official but should be. Turns out there’s something magical about cooking curry while wearing pineapples.

In true celebratory fashion, during the afternoon, I pulled out the Hajka once more this time to bake a two tier birthday cake. Fully decorated. In a field. With actual layers. Jam, icing, decorations, the works (Yes, I peaked.)

Just look at that cake… not bad for being completely made in a field. 

Dinner was a chickpea and spinach curry, complete with naan bread, cooked in a communal shelter where stoves sizzled and spices mingled in the air. It was a proper potluck of smells and laughter.

 

🔥 Campfire Shenanigans & Strawberry Moon Magic

The night ended, as the best nights do, around the campfire. There were toasted marshmallows, continuous laughter, feeding of the fire and a big ol’ Strawberry Moon rising over the fields like it was scheduled just for us.

We talked gear, swapped snacks, and made memories. It wasn’t the most extreme expedition or the most glamorous. But it was real, relaxing, and a bit ridiculous in the best way possible, with friends.

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Gear Highlights:

 

• Tent: Fjällräven (reliable, spacious, very photogenic under a full moon)

• Cook Kit: Cloudberry Trangia 25 + Hajka oven (bakes everything, even birthday cakes)

• Sleeping Mat: Therm-a-Rest NeoLoft (my new favourite—warm, quiet, and luxuriously comfy)

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Final Thoughts

There’s a magic in the simplicity of wild camping with good people. When you can make corned beef fancy, bake a birthday cake in a field, and go to bed full, warm, and a little smoke-scented, you know you’ve had a great weekend.

Who needs a yurt with a hot tub when you’ve got a tent full of marshmallows, farts, and cake crumbs? 

I’m off to do some farting whilst radioing people.

Roll on the next one.