tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78310345674065471942024-03-05T21:21:38.054-08:00100 Wild Huts100 Wild Huts is an experimental challenge I’ve set myself to build 100 small survival shelters on any piece of ground that harbours enough natural resources for the build. I intend to sleep rough in each shelter for one night and blog about the experiences. I intend to experiment with the huts form, structure and materiality in the hope that in due course this site will become a useful resource for budding adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts alike!Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-53516524940771436992013-06-25T05:45:00.002-07:002013-07-08T02:43:27.797-07:00Wild Hut 21<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh<br />Wild Shelter Building Day - 16th June 2013</span></div>
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<em><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“This summer we are welcoming back internationally acclaimed artist Alec Finlay, who is working with the <a href="http://www.thebothyproject.org/?page_id=273" target="_blank">Bothy Project</a> Architect to make a new bothy, <a href="http://thebothyproject.blogspot.co.uk/p/sweenys-bothy.html" target="_blank">Bothan Shuibhne</a>, on a Scottish island. To celebrate this, Jupiter Artland and Alec have invited architect Kevin Langan to build a wild shelter, one of 100 he is making. Kevin's design is inspired by Ian Hamilton Finlay’s Temple of Apollo; the shelter will be constructed from fallen wood and natural materials. Please come and watch Kevin work and have a chat.”</span></em></blockquote>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T839OV8de5I/UcmLZuucqxI/AAAAAAAABiE/p_gntFSFJK0/s1600/1125_477051795715592_378555979_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T839OV8de5I/UcmLZuucqxI/AAAAAAAABiE/p_gntFSFJK0/s400/1125_477051795715592_378555979_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Earlier this year I received a call at work to collaborate with internationally acclaimed Scottish Artist <a href="http://www.alecfinlayblog.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Alec Finlay</a> (son of the late Sculptor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Hamilton_Finlay" target="_blank">Ian Hamilton Finlay</a>). I jumped at the chance to push the huts project in this new direction and after a few emails over many months found myself gathering wood late at night in the surreal landscape of <a href="http://www.jupiterartland.org/" target="_blank">Jupiter Artland</a> near Edinburgh. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><em>“Jupiter Artland: Works by many of today's leading artists, sculptors and land artists have been commissioned and then constructed in situ. The relationship of each artwork with its specific topographical location is a crucial feature of the artland, that is, art within the landscape. Jupiter Artland has charitable status and is committed to providing an educational resource for schools in the region.”</em></span></blockquote>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lwxxtL4NfKo/UcmLf-Gxs2I/AAAAAAAABjI/5a5BYg680r4/s1600/20130616_085501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lwxxtL4NfKo/UcmLf-Gxs2I/AAAAAAAABjI/5a5BYg680r4/s200/20130616_085501.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdvcuGn7pwjCUifMdTY6aZgyoqbmPNk1PFlT1DSJVLHisGvHRGQcH9G2Lms6p0umeCZvGUsnIyDSj2CD3OD0I0sIM2vgUw1-7E1uuCBmfOh20S30wYqy_sDijw6mpDHykhgXoxEnb4ihs/s1600/20130616_115504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdvcuGn7pwjCUifMdTY6aZgyoqbmPNk1PFlT1DSJVLHisGvHRGQcH9G2Lms6p0umeCZvGUsnIyDSj2CD3OD0I0sIM2vgUw1-7E1uuCBmfOh20S30wYqy_sDijw6mpDHykhgXoxEnb4ihs/s200/20130616_115504.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I was once again hut building with my good friends <a href="http://www.3ddrawingoffice.com/" target="_blank">Arran Brown</a> and <a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/" target="_blank">Richard Paterson</a>. We gathered wood until dark then slept out under a wooden canopy in the park’s education garden. I provided Arran with some welcome ear plugs as Richards snoring was like clockwork in both rhythm and predictability. Alec Finlay had <a href="http://www.thebothyproject.org/?p=4491" target="_blank">selected a great site</a> for the hut-build close to his father’s Temple of Apollo deep in the woods. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The hut design made reference to the temple’s structure and would be ironically situated in the Artland’s dumping ground. The wild huts project had always been a peripheral experiment in exploring forgotten spaces and so this nettle strewn corner, slightly off the trail seemed perfect. That night the park was alive with wildlife. Squirrels raced through the treetops and small roe deer stood frozen in the woods like statues (it wouldn't surprise me if they were actual sculptures). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>The Build:</strong><br />By 10am the following morning we had gathered enough dead-wood for the build and decided to make a start on the structural frame (as the whole build would take a full day to complete). No sooner had we started arranging the first few wobbly timbers upright when the park opened its visitor gates and we attracted a crowd of intrigued onlookers. I was hoping to complete the frame fairly quickly as the build always looks fragile and embarrassingly unstable through the early stages. Over time - thousands of thin binds can form a more unified structure, but at the start it’s a bit like building a shed with shoe laces. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Alec arrived with his team who have been working towards building an artist resident bothy on the Isle of Eigg. The biting midges also arrived in force and so everyone painted themselves in liquid repellent as if war-paint, ready for the forthcoming invertebrate micro-battle.(‘<a href="http://www.midgeforecast.co.uk/smidge/about-smidge/" target="_blank">Smidge</a>’ insect repellent seemed to work ok for around 1.5 hours until most of it had ran off with my sweat). Alec lit a fire (with permission from the head gardener!) which really helped keep the midges to a minimum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The first sleeping platform was cross-braced with a second platform below. Alec cleverly noted that the structure had transformed from a –minus sign into a +plus sign. That signified a lift in spirits and we progressed with the wall panels and roof. It was a very ambitious build and I knew we would be tight for time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Bobby from ‘The Bothy Project’ lent a hand with the build as it progressed late into the afternoon. After the first sandwich panel was fitted in place the park was closed and it's woods descended into quiet once again. We joined Alec’s studio manager Luke for a quick pie at the local pub and returned to complete the build in darkness. We had a few panels still to construct (and I had a full day of work in Glasgow 40 miles away the following morning), so we were keen to complete the structure and get some sleep.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>Roughing it</strong>:<br />By midnight, Luke had returned home to Edinburgh on the last bus (after bravely rescuing a baby lamb with its head stuck through a fence en-route), and we had completed the last of the wall panels. Arran agreed to sleep on the top bunk, Richard on the lower and myself on the soft ground below. It wasn’t until I wriggled into my sleeping bag that I realised the precariousness of the situation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">If anything collapsed (as it often did with rotten wood) I would be badly crushed below tones of broken timber and heavy bodies. I smiled at the impending risk, popped my ear plugs back in and drifted off to sleep in what was a warm and comfortable shelter. Without a single creak or crack through the night – we woke around 8am and headed back through the sculpture park for home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">A nice chap <a href="http://www.gtmp.tv/TV_VIDEO_DIRECTOR_GAVIN_TURNBULL.html" target="_blank">Gavin</a> came to video the hut build for Jupiter Artland and noticed a large badger that morning not far from the hut. It never fails to impress me that large wild mammals can still live freely so close to human habitation. I’m just glad it didn’t choose to investigate our particular hut dwelling that night as badger wrestling is not a strong part of my skill-set.</span><br />
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<br />I arrived late that morning for work and sat at my desk slightly dazed and once again stinking of earth. I received some images of school groups who were writing about the hut structure and was led to believe that the Jupiter head gardener also slept in the hut with his kid that night. It is great to see the fruits of our labour being appreciated by kids rather than being just torn down by them!</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><span style="color: #666666;">Alec Finlay:</span></strong></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: #666666;">"on the font of the wood<br />IHF’s sun temple’s<br />dedicated to<br />that wild red youth,<br />Apollo-Saint-Just, incarnate<br />forging a revolution<br />from the whole<br />framed in the round<br />by the cupola<br />that highlights azure<br />in the changeless<br />ever-changing sky"</span></span></em></blockquote>
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'</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Little Sparks' with the Wild Hut at Jupiter Artland - 25.06.13</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Click image to view interactive 360 tour (by <span id="goog_1909342149"></span></span><a href="http://www.360pix.xo.uk/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://www.360pix.xo.uk</span></a><span id="goog_1909342144"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1909342150"></span><span id="goog_1909342145"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">)</span></div>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com22City of Edinburgh, UK55.906774882407696 -3.430695533752441455.904549882407693 -3.4357380337524415 55.9089998824077 -3.4256530337524413tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-72670548037752098842013-05-27T10:00:00.003-07:002013-05-28T01:31:14.162-07:00Wild Hut 20<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;">A good friend Gordon Anderson was keen to experience another wild hut building challenge. We parked the car at </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatelherault_Country_Park"><span style="color: #606420;">Chatelherault</span></a><span style="color: black;"> <st1:placename w:st="on">Country</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype> just outside Gordon’s home town of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_South_Lanarkshire"><span style="color: #606420;">Hamilton</span></a><span style="color: black;"> and followed a woodland trail which shadowed the River Avon far below. These ancient woodlands were one of the great assets of the </span><a href="http://hamilton.rcahms.gov.uk/palace10.html"><span style="color: #606420;">royal hunting estate of Cadzow</span></a><span style="color: black;">, which came into the possession of the progenitors of the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hamilton</st1:place></st1:city> family in the early 14th century.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 13px;">We passed some huge gnarled trees which looked like a herd of calcified elephants, and is thought to be the oldest living oak woodland in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Scotland</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Dendrochronology (scientific tree-ring analysis) has ascribed them to the 1460s (550 years old-ish).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Soon after, we passed another interesting feature - a carved old log which read; <em>“As soon as you take one thing by itself you find it hitched to everything else in the universe”.</em> It was intriguing to find some <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/misquotes.aspx"><span style="color: #606420;">John Muir paraphrasing</span></a> deep in these ancient woods. Muir expanded on this point with another less elegant but more descriptive quote; <em>"When we try to pick out anything by itself we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe.”</em> I’m fairly sure we humans will hang ourselves with these cords long before we understand their critical value.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIJHxsdyPtEIxQo4ZTHSFbUSel_ZxIspV0rzok_mu5szvZq4kxv7BbCYCzvl6kwP-ziZYLx7BXhM-VAADhVGCnLVRiG7ehLJIkBT6RWIgnUPk9XgUcQh0iCe3t5B7oh7Q9KIzHB9SlBA/s1600/WH20+04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIJHxsdyPtEIxQo4ZTHSFbUSel_ZxIspV0rzok_mu5szvZq4kxv7BbCYCzvl6kwP-ziZYLx7BXhM-VAADhVGCnLVRiG7ehLJIkBT6RWIgnUPk9XgUcQh0iCe3t5B7oh7Q9KIzHB9SlBA/s400/WH20+04.jpg" width="400" yya="true" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">We came to a sharp bend as the path steered away from some steep falling ground. As we left the path in search of a suitable build site, I noticed the cool forest had a thick carpet of wild garlic and tumbled trees. Gordon suggested that our hut concept echoed the form of an old ‘look-out hide’ which was perfectly fitting for this royal hunting estate location. This poetic observation helped to connect the project with the rich history of the woods.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTtlROjXRCNhZNVITiHqOKnsq7YhRy_b1pB8tr1tiSg58L6_LnKman67m9gZfbUXeofzjXrYhD4wZvg60zVA3et6ixl-UxqkaAb8dxDTuzxfo0rMCQg_t_vwgIBPlLCWYzkrYIzTMHIM/s1600/WH20+05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTtlROjXRCNhZNVITiHqOKnsq7YhRy_b1pB8tr1tiSg58L6_LnKman67m9gZfbUXeofzjXrYhD4wZvg60zVA3et6ixl-UxqkaAb8dxDTuzxfo0rMCQg_t_vwgIBPlLCWYzkrYIzTMHIM/s200/WH20+05.JPG" width="200" yya="true" /></span></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jp06DIfirB8/UaOF1Lrkk3I/AAAAAAAABWQ/vg4X8UKvGBA/s1600/WH20+06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jp06DIfirB8/UaOF1Lrkk3I/AAAAAAAABWQ/vg4X8UKvGBA/s200/WH20+06.JPG" width="200" yya="true" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">As the area is predominantly characterised by a dramatic steep-sided gorge, I thought it would also be fitting to create a structure that dove-tailed with the topography. We decided to create a sleeping platform which could be suspended above this steep gorge by projecting out from the hillside. We scooped up a plentiful supply of fallen deadwood and bound the primary structure with biodegradable garden twine.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Gordon found working with the twine a minor struggle so I got to work on 4 large sandwich panels as he arranged the sleeping platform. The panels were heavy and difficult to place at high level. As I climbed on the structure in order to arrange a roofing panel I smashed through one half of the sleeping platform. After I patched it up Gordon suggested that at least he now knew which side he was sleeping on!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">We had a deadline for 6:30pm as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_UEFA_Champions_League_Final"><span style="color: #606420;">Champions League football</span></a> final was being played that evening and we had ambitions to watch it. We completed the last roofing panel together and hauled it onto the frame. Other than some patching-up, the build was complete by 6:45pm and we headed back along the twisting path for a mixed Kebab and a night of European football action.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">At around 10pm we hopped back into the car with a football sized kebab wedged in our stomachs, remarking on how lucky it was that the hut was well ventilated.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">We parked the car in a nearby housing estate and walked swiftly past groups of arguing youths. Our packs were laden with camping gear and we tried not to draw any unwanted attention to ourselves. We crossed the formal lawn at Chatelherault Estate and noticed a fox silently stalking some rabbits in the darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Back at the hut-site we spent an extra hour building a small sandwich panel each which completed the roof covering. A large lemon-yellow moon shone through the dark woods as we climbed precariously onto the elevated platform and wriggled into our sleeping bags. The sound of the river rushing far below was often broken by the sound of distant cars screeching through the nearby country lanes. Similarly, Gordon’s snoring was often interrupted by the sound of screeching foxes in the fields beyond the forest edge. I’m not altogether sure which was better.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">We woke to a typical Scottish breakfast of mince pie, washed down with some luminous orange Irn-Bru (which incidentally has a warning on the can suggesting it may cause <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/irn-bru-to-carry-a-health-warning-1-1368019"><span style="color: #606420;">‘behavioural changes in children’</span></a>?!) It was indeed the breakfast of champions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">After a loud cracking noise I turned to see Gordon snapping through his bed slats. He pulled his arse back through the branches and re-distributed his weight more evenly. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com5South Lanarkshire, UK55.753926393146479 -4.01687622070312555.751692393146477 -4.0219187207031251 55.75616039314648 -4.0118337207031249tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-73425625905233192252013-03-23T10:36:00.003-07:002013-03-24T14:11:00.711-07:00Wild Hut 19<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Location:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dawsholm</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:city></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some weeks previously I had arranged to collaborate with a Glasgow-based design consultancy called <a href="http://www.giraffearchitecture.co.uk/" target="_blank">Giraffe Architecture</a>. <a href="http://www.giraffearchitecture.co.uk/#!studio/vstc1=people" target="_blank">Raymond</a> from Giraffe shares my passion for sustainable design and is also quite partial to an outdoor-adventure on occasion which was more than handy. After various emails we had decided to build something that would really test our design skills and explore a more ‘engineered’ solution. So in order to push ourselves we decided to build a mathematically complex <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesic_dome" target="_blank">geodesic dome</a>…from wobbly twigs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having in the past made various shelters that were either too narrow or too short, I was worried that this more precise geometric puzzle would be impossible to achieve on a cold, dark evening with some rickety branches. It didn’t help that some of the worst snow storms this year had hit <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city> on the very day of the build. It doesn’t surprise me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Travelling through the west end of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city> we arrived at the gates of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawsholm_Park" target="_blank">Dawsholm</a> Waste Transfer and Recycling Facility (or ‘the dump’ for short) in the early evening. The recycling plant has a surreal high-rise metal shed on the fringe of a small woodland park. This hilltop forest offers great views south over <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city>’s west-end but is fairly exposed to the bitter east-wind and blustery snow showers which now fell. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Build:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We gathered some sticks and walked along the long approach path leading to the woods. Dog-walkers were out in force utilising what was left of the diminishing daylight. From a distance we may have looked like park rangers clearing up the fallen branches from the path. This was hopeful at best. It was more likely they noticed the serious conviction written across our faces suggesting that we were working towards something bigger, more epic, but ultimately less useful than path-clearing. We walked past with our heads down, avoiding awkward questions and eye contact. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tall trees had been knocked down by the wind in an elemental game of woodland dominos. Tipped trunks were precariously resting against adjacent trees, interlocked at high level. Many trees lay motionless on the forest floor, revealing a tiny pond below their upturned roods. We stashed our rucksacks deep in the branches of a fallen conifer tree and proceeded to find yet more sticks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually, we had gathered enough sticks for the main <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0OzijAVuHNFyxlHOVGROg6tIHU9BZKOB_QoijuEiFkZlVDyZvJhK-PAYQgtUefyycvSe58nD_nd2iYUd6e1mK7Tir3d7g5M0MxZj_BMS6OaTP6xjXvGQLS-Vh7J8emPh-3-nrej9k/s1600/pentagon.jpg" target="_blank">pentagonal components</a> and decided to take a quick break for a cold dinner. Ray lifted his sandwich to find a mouse had nibbled a hole in the corner of the packet. Slightly concerned I hung our main food bag from a branch but was ultimately pleased to find these tiny creatures harbouring in the security of this fallen forest giant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got back to work arranging the pentagons which would form the basis for the hut. We required 5 large identical pentagons for this build. The pentagons were made from an inner and outer frame, inside which we trapped some fir branches from the adjacent fallen tree. They took around 45 mins each to assemble and we had the feeling that this adventure might be a late one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A fox danced through the woods like a drugged gypsy, darting in various directions as the snowfall became more concentrated. It didn’t stay for long and headed towards the recycling centre for supper, or indeed to recycle. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We completed the 5 pentagon sandwiches and had them arranged upright by midnight. It was freezing cold so we could never stop for very long without our fingers becoming increasingly numb.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of hours later we had arranged the roof and tiled it with the conifer branches from the adjacent deadwood tree. The hut looked surprisingly like a geodesic dome. I was surprised at how neat and structurally capable the form became. The rigid dome flexed and compressed to hold each of its components in place. The snowfall now seemed fairly heavy and I was sure that the hut would soon resemble an igloo rather than a finely panelised dome.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We passed our <a href="http://www.trakke.co.uk/product/krukke" target="_blank">gear</a> through the small triangular door and rolled out our sleeping mats. Things weren’t much warmer in our sleeping bags as temperatures on the hill plummeted to around -7. Not ideal, although I learnt a good trick that by placing my hands deep into my pockets I was able to sleep without shivering. I wrapped a scarf around my face as tiny flakes of snow drifted through similarly tiny gaps in the structure. The hut became a great wind-break and we were more than pleased with this minor sheltering victory. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We chatted until late and fell asleep to the sounds of agitated trees moaning in the wind with old limbs creaking. A dog barking right outside the hut signalled morning and was a great natural alarm (reminiscent of clockwork, much like their toilet habits). We packed quickly as the morning air was much colder than the previous night, partnered by a fierce wind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We skipped breakfast and made our way through the arterial maze of forest trails until we aligned once again with the main dump access road. The snow was still falling heavily and after a short commute I was back home and beginning to warm up slightly. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided to eat the croissant I had bought for our breakfast, but on further inspection the bag was chewed open and the croissant was hollowed out by that stealthy little mouse earlier. It’s lucky the rodent had retired as it may have well found itself on the <a href="http://www.123rf.com/photo_3029278_eating-mouse.html" target="_blank">menu</a> after munching our breakfast! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</span>Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com23Glasgow, Glasgow City, UK55.896515405389934 -4.316232204437255955.895402405389937 -4.3187537044372561 55.897628405389931 -4.3137107044372556tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-33067818618971179472013-03-16T16:24:00.000-07:002013-03-25T10:03:45.885-07:00Wild Hut 18<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GUtho4Gm2EY/UUTqTfu-QXI/AAAAAAAABM4/vYYflIkjEn0/s1600/4x+Man+Hut+Concept+-+%2527debris+traps%2527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" psa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GUtho4Gm2EY/UUTqTfu-QXI/AAAAAAAABM4/vYYflIkjEn0/s320/4x+Man+Hut+Concept+-+%2527debris+traps%2527.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whilst relaxing in front of the TV one evening I received a random text from a friend which read: <i>“Al Humphreys is around Crieff on the 14th and is looking for a micro-adventure. If you’re about you should contact him through his website and build a wild hut with him! He’d love it”</i>. I laughed off this crazy notion for a few minutes until it quickly grew substance and formed details in my mind. </span><a href="http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alastair Humphreys</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is an adventurer I’ve followed for some time who has completed many inspirational </span><a href="http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/books/"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">expeditions</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> across the </span><a href="http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/adventures/roundtheworldbybike/"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">globe</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought it would be a bit like asking David Attenborough to come round to your house and make a documentary about your cat, it would be unlikely at best. I eventually decided to bite the bullet and contact Al - I could only embarrass myself I thought, and I was well used to that so where’s the harm!?’ I dropped him a quick email, confirmed details…and within hours it was strangely set in my diary. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now – on a separate tangent, on the other side of the world, the famous Scottish cyclist and broadcaster </span><a href="http://markbeaumontonline.com/"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark Beaumont</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> was embarking on a brave ascent of <st1:place w:st="on">Patagonia</st1:place>’s highest peak, </span><a href="http://markbeaumontonline.com/the-elusive-cerro-san-valentin/"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cerro San Valentin</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Mark is a local lad, and was the obvious first choice for any <a href="http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/microadventures-3/" target="_blank">micro-adventure</a> in Perthshire. He initially had to decline due to his expedition commitments, but treacherous conditions and injury saw them return home one week early from the mountain. Mark was now keen to experience this strange den-building challenge and confirmed his attendance during the long-haul flights back from the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santiago</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To help record the event, I also enlisted my friend </span><a href="http://uk.linkedin.com/in/360pix" target="_blank"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richard Patterson</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (<a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/">www.360pix.co.uk</a>) who kindly offered to lend his photographic and log-chopping expertise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/perthshire/kinnoull-tower.shtml"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kinnoull Hill</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Perth</st1:place></st1:city> is characterised by a dominating cliff-top wood and historic tower high above the bustling little city. It offers panoramic views south and east across the winding River Tay and westwards along the complicated concrete approach roads to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth,_Scotland" target="_blank">Perth</a></st1:place></st1:city>. Looking down from the edge you can often see great bursts of black crows exploding outwards from the rock face and bouncing effortlessly around in the passing updrafts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinnoull_Hill"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">folly tower</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> dates from 1892 and was built as a romantic gesture by Lord Grey of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinfauns_Castle"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kinfauns</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Where most people buy flowers or chocolates, Grey went slightly over-board and attempted to recreate the castles-strewn landscape of Rhineland <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has also been claimed that William Wallace on occasion used the cliffs below Kinnoull Hill as a refuge when pursuit became too close for comfort. No doubt the so-called Dragon’s Hole, which was a substantial cave high up among the rocks, would have been one of the places to which he could retreat. </span><a href="http://www.perthshirediary.com/html/day0502.html"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scottish folklore</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> also hints at the cave being home to a dragon, although I believe more likely an angry badger.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More recently 14 woodland creature carvings have appeared throughout the forest by the sculptor </span><a href="http://www.kinnoull.org.uk/sculpturesn.htm"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pete Bowsher</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Unfortunately, the cliff top summit also has a sinister reputation as a suicide hotspot. In 2002, a </span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1381623/Suicide-mother-throws-babies-off-cliff.html"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">31-year-old mother-of-two</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, pushed her two infant children off the hill's summit while they were strapped in their pushchair, before throwing herself off. It’s a strange and dangerous place with a rich mix of history and dramatic views.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Build:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We met Al following his talk at the outdoor learning conference in Crieff and had soon found a location for our shelter in the shadow of the old cliff-top folly. We had planned to build a simple A-frame shelter which contained 4 bunks and had a roof made from 4 triangular panels. We dispersed into the surrounding woods to source some large deadwood logs for the primary timber frame. Mark had planned to join us later that day as he had only just returned from his <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chile</st1:place></st1:country-region> expedition the evening prior.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We created some small A-frames which would support 2 large ridge-poles. We then strung the sleeping platforms to the frame and the basic structure was almost complete. Mark arrived in great time after cycling from his home 12 miles away. The heavy work was about to begin, as was the biting wind and fading light. Richard began work on the fire whilst Mark and Al completed the slats on the sleeping platforms. I began to construct a triangular roofing panel which would hopefully trap forest debris between two timber grids like a giant vegetarian toasty. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most important part of the build was soon upon us – sausages! We ate dinner around the fire and resumed work on the roofing panels. The panels were fairly heavy and took some effort to cajole into place. By 11pm we had positioned all four of the roofing panels and decided to spend some time embellishing the bumpy sleeping platforms. We gathered armfuls of dry grass and spread it evenly across the 4 bunks which now looked surprisingly warm and comfortable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roughing it: <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In hindsight, if we had spent 5 extra minutes arranging the initial timber posts we could have made the bunks slightly wider and indeed slightly longer which would have been a great help at this late stage. Instead we spent quite some time wriggling into our bunks and squeezing our feet deep into the diminishing corners of the hut. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If there was one thing I knew for definite about Mark Beaumont – is that I was never going to win the battle for feet space with his </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Who-Cycled-World/dp/0552158445"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">cycle-strong legs</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The whistling wind picked up which soon complimented our chorus of synchronised snoring. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Far below us the cars moved like a river of red light towards <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Perth</st1:place></st1:city>, turning yellow on whirlpool roundabouts. Dawn light soon filled the hut as the team woke to a cold bright morning. To the east the River Tay appeared milky-white with reflected sun light en-route to the sea. We gathered our gear and wandered back through the woods slightly tired but refreshed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a pleasure to spend some time with people who are essentially challenging the boundaries and pushing the limits of human capabilities. The only thing I was challenging was the patience of the other commuters on the train home as I filled the carriage with the smell of damp earth and smoky campfires.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/tours/100wildhuts/18/" target="_blank">Click</a></b> below to view a 360 Virtual Tour - by <a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/" target="_blank">360PIX</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/wild-hut-microadventure/" target="_blank">Wild Hut Microadventure</a> by <a href="http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/" target="_blank">Alastair Humphreys</a>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read <strong>Mark Beaumonts</strong> Blog:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://markbeaumontonline.com/my-first-lesson-in-wild-hut-building/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://markbeaumontonline.com/my-first-lesson-in-wild-hut-building/</span></a></span></div>
Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com12Perth and Kinross, UK56.387730552551389 -3.400869369506835956.383335552551387 -3.4109543695068361 56.392125552551391 -3.3907843695068358tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-27820659673008414112013-02-16T13:02:00.000-08:002013-02-23T12:46:29.334-08:00Wild Hut 17<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Location:</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Edmiston Drive, Ibrox, Glasgow</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Some colleagues showed a mild interest in building an ‘urban hut’ in Glasgow and with some minor preparation we were soon on the subway after <a href="http://www.3dreid.com/" target="_blank">work</a> - bound for Glasgow’s south-side. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">These colleagues, Ewan Proctor Mason & Gordon Anderson are both season-ticket holders at the infamous <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/rangers-will-play-in-division-3.1342185345" target="_blank">Rangers Football Club</a>. They were both aware of a small tract of redundant land to the west of the football stadium which could potentially harbour enough materials for a wild night out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This part of Glasgow has a very unsavoury reputation, not only for match-day hooliganism but also for real-life murders. There is a noticeable breakdown in the urban fabric here with derelict buildings, storage units and high-rise tower blocks. One of Scotland’s most infamous murderers; <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/scottishnews/2919303/Killer-drug-dealer-Christopher-Hutcheson-has-become-gym-addict-in-jail.html" target="_blank">Christopher Hutcheson</a>, had once lived in a flat nearby and was thought to have tortured and killed some drug addicts for not paying their bills. He apparently garrotted one of them, chopped up the body and buried them in the back court. This psychopath also attacked people in the courtroom when standing trial. At least he was consistent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was with this sinister backdrop that we crossed the stadium overflow carpark and entered a tiny patch of dense woodland. A new railway yard had been extended recently which decimated 80% of this forgotten wild space. The last remaining thicket was situated at a lower level beneath the street and was bound by 2 redundant railway lines to the east and west. One of the old tracks was completely flooded and looked like a deep soupy canal with a fringe of green reeds. The other, to our dismay, contained 2 silhouetted figures spray-painting on the tunnel wall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Much to the displeasure of Ewan and Gordon, we almost universally decided to stand our ground in the hope that they would eventually move off. Without much consultation, I nipped down the embankment towards the group, shown my torch at the pair and started gathering some of the branches which lay strewn on the wet forest carpet. I made sure I was overtly noisy and they soon got spooked and climbed up to the road bridge which overlooked the forest. From their perspective, they were suddenly blind-sided by strange cutting noises and flashing lights.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They tried to provoke a reaction from us by throwing something down then shouting and whistling. They couldn’t figure out what they were dealing with as we stayed quiet and were spread out through the forest. An evening of bushcraft didn’t fit within their frame of reference and so they were obviously uneasy and well-spooked with the situation. After a short time, they mounted their bikes and shouted down – <strong><em>“whit yah dain cuttin aw that wood ya beasts?...ya pure beasts!”</em></strong> This was the last we heard from them as they sped off westwards towards Drumoyne. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Build:</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Gordon had conceived the hut design to incorporate 3 sleeping platforms beneath a faceted roof and triangular walls. These all tapered back to a single point meaning that this particular concept was incredibly light on materials. I adapted the entrance for ease of access and built a computerised 3D model. It was just the trick for an evenings build!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For such a tiny patch of forest we were not short of building materials. We gathered enough timber for the whole structure in a very short time and piled it on what looked like an access ramp to forgotten railway platforms. There was a strange fenced-off section of dried plants which looked at first glance like the alien invader - <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4267426.stm" target="_blank">Japanese Knotweed</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Suddenly strange whistling rang out from around the forest perimeter, covering any possible exit routes. 2 or 3 people where whistling to each other from the bridge to the north and carpark to our east. We watched the situation quietly, somehow feeling that we were being surrounded by a group of youths. As quickly as this threat built-up in our minds it dissolved back into the surrounding city streets and the forest returned to quiet.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We quickly pieced together the structural frame and laddered the walls and roof with twigs, ready to hang the outer skin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We had noticed that the flooded railway tunnel had a healthy fringe of reeds which we could bale together for roofing tiles. We grabbed some food and completed the outer skin by 2am.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Roughing it:</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Due to restricted internal space, we entered the bunks one at a time – awkwardly spreading our weight across these springy twig platforms. Much to my amusement Gordon’s bunk was around 1 foot too short. His feet had to rest on a higher beam in the back corner of the hut. He seemed mildly comfortable although was unable to move all night from this single position. We soon forgot the night’s earlier disruptions and fell asleep as the forest returned to a calm silence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After a reasonable nights sleep, we woke at first light and packed our gear. Although the weather was reasonable through the night, the hut would have provided some decent shelter and indeed kept us high and dry off the wet forest leaf litter. We had found one of the cities many ‘green lungs’, a wilderness island surrounded by urban infrastructure. We were satisfied with what we had managed to achieve in such a tiny oasis and had successfully scared off the sinister locals. We left the security of the forest gully and re-emerged on the busy roadside looking like cheerful tramps.</span><br />
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com11Glasgow, Glasgow City, UK55.852938415367085 -4.315481185913085955.850709915367084 -4.320523685913086 55.855166915367086 -4.3104386859130859tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-52730351522094642952013-02-10T15:12:00.002-08:002013-02-10T15:22:09.904-08:00Wild Hut 16<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Location:</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Pacific Quay, Glasgow</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I noticed blue lights flashing and through the rain I could see an ambulance parked awkwardly in the road and a man being held by the throat against the building opposite. A typical Saturday evening in Glasgow I thought! The rain was fairly heavy and had been pouring all day. I decided this was a perfect night for a wild hut adventure.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ux9G3YVtfeA/URgj3FwuuNI/AAAAAAAAAzI/IQ3C3C8IetY/s1600/Pacific+Quay+Forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" jea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ux9G3YVtfeA/URgj3FwuuNI/AAAAAAAAAzI/IQ3C3C8IetY/s200/Pacific+Quay+Forest.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BV4xGUoxnTY/URgj3MfOm6I/AAAAAAAAAzE/yuXSZIxih_o/s1600/Pacific+Quay+Masterplan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" jea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BV4xGUoxnTY/URgj3MfOm6I/AAAAAAAAAzE/yuXSZIxih_o/s200/Pacific+Quay+Masterplan.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I had noticed that building work had begun on my favourite little plot of land on the Clyde-side. 25 years of woods and wildlife had been scraped clean in less than a day, revealing old cobbled roads and retaining walls. The <a href="http://www.hospitalityandcateringnews.com/2012/08/de-vere-plans-hotel-complex-at-pacific-quay-glasgow/" target="_blank">new Masterplan</a> for this area includes strategic routes, hotels and office buildings (<a href="http://pdfserver3c.glasgowcitycouncil.co.uk/WAM/doc/BackGround%20Papers-432532.pdf?extension=.pdf&id=432532&location=Volume2&contentType=&pageCount=1" target="_blank">View part of the design</a>). The thing that struck me was the maturity of the trees that were being cleared. For an inner-city site it looked like commercial forestry at work, with trailers full of heavy timber ready for the sawmill.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I followed a familiar little trail through the undergrowth until I arrived at the edge of the destruction. I remember following a little fox along this wooded trail with the surrounding branches full of screeching Magpies and Wood Pigeons. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_heron" target="_blank">Grey Herons</a> who once stood like concrete statues in the tall reeds will never return. It looked like a tsunami aftermath – just thick mud and a tangle of broken trees.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I don’t like to get sentimental over one patch of scrub-land but I think urban density needs to be tempered with negative space - areas for <a href="http://www.jmt.org/wildland-FAQ.asp" target="_blank">wild resurgence</a>. On the plus side, there was enough chopped materials here for all 100 huts so I wasn’t complaining for long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Build:</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I decided to build quite an elegant triangular form. It consisted of two simple <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-frame" target="_blank">A-frame</a> structures, which supported a triangular sleeping platform with roof above. Both the sleeping platform and roof tapered back to a single point. This reduced the material requirement and made it quite a quick and efficient build.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I constructed two free standing A-frames and strung the bed and roof structure together in super-quick time. I was slowed down considerably though as groups of screaming youths passed on the road above every few minutes. I felt really exposed with the lack of ground cover and crouched down behind stacks of timber like an animal shunning human contact.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The rain hadn’t stopped all night and it would be safe to say I was pretty wet. I was knee deep in mud through much of the foraging and could feel my face was caked in it too. It felt a bit like commando camouflage but I knew I would feel stupid walking home. I had the look of someone who had attempted to drink a puddle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I laddered the roof with straight lengths of wood, using gravity to hold them in place. I then used upturned moss and turf to form a skin over the roof timbers and hold them in place. This <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattle_and_daub" target="_blank">‘wattle and dob’</a> style roofing was quick and extremely effective. I built a short windbreak with some broken evergreen branches and the full hut was complete in only 3.5 hours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Roughing it:</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The rain hadn’t stopped all night and I pulled off my squelching wellies and wriggled onto the sleeping platform. It was a good test for this little hut as I’m sure even my tent would have packed in during such a heavy and constant downpour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I put on a hat and snuggled down into the sleeping bag feeling the odd drip find its way through the layers of debris. The wind seemed to change direction from west to north-west, but the windbreak was well positioned around my head. I wondered how I would fall asleep – I was wide awake and there is a row of glowing flats on the road above. Taxi’s sped past every few minutes and people laughed in the rain on their drunken walk home from town.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Before long I was fast asleep and only woke to the sounds of birds chirping the following morning. I opened my eyes to see a black shape darting around the mud below the hut. It was still dark and I was sure it was a rat. It moved again and to my relief it was a blackbird searching for the early worm. It was odd to see bird-life in the darkness. It was almost 7am and the sun had not yet risen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I watched the blackbird dart around the ground instinctively and wondered if it was following the same route it had done for years through the old forest? I wondered if by studying the bird’s movements you could build up a picture of how the forest was arranged before it was destroyed a few days earlier. I wondered if the residual mental maps of these birds could reveal the historic forest landscape through their confused movements, like a ghost or x-ray. Animals are highly adaptable I thought. Which is lucky as their eviction notice came in the form of a chainsaw.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was soon light and as I walked home I felt like a travelling mud-wrestler. I passed about 10 people who looked at me with some concern. I checked my reflection in a car window and realised that my head looked like a chocolate truffle with bed-hair. I cleaned my wellies in a puddle and felt a lot better.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_YDeDnh49BA/URgiAQk7wQI/AAAAAAAAAyw/9FK16xdjaUs/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="479" jea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_YDeDnh49BA/URgiAQk7wQI/AAAAAAAAAyw/9FK16xdjaUs/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a>Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com3Festival Park, Glasgow, Glasgow City G51, UK55.855804923995926 -4.288358688354492255.853576923995924 -4.2934011883544922 55.858032923995928 -4.2833161883544921tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-12918828635232735242013-02-03T14:52:00.001-08:002013-02-07T13:33:38.673-08:00Wild Hut 15<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>The Location:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hound Point Battery, Dalmeny Estate, Edinburgh </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After an early train ride to Edinburgh I met up with some old friends Richard Patterson (<a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/" target="_blank">360PIX</a>) and Arran Brown (<a href="http://www.3ddrawingoffice.com/" target="_blank">3D Drawing Office</a>) at Haymarket station. I had printed out some plans of a new 3-person hut so they could get a feel for the job in-hand. Richard laughed at my eccentric preparation and discarded the plans on the floor like used tissues (he finds it hard to engage with anything more complicated than a sausage sandwich).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6i4VotUzcR96AGMjLB48TfvGfLnz9d6GH3txl3ii8ak28Ucxy6vd4r3XndRjEZmqCs-q_36iVV74BlguSozU4zRuih91xLv1IvEo2ptHa-dyzVjWmx0InEONVKsngJ0JsT2pGhPdDvk/s1600/8374531254_7474b0e02e_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6i4VotUzcR96AGMjLB48TfvGfLnz9d6GH3txl3ii8ak28Ucxy6vd4r3XndRjEZmqCs-q_36iVV74BlguSozU4zRuih91xLv1IvEo2ptHa-dyzVjWmx0InEONVKsngJ0JsT2pGhPdDvk/s200/8374531254_7474b0e02e_b.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkR81_LzdT02DYszyTkYeNHHTbCtp4UFDfFRfDEKvocvH-Gc8VUPHaSYJuKP6Ibbc3e5BqmE-ZKbkiYpUDyBnAYcGKHbi25S50wVMo15M_SZqLQjkYhfEBQIOgI2PJR71hXwIOts2MPuc/s1600/6164237490_cf1c2d68e1_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkR81_LzdT02DYszyTkYeNHHTbCtp4UFDfFRfDEKvocvH-Gc8VUPHaSYJuKP6Ibbc3e5BqmE-ZKbkiYpUDyBnAYcGKHbi25S50wVMo15M_SZqLQjkYhfEBQIOgI2PJR71hXwIOts2MPuc/s200/6164237490_cf1c2d68e1_b.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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We parked-up just west of Edinburgh in <a href="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/queensferry/southqueensferry/" target="_blank">South Queensferry</a> almost directly under the majestic <a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/tours/networkrail/forthrailbridge/" target="_blank">Forth Rail Bridge</a>. Richard proudly said it was also known as the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-16671719" target="_blank">‘Eiffel Tower of the North’</a>. He was right – its sheer scale is equally comparable to its Parisian cousin and uses 10 times more steel. The Eiffel Tower though has a slick elegance fit for any major European city - where as the Forth Rail Bridge feels intrinsically ‘Scottish’ in the fact that it’s ginger!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mF19QO1UbkI/UQ7mUMTellI/AAAAAAAAAoY/MAEDik37GxM/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mF19QO1UbkI/UQ7mUMTellI/AAAAAAAAAoY/MAEDik37GxM/s200/01.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8JCTBJXXUpey8YmooPEFIK2Yhb4GCRo4O9zqMg6NAs7q4AdVVsZk0p-XqqX2M5erB9535Bk8uwEdYTtFBrvocPe98TjMz2NCFdgV7c1CsAaXfHluQbAoCTx41-Y8y6A6VFz9IlIk8tg/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8JCTBJXXUpey8YmooPEFIK2Yhb4GCRo4O9zqMg6NAs7q4AdVVsZk0p-XqqX2M5erB9535Bk8uwEdYTtFBrvocPe98TjMz2NCFdgV7c1CsAaXfHluQbAoCTx41-Y8y6A6VFz9IlIk8tg/s200/02.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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We walked along the coastline tack eastwards through <a href="http://www.dalmeny.co.uk/estate/shore_walk.htm" target="_blank">Dalmeny Estate</a> where we arrived at the pre-world war concrete <a href="http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/50454/details/hound+point+battery/" target="_blank">bunkers of Hound Point</a> (1914 – 1916). The remains consist of two concrete gun emplacements with a magazine building to the rear. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswxeAWmKbzGlGiNUL4ooSAP_mmOT6vcVnAjRIj42gmTf8O6s_Bfzjk-OtyjBo_JMhUf7sO2A0yyWM-Qy1_F-fRE3ww_0kIC2gyuRcbTLWsrXKIlmGpRDO_lN9sPxuz4PUCD_pXIdi8ig/s1600/RHP-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" jea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswxeAWmKbzGlGiNUL4ooSAP_mmOT6vcVnAjRIj42gmTf8O6s_Bfzjk-OtyjBo_JMhUf7sO2A0yyWM-Qy1_F-fRE3ww_0kIC2gyuRcbTLWsrXKIlmGpRDO_lN9sPxuz4PUCD_pXIdi8ig/s400/RHP-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In addition, it is possible to see traces of hut bases, and a pile of brick rubble near the gun emplacements which may possibly be that of the observation post.<br />The concrete bunker seemed like a great place to leave our gear as we foraged the windy hillside for materials. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1xXFvmBJ88xQ2pl0o3FhXYfbOqtfbg07cQCR_QjcbkqxHndpQGrlDsZ4i3FP3oOt9ZIEtufA44apcWkdqBZqqCY26Q2S1y06W5_T4k1PtVc2whPZ8viSg2hF5dV7ecNcF5og_36I_zI/s1600/03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1xXFvmBJ88xQ2pl0o3FhXYfbOqtfbg07cQCR_QjcbkqxHndpQGrlDsZ4i3FP3oOt9ZIEtufA44apcWkdqBZqqCY26Q2S1y06W5_T4k1PtVc2whPZ8viSg2hF5dV7ecNcF5og_36I_zI/s400/03.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The intense smell of gas filled the forest air. I assumed either Richard or Arran had relieved some pressure after a big breakfast but it turns out that: <i>“a marine vapour recovery unit at Hound Point collects volatile organic compounds (VOC) that would otherwise be released into the environment during ship loading, and processes the VOCs at Dalmeny for reinjection into crude oil, or for use as fuel gas.”</i></span>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AZXN5ZK3HR4/UQ7mVUCe_9I/AAAAAAAAAoo/ApsGX9y1ypc/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AZXN5ZK3HR4/UQ7mVUCe_9I/AAAAAAAAAoo/ApsGX9y1ypc/s400/04.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />BP run a vast <a href="http://www.ports.org.uk/port.asp?id=713" target="_blank">tanker terminal</a> in the estuary and pipe oil to the nearby <a href="http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/DalmenyFuelDepot" target="_blank">fuel depot at Dalmeny</a>. Dalgety Bay can be seen across the water which is also <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-18411114" target="_blank">radio-active</a>! The dramatic crossings, sandy beaches and thick forests can’t really mask this industrial anarchy. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Replacement_Crossing" target="_blank">new forth crossing</a> will add to the visual mayhem.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6G0ynFkeocANVAeVexG88Ht3jCVzhtBFDesuvikOBHMXPMdNVZttoty078B8DZHSEamJYd5VYdI8x4qe-IKmG4GakWDrlQZ5XqQ4k9XOXQb1Ilxs8UHsRyR-UhP-z_wBV07xFVUpDc8/s1600/05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6G0ynFkeocANVAeVexG88Ht3jCVzhtBFDesuvikOBHMXPMdNVZttoty078B8DZHSEamJYd5VYdI8x4qe-IKmG4GakWDrlQZ5XqQ4k9XOXQb1Ilxs8UHsRyR-UhP-z_wBV07xFVUpDc8/s200/05.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-61ZvkmAvHeE/UQ7mWV5PZWI/AAAAAAAAAo8/IVl5DSl5--M/s1600/06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-61ZvkmAvHeE/UQ7mWV5PZWI/AAAAAAAAAo8/IVl5DSl5--M/s200/06.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>The build:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our 3-person hut design was a rhombus, pyramidal structure with 3 internal sleeping platforms. It felt like quite an ambitious and irregular build which was conceived using architectural 3d modelling software. It was a series of triangular planes which maintained a central walkway with plenty head-room. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We scoured the forest for longer poles which would form the main structure. The forest was busy with walkers and cyclists who all stopped to stare at our foraging exploits in total bewilderment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We lashed some branches together using bark and some biodegradable garden twine. Richard was continually unsure where the pieces should be lashed together. I said he should refer to the detailed 3d plan I had already given him (which I knew lay crumpled in the foot-well of his car). He was also quite keen to close off the entrance door with a wall of timber slats. I suggested he was bonkers and that an entrance to the hut would be a desirable feature!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The basic hut form was erected in only a few hours and the sleeping platforms were bound in place soon after. We drove short posts into the earth beneath each sleeping platform to shorten the unsupported spans which made these thin beams structurally sound.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-keMYtNN3rfY/UQ7mYFt4h0I/AAAAAAAAApY/zdcGfHunk8E/s1600/09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-keMYtNN3rfY/UQ7mYFt4h0I/AAAAAAAAApY/zdcGfHunk8E/s200/09.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-naSpUYKcC8Q/UQ7mYmYS-gI/AAAAAAAAApg/hW1zTG_vnRk/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-naSpUYKcC8Q/UQ7mYmYS-gI/AAAAAAAAApg/hW1zTG_vnRk/s200/10.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We used some spindly ferns which carpeted the forest as our roofing material. We spent an hour bundling up vast bails of the foliage which had great </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">façade</span> coverage. We had completed the first half of the outer façade in no time and decided to walk back to town in search of some dinner. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />Richard had suffered from terrible hay fever all day (I made many jokes suggesting he shouldn’t cry about it…) His eyes were badly swollen and streaming. It was winter with no flowering plants around? The ferns seemed to release some kind of spore from their underside as we picked them although they are apparently “<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/gardening/article-1198373/Hay-fever-sufferers-finally-enjoy-great-outdoors-sneeze-free-garden.html#axzz2JrkfoM83" target="_blank">sneeze-free</a>” with no pollen?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIbpvJBI79F66KCxp2N9FLrXv1ifgOp60CQ-5xGuTgDmuFMU_s0VMvrbOJCUsrWBYA2LeioOtUSYMp3RVQM_8gRdzaTZHmsBWI0UIbmXKyi0dHigFcTKjIPAKLuikYWY2iBGsLgEiASw/s1600/11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIbpvJBI79F66KCxp2N9FLrXv1ifgOp60CQ-5xGuTgDmuFMU_s0VMvrbOJCUsrWBYA2LeioOtUSYMp3RVQM_8gRdzaTZHmsBWI0UIbmXKyi0dHigFcTKjIPAKLuikYWY2iBGsLgEiASw/s200/11.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbzgmT1yjS4Z2v9vnySNXGBUQ7LVjP8iUrShpKeYxj6wM1TJKkD5le9czrR55735tQlPemDBQIbyKGR02Kk4_aBVCdIXdrRpCMPezRTiCIzh6cjo4fNEq8zDW8nfZP3SovvnggL5azeQ/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ea="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbzgmT1yjS4Z2v9vnySNXGBUQ7LVjP8iUrShpKeYxj6wM1TJKkD5le9czrR55735tQlPemDBQIbyKGR02Kk4_aBVCdIXdrRpCMPezRTiCIzh6cjo4fNEq8zDW8nfZP3SovvnggL5azeQ/s200/12.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />In Slavic folklore, ferns are believed to bloom once a year, during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Kupala_Day" target="_blank">‘Ivan Kupala’</a> night. Although alleged to be exceedingly difficult to find, anyone who sees a "fern flower" is thought to be guaranteed to be happy and rich for the rest of their life. Whatever it was - the pollen count was high and Richard cried about it all day.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>Roughing it:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The hut was soon complete and we built a great campfire just outside the entrance with some nearby dry wood. It was around 2am when we retired to our sleeping platforms. I was delighted with the engineering aspect of the build. From the outside it just looked like an elongated tepee, but inside it had a central walkway flanked by sleeping platforms with one cocooned bed platform at the far end. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Richard and </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Arran slid effortlessly sideways onto their bunks as I wriggled around like a worm trying to find the hood of the sleeping bag which was caught round some branch at my waist. I left it there for a good while as 'sleeping-bag wrestling'<i> </i>was never my strong point. After a while I managed to negotiate the sleeping bag into position and fell asleep with the sound of thrashing wind and industrial bleeps ringing through the trees. We woke around 10am after a warm and comfortable sleep. It was around 1 degree through the night but it could easily have been summer with the fern-façade deflecting the cold wind and rain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We felt satisfied in creating this angular fern-cocoon. Missing the smell of gas - we rejoined the estate track and wandered back through the forest to South Queensferry, on the hunt for an all day breakfast. We glanced back as the hut dissolved into the forest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/tours/100wildhuts/15/" target="_blank">CLICK</a></strong> to view a <strong>360 interactive tour</strong> of the hut construction (by <a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/" target="_blank">360PIX</a>):</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/tours/100wildhuts/15/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="215" jea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFO7AUMZJsK4SlFJ4zfxYK__zWHABA0Dkzil2EouJcHK8RRrs2VVsBy3NEClQhYnoiUA_8T05vbmtxNsv9ycIxFW1vtR1XuF_m87jeUcItgAQ0sV-y2NlnTdnk42AXBJsGetxNUl970RM/s400/Wild+Hut+15+-+360.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Watch a video of the hut construction: (x8 speed)</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/oQGESUTG6RI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com3City of Edinburgh, UK55.999388898590688 -3.35113048553466855.997168898590687 -3.356172985534668 56.001608898590689 -3.3460879855346679tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-18799688707603311442013-01-17T15:15:00.001-08:002013-01-18T05:48:42.074-08:00Wild Hut 14<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Carbeth Loch, by Strathblane.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was very fortunate to be contacted by the producer of </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radioscotland/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BBC Scotland’s</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> radio show </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074hjr" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Out of Doors’</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> – </span><a href="https://twitter.com/csleight" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chris Sleight</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. He seemed keen to feature the 100 Wild Huts project on his show. People have often said to me that I ‘have a face for radio’ so this seemed like a great opportunity. I also somehow managed to persuade the producer to help actually build a wild hut and sleep rough for one night. He agreed to come along, although I’m not sure he initially grasped the lengthy timeframes and workloads involved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was keen to explore with him the craft, the architectural quality and the experiential impact of creating a shelter and sleeping rough outdoors. I had a growing concern though that I would sound, to a national audience, like a bumbling idiot or indeed just an eccentric fool! It’s probably a fair reflection though as eccentricity and I have been happy bed-fellows for some time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We pulled the cars over in a lay-by close to Carbeth Loch on the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><a href="http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/west-highland-way.shtml" target="_blank">West Highland Way</a></st1:address></st1:street>. </span><a href="http://www.strathblanefield.org.uk/history/Carbeth.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carbeth</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is around 11 miles north of Glasgow and fairly close to the orbital towns of Milngavie and Strathblane. Ironically, Carbeth has a </span><a href="http://www.carbethhuts.co.uk/#!home/mainPage" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">history of hutting</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> dating back to the1920’s. Around 140 self-built retreats are scattered around the loch and surrounding area which has taken on the appearance of a caravan holiday park built by beavers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The community of huts were established as a retreat from the stifling effects of <st1:city w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:city> and <st1:place w:st="on">Clydebank</st1:place>’s heavy industrial heritage. This is a notion I’m sympathetic to. They recently completed a </span><a href="http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2010/04/20/carbeth-land-buy-out/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">community land buy-out</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: “The hutters would like to extend an invitation for people to come along and explore Carbeth. In the next 2 years the hutters will need lots of support, funding, media attention and solidarity. There are also opportunities to buy huts and sites and join the hutting movement into the future.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also invited a university friend Richard Patterson to help with the build as Chris would be occupied with his BBC recording duties and to our delight he even agreed to cook us dinner! My friend Richard has a company which specialises in ‘Virtual Tours’ (</span><a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.360pix.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) and was interested in shooting some 360° photographs of the hut interior on it’s completion. The build was not only being recorded ‘acoustically’ for radio purposes, but also recorded ‘panoramically’ for visual purposes (I also offered to complete the full set and record the smell and taste of everything!...they weren't impressed).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We gathered our bundles of gear and ascended a steep track which led up into some mixed woodland. The elevated spot we picked for the build was fairly close to a crop of dried bracken and a tangled spaghetti of fallen branches. There seemed to be a natural ledge cut into the hillside, with a steep forested slope ascending to the east and dropping sharply away to the west. The temperature was threatening to plummet to -4 and we knew we had to keep busy in order to stay warm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsStCfGbWIpzVp_-WgCskKh5ozxtUZHJW0l-C6jyqQUeq3hYCK3Euyej-2uE3J84ngK89xJ39mrJQ3oKrVHMLdllqhhspUsRb4veE8wqePqe5UwXeVlF899-Urnsvt_OCl1BDL8_ssaQA/s1600/DSCN5204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="149" jea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsStCfGbWIpzVp_-WgCskKh5ozxtUZHJW0l-C6jyqQUeq3hYCK3Euyej-2uE3J84ngK89xJ39mrJQ3oKrVHMLdllqhhspUsRb4veE8wqePqe5UwXeVlF899-Urnsvt_OCl1BDL8_ssaQA/s200/DSCN5204.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iDoCdQAl8rE/UPaYbrBybpI/AAAAAAAAAmA/tB99uceCnvk/s1600/DSCN5199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="149" jea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iDoCdQAl8rE/UPaYbrBybpI/AAAAAAAAAmA/tB99uceCnvk/s200/DSCN5199.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>The Build:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The forest seemed to be fairly unmanaged and the volume of storm-felled timber was a pleasure. As I waffled mindlessly for the radio production, Richard flew into action and gathered most of the timber required for the entire build in less than an hour. As is the normal routine now, we bundled the timbers into ‘structural’ and ‘non structural’ piles. After some initial recording Chris and I got to work and lashed together a series of simple A-frame sections. We then laid out a number of long timbers - strategising about the sleeping platform and roof construction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On completion of the first platform, we positioned it in a clearing between the trees. Unfortunately the sagging structure jiggled sideways like wobbly jelly. Keeping the components upright and straight is a bit like pushing custard uphill. Finally after a few more turns of the garden twine - this first part of the structure was now free standing(ish). Richard completed the 2nd mirror image component and we aligned them in position ready to bridge between with the third sleeping platform. After a few more timbers were added – the whole structure became rigid. As more wood was overlaid the joints tightened with laminating rigidity.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Due to limited tools Chris found all the timber for the bed platforms as Richard and I bailed the bracken tiles for the roofing. We worked efficiently as a team, pausing from time to time to partake in interviews. The bracken was icy and interwoven with shards of frozen snow which made it awkward to bail. After some outstanding sausages for dinner (thanks Chris) and many hours of tiling bracken the structure was complete and ready for road testing.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richard had started a campfire inside the hut which had a great warming effect although also threatened to choke everyone in their sleep and sizzle holes through their sleeping bags. Being the most intelligant of the 3 – I picked the bunk directly in the line of wind-driven smoke and ash. It was indeed the warmest bunk but the smoke inhalation took the edge off my enjoyment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fire subsided as we lay down on the beds of rolling logs at around 1am (-4 degrees). We recorded a short interview before bed and were all in agreement that this was quite a pleasing hut-structure and were satisfied with the outcome and efficiency of the build. An owl was hooting from a nearby tree, which was soon replaced with synchronised snoring from 2 nearby bunks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An hour or two later I was awoken with the padding footsteps of a heavy animal just by the hut. It seemed to approach the hut then amble off through the undergrowth. The next morning Chris had also heard something snuffling around our bags outside. He thought it was perhaps a fox or deer, I wondered if it might have been a badger as it sounded heavy? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Now…I mentioned the possibility of it being a badger on the radio interview and then frantically searched the internet on my return home incase badgers hibernated all winter…I didn’t want to sound both stupid and eccentric all in one 6 min radio programme.)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An orange haze glowed on the horizon as the sun glanced through the dark forest. We stirred in our bunks early and recorded a final section for the radio show where I blurted a few incoherent words whilst trying to sound awake. We said our goodbyes to Chris who had a busy schedule including the school run that morning and a full day's work. Richard used the welcome dawn light to take some 360 panoramic photographs and we packed our gear away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mentioned that it’s always astounding how many people show an interest in the simple act of building a make-shift roof and bed in a wild place. It must be an integral part of being human, a natural instinct that can only be engaged with through the act of exploring and building. Richard suggested that the radio chap had gone now and that I could stop talking rubbish!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">View 360 Tours of this hut courtesy of <strong>360PIX</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><a href="http://www.360pix.co.uk/tours/100wildhuts/"><span style="color: purple;">http://www.360pix.co.uk/tours/100wildhuts/</span></a></span></div>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com7Stirling, UK55.985467357382383 -4.345178604125976655.981025857382384 -4.3552636041259767 55.989908857382382 -4.3350936041259764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-45364935171690213292013-01-06T15:39:00.000-08:002013-01-10T16:02:33.355-08:00Wild Hut 13<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Location:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mugdock Woods, Milngavie<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkmj2v8HLsE_JzEGdopm5Ymbl_onWzDQxvGj4nSY9wYllAt4S0qmjValrBSl0LMPVIZXemu_Yn4mgfHqtBXGv0WM-vWIyl1eOEyh4rlD0n7POg9tbE-EDp2p-JRX4Ua6WhV5WbWg6j6A/s1600/hut+13+concept.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" eea="true" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkmj2v8HLsE_JzEGdopm5Ymbl_onWzDQxvGj4nSY9wYllAt4S0qmjValrBSl0LMPVIZXemu_Yn4mgfHqtBXGv0WM-vWIyl1eOEyh4rlD0n7POg9tbE-EDp2p-JRX4Ua6WhV5WbWg6j6A/s320/hut+13+concept.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Around 12 o’clock I arrived at </span><a href="http://www.mugdock-country-park.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mugdock Woods</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to the north of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city> with a good friend Arran Brown for another crazy hutting weekend. <st1:place w:st="on">Arran</st1:place> had never slept outside and was strangely sympathetic to the notion of building a hut just for the sheer experiential impact. He is currently </span><a href="http://www.3ddrawingoffice.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">self-employed</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> so these new skills may have a practical usefulness in the economic downturn. We followed some muddy trails (more commonly known as the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><a href="http://www.west-highland-way.co.uk/" target="_blank">West Highland Way</a></st1:address></st1:street>) until we arrived deep within the forest and surrounded by plenty foraging materials. It was a gorgeous bright winter’s day and strangely mild for the time of year.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGe-qtZFreTMAS2mmXl3YOVeAmjw7tC-bQMGWD_nZgzn9oxQ-EZre4x8Cyl2DxoP-JFSkv3gHrUNJtX86YfqHnZpWiT49WB8v4z5bLVpVvWKPq8UU3XobjsYZh2oT1U0_lqsaKB29qVg/s1600/20130106_224403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" eea="true" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGe-qtZFreTMAS2mmXl3YOVeAmjw7tC-bQMGWD_nZgzn9oxQ-EZre4x8Cyl2DxoP-JFSkv3gHrUNJtX86YfqHnZpWiT49WB8v4z5bLVpVvWKPq8UU3XobjsYZh2oT1U0_lqsaKB29qVg/s320/20130106_224403.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These woods skirt the satellite towns of </span><a href="http://www.h2g2.com/entry/A73612" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Milngavie</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://discuss.glasgowguide.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=15804" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bearsden</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, which results in thousands of jolly walkers filtering through the damp forest from various nodal car parks and leafy boulevards. We picked a relatively quiet place for the build and were instantly confronted by a team of clambering kids who had noticed our unmanned rucksacks and obviously hadn’t noticed us. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They instantly veered off in a different direction and were soon replaced by a caravan of dog walkers and their associated unruly dogs that sniffed through our rucksacks like hairy customs officers. The locals were all morbidly inquisitive and over-friendly considering its proximity to </span><a href="http://www.glasgowgangland.com/apps/blog/categories/show/925410-murder" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">murderous <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city></span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and the fact I was wielding an axe. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We longed for the tranquil veil of darkness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The build:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had sat up the previous night brainstorming ideas for this two-person hut construction but hadn’t finalised the design until the next morning. I had scribbled an irregular shaped triangular pod which all tapered back to a single tree. This should allow plenty head room, fit 2 beds and be fairly enclosed. It was also light on material with only a handful of structural members required. <st1:place w:st="on">Arran</st1:place> seemed happy with the conceptual approach and we set about arranging the basic structure with some wet mossy branches and garden string.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The basic frame was lashed together in only a couple of hours and we set about bailing the dried bracken for use on the walls and roof. This was time consuming in the rain but by 6pm we had covered around 3 square meters of walling each with only the roof and gable-end still to complete. We downed tools and headed to Milngavie for some </span><a href="http://www.andiamo-restaurants.com/Milngavie/Home.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">food</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Many beers later we somehow found the hut-site again in the blackness and set about completing the roof and side panels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I noticed some random movement beneath the bracken and for the next hour I wondered if I might uncover a </span><a href="http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/reptile-and-amphibian-forums/21871-do-adders-hibernate.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hibernating Adder</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I had a friend who was bitten by an Adder fairly close to these woods when he was lifting boulders as a kid. Being elbow deep in boulders and moss in the dark is always unnerving as soon as you think about snakes…the beers didn’t help. The fact it was winter though makes a sighting completely implausible. A fear of snakes is fairly healthy though, I have a friend who is scared of cows! How is that possible? We completed the roof and soon laid sticks out for the sleeping platforms. The hut was complete by midnight and the sky cleared to reveal a cosmic array of tiny lights. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roughing it:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We rolled our sleeping mats out and lay down. The sleeping platforms were completely rigid and the hut façade seemed fairly weather-tight. This was one of the best sleeps yet it has to be said. There was a great feeling of enclosure and the air inside the hut seemed still. We hadn’t bothered spending the extra hour required to build a front door which may have been even better. Still, the structure was roomy and fairly sheltering from the elements. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I jokingly mentioned to <st1:place w:st="on">Arran</st1:place> that we will probably be woken in the morning by a big dribbling dog peering through the doorway…and with sorry-synchronicity a giant brown gasping K9 face poured itself into the hut at 9am with sniffling intent. I explained to the dog that it should probably best leave and it reticently took my advice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Other than <st1:place w:st="on">Arran</st1:place>’s snoring (sorry Arran) it was a comfortable night’s sleep. We packed up our gear and swam against the tide of dog walkers and joggers back to the train.</span></div>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com12Stirling, UK55.961861294664558 -4.328784942626953155.959639294664555 -4.3338274426269532 55.964083294664562 -4.3237424426269531tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-91563026216132089382013-01-02T09:00:00.000-08:002013-01-02T10:03:03.179-08:00Wild Hut 12<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>The Location:</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rattray Head, by Peterhead, Aberdeenshire</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was visiting family in Peterhead in the north-east of Scotland for New Year and decided to embark on another wild hut adventure. The coastal area to the north of Peterhead is patrolled by armed-guards 24 hours a day. They patrol the tracks and fringe-roads surrounding <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Fergus_Gas_Plant" target="_blank">St Fergus Gas Terminal</a> which provides 20% of the UK’s Gas requirements (and looks like a futuristic city). </span><br />
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I was dropped-off in the darkness along a single track road which leads to a solitary lighthouse at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattray_Head" target="_blank">Rattray Head</a>, one of the only places to access the beach past the secure perimeter of the giant gas plant. En-route we passed armed police at the shop, in various lay-bys and spinning along the tracks and by-ways. They obviously anticipate the colossal disruption and loss of revenue that a potential terrorist attack would create…even if the terrorists can’t see it. If I may make a flippant statement at this point…it’s far too windy at St Fergus for terrorism – they would be blown onto their bum as soon as they stepped out of their vehicle! I think the best way to ‘take out’ the gas plant would be to steal everyone’s jackets…<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>The Build:</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike the rest of Scotland, the north-east coast has a distinct lack of seaweed. I had planned to use seaweed like roofing tiles and driftwood for the main structural frame. Another thing about the north-east coast is that there is no driftwood! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I wandered along a flooded trail to an exposed beach which was vast and windswept. There was a <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/l/longtailedduck/index.aspx" target="_blank">Long Tailed Duck</a> pottering about in a sand-pool and a <a href="http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/desert-wheatear.html#cr" target="_blank">Desert Wheatear</a> harbouring in the dunes above (which is apparently a rarity in bird-watching circles). Recent storms had devastated many homes in the area and wiped out a good number of seabirds. The beach was littered with the carcases of these smashed-up unfortunates.<br /></span><br />
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I retreated into the shelter of the dunes as to avoid the high tide. I dug a body-sized ditch in the sand which would form the main sleeping compartment and keep me out of the wind. In the process I also uncovered a family of transparent flies and grubs which must have been wintering deep in the sand. They jumped around the trench like a blur of sandy grass-hoppers. Not ideal sleeping conditions. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After an hour of beach-combing I had managed to find only 5 small sections of driftwood which would allow me to build the basic roof structure. Rather than a jelly-like carpet of seaweed which I’m used to – the beach had a supply of kelp branches: thick tendrils which bind the kelp forest to the sea-bed. They were about 6 feet in length and about as thick as your wrist. There was enough for the roof which was all I needed. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I gathered great bundles of these kelp stalks and carried them over the next few hours high into the dunes. I arranged them along the roof and buried the structure in sand. On completion I sat for a while on top of the dunes - looking south towards the giant gas plant. During the day the terminal looks like a standard bunch of pipes and electrical mess (a technical term), but at night it looks like a bright futuristic city. The lights of Peterhead can also been seen a few miles further to the south which contrastingly looks slightly more 60’s and a lot less futuristic. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This particular overnight experience was a lesson on how to cope with beasties. I crawled into the hut for a look and was confronted with heaps of skipping flies and bugs. I scooped out handfuls and tossed them up into the wind for a pleasant journey elsewhere. But there were just too many. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided the best way to get rid of them was just to get into my sleeping bag and not look at them! As soon as I lay down to sleep most of them crawled under my sleeping bag to safety. Out of sight – out of mind, I turned off my head-torch and lay down. As my eyes grew accustomed to the light I noticed them all around my head trying to climb to safety or burrow into the sand. I pulled the flaps of my hat around my ears…just in case and dozed off.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The moon spun round from the east to the south-west until it was time to gather my gear and make my way back along the track. The wind had blown a cup-full of sand into my clothing and pants which had the effect of a ‘spa-quality’ exfoliation. This empty and windswept beach was actually full of life and I had the good fortune to sleep with most of them. </span><br />
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<strong>Youtube video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD17iUO2O2s" target="_blank">Wild Hut 12</a></strong></div>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com7Aberdeenshire, UK57.608267870220466 -1.821670532226562557.604014870220468 -1.8317555322265624 57.612520870220465 -1.8115855322265626tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-23129990765404965112012-12-02T16:30:00.000-08:002012-12-04T05:20:12.849-08:00Wild Hut 11<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I had the good fortune to meet up with a chap Toby Clark from the <a href="http://www.jmt.org/jmaward-home.asp" target="_blank">John Muir Trust Awards</a> who was interested in the wild huts concept and was keen to give it a try. The accessibility of the project initially grabbed his attention and how people could engage with wild spaces in urban areas as well as rural. We agreed to build a '2 person shelter' one month prior but had failed to anticipate the onslaught of freezing weather conditions. It felt like madness but we gave it a bash.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was on a dark cold winter’s evening after work when we met in a west-end bar to discuss our build and where we might go. The ruined remains of Partick Central Station are sited just behind the bar and this seemed as good a place as any! Toby heartily agreed but suggested that after experiencing the freezing temperatures that day he was ‘anticipating’ the experience rather than looking forward to it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The station was built in the 1890s by the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway Company, it sat on a line that ran along the north bank of the River Clyde from Stobcross to Dumbarton. The station was renamed Kelvin Hall in 1959.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Passenger and goods services to the station ceased in 1964 when it closed as part of the Beeching cuts to rail services across the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The station building was later used as a workshop and an auction house before lying empty for a number of years. The remains of the platforms and track-bed, which were underneath the station building, have been removed but the railway's route is fairly discernible. The station's goods yard served as a site for travelling people and as a scrap merchants.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The site had been empty and awaiting redevelopment when in 2004 it emerged that the supermarket chain Tesco wished to develop a 24-hour operation there, in the face of local opposition </span><a href="http://www.stoptesco.info/"><span style="color: #606420; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">STOP</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. Tesco had the station building demolished on 28 January 2007, before planning permission had been given for the development from Glasgow City Council.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We ventured out into the frozen air and passed through an open gap in the fence which led along the old railway tracks. We spend a short while exploring this forgotten landscape and regaining our bearings. It was like an island: marooned on 4 sides by high walls, roads, bridges and the River Kelvin. It was strange to find such a pocket of overgrown wildness so close to the busy west end and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city>’s bustling <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Byres Road</st1:address></st1:street>.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Build:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The hut concept was two free-standing mono-pitched structures which were mirrored and could be bound together for increased rigidity if needed. As the freezing rain steadily fell we gathered the fallen branches which lay strewn throughout the dense thickets. Due to limited tools - Toby accumulated the better structural timbers as I wrestled with bundles of tangled branches. We stacked our materials under the sheltering road bridge and assembled a series of A-frames which we used as the primary structural components.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This was a fairly time consuming process but we had the basic structures complete and in place by around 11pm. After the rain had passed, the stars and moon burst through the shifting clouds and the temperature began to plummet much like our energy levels. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We decided to take a break and stop for a well earned beer. To my infinite joy I had somehow managed to burst open a can in my rucksack which drenched all my spare clothes with freezing cold Stella <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Artois</st1:place></st1:state>. It was probably a better smell than mud and sweat, but would increase the chance of hypothermia if worn! I offered some soggy spare socks to Toby but he gracefully declined in favour of his life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The hardest part of the build was yet to come as this involved gathering bails of cut material to use as roofing tiles. I knew from experience that this would be time consuming and Toby wasn’t entirely looking forward to the process. It was around 2 hours later where he confessed that bailing wasn’t for him. Gathering grass for hours on end on a freezing cold winter’s night is numbingly monotonous and requires a steely mindset.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I hadn’t seen Toby in a while and decided to take that opportunity to stretch my legs and see how he was doing. Through the mist I noticed Toby had a new friend in the form of an inquisitive fox! It seemed to take an interest in what we were doing and was happy to come close in search for scraps. It darted around playfully and watched our progress for the next hour. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A cormorant flew overhead, heading upstream. It occurred to me that these spaces have a role in providing sanctuary for life of all kinds. It would be good to recognise the importance of these informal spaces: they seem to have a more exceptional capacity to harbour wildlife than our manicured parks.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Roughing it:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Around 3am we were ready to try out the structures and unfurled our sleeping bags over the frosty branches. Passers-by glanced down from the adjacent bridge on occasion but we remained undisturbed. Toby noticed that the frozen forest glistened like the stars and it was difficult to differentiate between them. We slept until around 7:30am where we both woke with cold feet. I looked down to see my sleeping bag had a glaze of frost which covered my projecting feet. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">By 8am the blue morning light had saturated the sky as the city streets sprung to life once again. We passed through the fence and looked down at the hut from the adjacent road bridge. It stood like the mystical jungle shelter from a lost tribe. After mild reflection we soon saw sense and headed straight to the nearest café for a fried Scottish breakfast.</span></span></div>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com248 Benalder St, Glasgow, Glasgow City G11, UK55.86899656806888 -4.300664663314819355.868439568068879 -4.3018986633148195 55.869553568068881 -4.2994306633148192tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-7388643058048530522012-10-30T17:29:00.002-07:002012-10-30T17:29:55.128-07:00Wild Hut 10<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Govan, Glasgow South-Side</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I decided to spend my next hutting adventure with my daughter Katie who is 6. If it takes around 5 hours to build a hut, I was fairly sure she would be bored and cold after 1 – especially on these dark winter evenings. It would also be an organisational struggle to get her home, showered and ready in time for school the next morning. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So I decided to venture out the evening before in an effort to prepare the materials and complete the main structural work. I donned my wellies and wandered out through a quiet industrial estate, on-route to the River Clyde like an urban farmer. As I approached a redundant patch of land on the river bank, I noticed a fox racing past at speed. It was bounding high through the tall grass like a drugged kangaroo. I thought it must have been confronted by a passing dog walker which sent him racing for his life through the undergrowth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Build:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The back corner of the waste-ground had a vast pile of cut stone – part of the old quay wall and cobbled riverbank. Without haste I began the heavy work of building the base-wall. I decided the hut should have a softer, more organic feel so arranged the wall in the shape of a horse-shoe, 7 courses high and about the size of a double bed. I knew that high walls need cross-bracing so built an inner and outer leaf, using some lager blocks to brace between them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I lifted a stone block a large frog jumped out from between my legs. In the darkness I just noticed a fast, darting movement and jumped backwards like a big girl. In fairness though, he was a frighteningly big frog, darting around in the darkness with threatening intent…big eyes etc.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On one hand…it seemed like a sensible and secure place for a frog to hide, but on the other hand frogs are so soft and delicate in contrast to these sharp heavy blocks. I was fairly sure that at one stage I was going to accidently squish it…so picked it up and placed it well out of harms way. No sooner had I returned than another big frog was flopping around across the stones. Comically - it leaped headlong into a stone block and halted in a daze (it was either running for its life or was as blind as a bat). I picked up this kamikaze-Kermit and popped it beside his girlfriend who could easily have been his dad for all I knew. I left them with strict instructions that I didn’t want to see any tadpoles out of season…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I came back the following evening with my daughter Katie to complete the roof part of the hut. She got back from school and was fairly excited to be heading out into the cold night for an adventure! We gathered sticks and soon arranged a ladder frame roof-structure across the top of the base-wall. We then added a thick layer of twigs at which point I decided to take her home for some supper and help her with her homework…which I had forgotten about...eek. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We came back out with 3 plastic bags and gathered up bundles of golden leaves which would give the roof a great waterproofing layer. We found 2 large sticks and propped the roof up at the front in order to achieve more head room and water run-off. I liked the flexible nature of a roof that could lift or drop depending on the weather or usage. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Roughing it:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We spread our gathered leaves across the roof and pushed them flat. Katie seemed fairly excited at the prospect of spending a night in the wilds of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city>, although it was hard to see her expression from the dim light of her Nintendo DS…We were soon snuggled up under layers of sleeping bags with the buzz of a nearby lamp post keeping us company. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The odd firework pierced the calm night as I drifted in and out of sleep. Katie fell asleep as soon as she felt the warmth of her sleeping bag. After only a short time I woke in absolute horror at the sound of someone whistling directly outside the hut. It was a sinister whistling sound as if someone was signalling to someone, but quiet as if they were really close. I lay fairly motionless for around 20 seconds hoping that the hut wall wouldn’t suddenly be kicked down on top of us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To my relief and embarrassment, I had only days before received a new mobile phone, which has a SMS text notification sound of someone whistling! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the sound now. I soon fell asleep to the further sounds of Katie snoring and the continual buzz of electricity. We woke dry and warm at 7am and headed home to get cleaned up for school and a days work. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Katie was asked to stand up in class today and tell the other kids about sleeping out in a wild hut in the middle of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city>. I’m only glad she was talking to kids and not the social services…</span></span></div>
Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com12Govan, opp Merryland Street, Glasgow, Glasgow City G51, UK55.856503452878087 -4.299216270446777355.854275452878085 -4.3041517704467775 55.858731452878089 -4.2942807704467771tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-35998591581734955332012-10-18T04:41:00.001-07:002017-07-10T13:54:01.939-07:00Wild Hut 9<strong><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Location:</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pacific Quay, Govan, Glasgow</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I always thought ripping a toe nail off would be a fairly negative experience and indeed it was. I was heartily pulling on my woolly socks in a rather brisk manner when I felt the toenail catch on the inside and felt subsequent blood. I had previously bruised this toe nail during a </span><a href="http://www.easthighlandway.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">long distance hike</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> through the Highlands but hadn’t expected to part company with it so soon. It detached from one side and was swinging rather freely. I tried to pull it off but it was still organically deep-rooted on one side. I managed to stop the bleeding, Sellotaped the nail down onto the nail-bed and popped on my wellies. I wasn’t going to let this minor inconvenience disrupt my enjoyment of the icy-cold rain and wind waiting for me outside!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I walked through the downpour to the </span><a href="http://www.pacific-quay.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Media District</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> on Glasgow’s River Clyde where there is a large expanse of overgrown wasteland yet to be developed on its south bank. After passing a stream of office workers who were leaving for the night I made my way over to the darkest corner of the quay. The only good thing about torrential rain I discovered is that it makes for fewer awkward conversations as I’m usually the only person mindless enough to be wondering around in it. As darkness fell I noticed a huge pile of pruned branches which had been discarded over the fence from the neighbouring residential development. I decided to make the hut entirely out of this rotting pile of brown leaves, twigs and cut branches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Build:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As I was frequenting the newly branded “</span><a href="http://www.scotland.org/features/item/glasgow-reinvented--the-regeneration-of-glasgow-and-the-river-clyde/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Media</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">” District (home to BBC Scotland HQ, STV, rats and seagulls amongst others) I decided to build an “M” shape hut structure. I arranged some branches on the ground in two triangular forms and bound them tightly together. Within each triangle I placed further bracing which formed the “M” shape. It also gives the sleeping platform some mid-way support which is ideal as I usually fall right through the bed each time like a comedy sketch show. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I stripped the twigs from various branches to form cross bracing members which allowed the structure to be free-standing. I then lashed some further branches along the length of the roof like a large ladder-frame. All the discarded brown leaves and twigs were then used to tile to roof (much like a traditional debris shelter). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This was a particularly quick process and the roof was water-tight in around half an hour. One thing that wasn’t water tight was my wellies! The continual rain had streamed down my trousers creating vast cold reservoirs in each foot. I took them off and poured out the contents. It was a delicate business putting them back on though as the sticky-tape had become wobbly...much like my toe nail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I just had the bed platform to create and set about finding springy bedding material. As I pulled hard on a branch I felt something sharp cut deep into the top of my index finger. The blood quickly mixed with the rain and ran down my hand for the next hour. The bleeding wouldn’t stop as the rain continually diluted the open wound. I started to wonder if I should start another project called “100 different ways to hurt yourself in the dark”. It might also be an slightly easier project! The hut was complete in around 3.5 hours, my quickest hut yet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Roughing it:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I pulled my sleeping bag out and rolled it across the bed platform. It was obvious that winter would soon be on us and the summer had passed as quickly as it had arrived. It felt fairly cold although reasonable, the weather forecast suggested there would be lows of 8 degrees. I put my full weight on the sleeping platform and for the first time ever – no cracking, nothing breaking...all quiet below! The structure seemed to tighten under the weight and remained firm. I squirmed into my sleeping bag and looked out across the water as the bright lights on the BBC HQ performed </span><a href="http://www.enlightermagazine.com/projects/bbc-scotland-speirs-major-associates" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">a colour-changing sequence</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The hut’s roof material was also a minor success as the rain seemed unable to penetrate the dense canopy of dead leaf-litter. The rain stopped in the night and the temperature dropped. I watched people passing close by, and ambulances screeching past a lot more than usual. I thought it must be an strategic “arterial route” they use to-and-from the Southern General Hospital. Luckily that was my last boring thought for the evening and I fell asleep fairly quickly. I set my work alarm for half 7 and awoke to a still-calm morning. I gathered my things and made my way back through some deep puddles along the quay wall. Back home I used some “second-skin” liquid bandage for my cut finger which stung much like the original accident itself! Every time I return from a night of building huts my brain always feels refreshed, as if washed clean by the cool rain.<span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com0401 Govan Rd, Glasgow, Glasgow City G51 2QJ, UK55.856702170007082 -4.298679828643798855.856145170007082 -4.299913828643799 55.857259170007083 -4.2974458286437986tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-61198944178523936102012-09-23T15:06:00.001-07:002012-09-25T09:22:59.831-07:00Wild Hut 8<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Location:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<st1:placename w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mavis</span></b></st1:placename><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Valley</st1:placetype>, Wilderness <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Plantation</st1:place></st1:city>, Bishopbriggs</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Just north of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city> is a strange rectangular woodland which is depicted on 19<sup>th</sup> century maps as a ‘wilderness plantation’. The woods are interrupted by an ugly recycling centre and the <a href="http://www.antoninewall.org/"><strong><span style="color: #b45f06;">Roman Antonine Wall</span></strong></a> passes just yards from its north boundary. Just to the south of the woods across a field, is the lost <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">village</st1:placetype> of <a href="http://www.mcnalu.net/exploration/mavis-valley"><strong><span style="color: #b45f06;">Mavis Valley</span></strong></a> which was built in 1855. Nothing remains of the village today (other than some brick footings) but it was once a thriving coal mining community.<o:p></o:p></st1:place></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I had managed to convince my girlfriend to come and explore these woods with the possibility of building and sleeping in a hut. She suggested she was happy to go as long as it was not a regular occurrence. She had already been out ‘hutting’ the previous weekend so I was skating on thin ice. We turned sharply off-road along the old access track to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Mavis</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Valley</st1:placetype></st1:place> and came to halt in the sticky mud. I got out and pushed and we soon found a suitable place to park. The dense forest had a series of man-made ditches which ran their full length. This area had become a local dumping ground and we clambered past old prams, gas bottles and tyres to the forest beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Build:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once we entered the woods it was clear that few people used them for recreation purposes. There was no sign of any well used footpaths or even any evolved muddy trails. We did find the odd beer can and a couple of broken tents although these looked more like teenage parties rather than the drug-dens of inner-city <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city>. We wandered quietly across the dense wet carpet of moss and ferns, exploring this magical pristine forest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We managed to find lots of large structural branches fairly quickly and got to work constructing the hut frame. The basic concept is much like a 4-poster bed (only the best for my girlfriend!) with a lightweight canopy above for shower protection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I decided that the roof could be built like modular panels and lifted into place. We built 2 simple ladder-frames and tiled them with foliage. This was fairly time consuming but created light-weight, sturdy panels which were easy to lift. The structure was shower-proof in around 3 hours. I also completed the double bed by laying out lots of horizontal branches and twigs which created a springy platform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I decided to road test the structure so jauntily hopped-on and heard an almighty CRACK as the first structural timber split. I asked Kirsty to also apply her weight…and we soon found ourselves snapping the entire sleeping platform. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Like many household beds there are often small ‘central-legs’ underneath which help support the mid point. I set about finding better timber and hammering support posts underneath around halfway. The bed was now fit for Pavarotti himself and we rolled out the sleeping bags and made a small fire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Roughing it:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The fire kept the midges at bay which were a mild irritation the whole evening. Kirsty had earlier mentioned that she had been bitten by a mosquito like creature. After stupidly explaining to her that <em>‘we don’t really get mosquitoes in <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country>’</em> – I soon noticed one sinking its needle-like face into my arm. This is the first time I had ever seen a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/23/britain-invaded-by-mosquitoes" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><strong>mosquito</strong></span></a> in <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country> let alone jousting with a family of them in the forest. I later found I had large blister-like bites all over, along with the smaller midge bites and a variety of sheep ticks clinging to exposed areas of skin. Of the 3 I still think midges are the most irritating although ticks are itchy after the event much like mosquitoes. The mosquitoes though do have the most irritating bite which can be blister-like for days after. I guess this is the effects of climate-change and something us Scots will have to get used to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Our sleep was often broken by noisy trucks screeching past the woods or the occasional firework from a nearby housing scheme. I had expected to see deer or foxes but the woods remained eerily quiet other than a distant falling branch cracking the silence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We woke to another cool sunny morning and left as we had arrived via the recycling plant. Kirsty remarked that she didn’t have a single tick or mosquito bite. Enviously, I suggested it’s because bugs only like clean people! She smiled as I looked down at my filthy clothing, and the scent of wet earth.</span></div>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com9300 Balmuildy Rd, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire G64 3QG, UK55.919872744462722 -4.238147735595703155.910975244462719 -4.2578887355957029 55.928770244462726 -4.2184067355957033tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-59546803515514637682012-09-16T09:11:00.001-07:002012-09-24T01:17:27.843-07:00Wild Hut 7<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Location – Mugdock Woods, <st1:place w:st="on">North Glasgow</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Group Hut<o:p></o:p></strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">‘Experience gathering’ defines humankind’s behavioural and evolutionary makeup. Our perception is the process by which we ingest our experiences in unique ways and store them in the library-vaults of our minds. The sum total of these memories help to define who we are; ‘we are…what we experience!’…maybe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I decided to take some city kids out into the woods for a spot of ‘experience gathering’…but mainly for grass and timber gathering! My daughter Katie is 6 years old and my girlfriend Kirsty’s niece and nephew (Jamie-Lee & Robert) are both 12. We decided to take them to a vast, deciduous woodland just north of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:city></st1:place> to build a shelter big enough for 5 people. I grew up building dens in the woods and feel its something a lot of young kids are missing out on. The woods can be an inspirational and immersive place for a child and can supply real wholesome worthwhile experiences that are hard to shake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">To keep it simple, we planned to build a traditional cone-shaped teepee. We picked up the kids around 10am and headed for Mugdock woods just beyond Milngavie. It was dry and sunny, although forecast for rain through the night. We backtracked along the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">West Highland Way</st1:address></st1:street> trail until we found a delightful clearing with a ready supply of broken branches nearby. Kirsty armed the team with some scissors and knives and went off to collect bales of long grass for roofing tiles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was collecting wood when a lady suddenly appeared with some yappy dogs. ‘What’s going on here?’ she said in a stern authoritative voice which instantly annoyed me. I asked her why people can’t pick up fallen branches in the woods in today’s society without raising suspicion? I then proceeded to tell her that most of the mess around this area is from dog-poo. She apologised profusely and disappeared down the trail in a blur of furry yaps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I managed to find around ten 2.5m long fallen branches which I whittled with the axe until tidy and straight. I arranged them in a circular cone-shape (3m diameter) and bound horizontal rails between each tilted upright (like a ring of triangular ladders). The rails would support the roofing tiles and stop them draping inwards (the more ladder-rails you have essentially means that water will run off rather than drain through. It also has a laminating effect and braces the whole structure rigidly). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I quite fancied a shelter which had a hole in the roof for an internal fire chimney, but heavy rain was forecast so I decided the roof should be closed and the fire located outside near the entrance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It took around 5 hours to gather all the timber and build the main structure. By this time we only had enough grass for around a 5<sup>th</sup> of the hut’s roof. We stopped for dinner and decided on a change of material. The team’s hands were cut to ribbons collecting the sharp grass and binding them into bales so we decided on softer bracken instead. This was a much quicker process and the whole roof was complete by 9pm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Kirsty built a smoky fire which duly dispersed the biting midges and we all sat round to toast marshmallows on sticks. I rolled out the sleeping bags (5 deep) and by 10:30pm the kids were suitably knackered and snuggled up in the hut searching for dreamland. (Although we stayed mostly dry - a more substantial porch would have been a welcome addition to keep out driving rain during the night.) The roofing tiles shed the bulk of the rain exceptionally well and it just goes to show what can be achieved with a little time and allot of effort. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Around 7am, a group of walkers appeared outside the hut in matching red wellies (there must have been a sale on), extremely surprised to find that the hut was actually occupied! I slept through the whole event though so would have been completely useless had it been a dangerous situation (I had already checked the internet and most violent crime does happen between Thursday and Sunday, but very rarely in the morning…so I slept soundly!). </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/y0utVWvmDXiPeo6wrIf2ZHw1KSuhc_E_QjEdei4_ZMg?feat=directlink" target="_blank">Jamie-Lee & Robert</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I’m not overly sure what the long term effect of hut building and sleeping rough in the forest would be for the kids. They suffer from an experiential-overload much of the time so I’m not sure if these ‘primitive experiences’ can compete with the likes of Harry Potter, the Nintendo-DS and the X-Factor (although you don’t have to pull blood-sucking ticks out your bum watching x-factor!).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wilderness Shelter - Mugdock woods</td></tr>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com7Broadmeadow Rd, Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire G62, UK55.961500968488146 -4.336166381835937555.952612968488147 -4.3559073818359373 55.970388968488145 -4.3164253818359377tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-8855760564743326232012-09-06T07:15:00.000-07:002012-09-24T01:18:05.477-07:00Wild Hut 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5OEZg14Uu_rgKrudTaky66XtuAgf5WfJPa0rk-DsjVX91q2UvL9MvntN3yRedyJJyhZJ6d-hdC1YK4ElSV1csxSRmhMePrmuKFp1Je7GzHpwBCdkrPyt-0akm70NfSJSVusZUnuV5j4/s1600/Hut+6+Concept.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5OEZg14Uu_rgKrudTaky66XtuAgf5WfJPa0rk-DsjVX91q2UvL9MvntN3yRedyJJyhZJ6d-hdC1YK4ElSV1csxSRmhMePrmuKFp1Je7GzHpwBCdkrPyt-0akm70NfSJSVusZUnuV5j4/s400/Hut+6+Concept.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Location:</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">M8 Motorway, Glasgow</span></b> </span></div>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was walking home from the subway when I noticed a gnarly pile of pruned branches in the corner of the park. On further inspection they were all broken branches from the winter storms which had never been cleared by the local authority. I looked around for a possible ‘hut’ opportunity but the thorny hedges which bound the park w<span style="mso-themecolor: dark2;">ere</span> far too dense to walk through. The trees looked slightly more substantial just to the west of the park although quite a distance from the wood stock-pile. I w<span style="mso-themecolor: dark2;">a</span>ndered over to the taller trees and followed a muddy trail through some rhododendron bushes. Only yards from the park I arrived at a fairly sinister looking place. There were computer monitors arranged like dining chairs with an upturned metal bin for a table. There was a thick, sheltering tree canopy above with plastic bags and beer cans scattered around like misplaced ornaments. It was the perfect alcoholic outdoor living space only yards from the park.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just beyond this was a narrow ‘shelter-belt’ of tall trees which separated the residential tenements from the noisy M8 motorway. I decided that this could be a suitable place to build a hut...although I would have to wait for the cover of darkness to transport the pile of branches which were a good distance away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M8 Motorway (left) & Paisley Road West (right)</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The build:<o:p></o:p></span></b> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I waited until 8:30pm before leaving as the darkness seemed to be suitably cloaking. I walked into the park fairly nonchalantly and noticed it was comically busy for such a cold dark night. There was a chap in the middle of the park playing a saxophone and a series of dog-walkers all watching with interest. I walked past this spectacle gazing at my phone in order to look busy and disinterested. I had only just walked past when 2 police officers entered the parks western gate at a fairly slow thoughtful pace. The path curved round towards them and I was in no mood for explaining to them why I was carrying an axe and a sleeping bag whilst strolling in the park. I decided I needed a quick plan-B to avert their attention. In an effort to cause a ‘minor distraction’ I stopped and turned towards the saxophone player and started shaking my head disapprovingly. The police officers picked up their pace and headed straight for the substantial crowd which had now gathered. I used this opportunity to slip into the cover of rhododendron bushes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just gathered sticks in the narrow band of woods until the people dispersed and the streets fell quiet once again. I then made about 10 trips to-and-from the log pile in the park. I sorted the sticks into ‘structural’ and ‘non-structural’ (which translates as ‘wood which can support the weight of my fat bum’ and ‘wood which cannot’). I leant all the wood upright against a metal fence (in order to ‘de-slug’ them) when suddenly they all decided to slide sideways. A branch came down with some force and struck my forehead and neck. After the initial shock and pain, my first thought was...’how am I going to explain my bashed head at work tomorrow’?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mopped some blood from my brow and made one final forage for timber over the fence to the park. I picked up the few remaining sticks when a late-night dog walker passed only a few feet away. I decided the best thing to do would be to drop the sticks and start looking at my phone in a desperate attempt not to look like a crazed ‘stick-collector’. I leant back against a tree and waited for quiet in the park once again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5785059426572761746" target="_blank"><img border="0" hea="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Dt2aba74x5bFjl_68-7x3GBuEpt8umqeDFrepYq3Nz-X_D0Hkq2L_7mSs4rCt8PGYqWL9vYuaoDU2z6p90_35SyMAhephJakHv5wFJN-tRG2RF2Qe38enL5q8fAAG6lvIMNhsy7bdH8/s200/01.JPG" width="150" /></a> <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5785059350490220018" target="_blank"><img border="0" hea="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrsES2oAoiRJxTg_3Muo9vtdKCuntI_Ob4Nb4ytlBSpOdCP5xzHfIBUyMNK4b0-cuHhRKN8uIM5tc10BD0n5sJhqH7Y6v5nfHF4iGIFkOzHogqbbNRoCrGZlr-cTMHWOC-H2PscxVYOI/s200/02.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hut concept was fairly simple. I started with a long braced tripod shape - which I overlaid with shorter sticks to form a rigid sleeping platform. I then bound together clumps of road-side grass and arranged them on the timber frame like tiles, always starting from the bottom. The hut was complete by 1am and perched like an alien spacecraft at the edge of the motorway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5785060674362859234" target="_blank"><img border="0" hea="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlGmd3F55cHq8rJGKu1zalyF51RI-hrZU0jAD-kI-JCmMTgvB28QDQoxZyv94KS_fZpoMRy9D_nbn9KTkLFjEAiT43HhuV2IBrjiIp3FvHFPm9iOIM5KaUqBH3tsEM9mhMd_gmNl0tVQ/s200/03.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5785061699457185938" target="_blank"><img border="0" hea="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_OjT7u0fVaNCMsS6XMFv1RHJKuLX-6NpDkSTw-ojjMt559a3cfEwaSUjmVo-Psum3c63lUrftPcY7JNVg4Zdu_Y3sSY_ZIYZUHfEkaF_xGdPhiKSt87h9eWYCxnczDyNJitiLydH_dQ/s200/04.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roughing it:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was standing upright - hopping around on the grass verge in an effort to wriggle into my sleeping bag when I noticed 2 highway service vehicles parked opposite with orange lights flashing. The back vehicle had a huge neon arrow alerting motorists to use another lane. It wasn’t at all obvious what they were actually servicing (line painting...road sweeping)?...but they were watching my attempts at a complicated ‘sleeping bag manoeuvre’ – whilst hopping around the embankment like a alien-slug beside it’s timber craft. When I finally lay down on the sleeping platform, the orange lights soon disappeared along the motorway. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hut beside the M8</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Giant haulage vehicles and buses screeched past every few seconds only feet away as I lay surrounded by grass and twigs. I drifted to sleep until 7am when my phone alarms went off with annoying regularity. I gathered my things and slid through the shelter-belt of trees once again, joining the streams of commuters in the park heading for work. This hut type was particularly robust and unassuming, I wish I could say the same for my bashed forehead! </span></span></div>
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Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com716 Clifford St, Glasgow, Glasgow City G51, UK55.850872711886 -4.291362762451171955.850315711886 -4.2925967624511721 55.851429711886 -4.2901287624511717tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-20634444012127496282012-08-26T17:00:00.001-07:002012-08-27T06:12:20.985-07:00Wild Hut 5<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5781289283145555234" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUhWJ4ffMs_VcOW4klVkYgfBgoQSl2_pf97Agc0wfKQ79USfbT_9csS8xjvo-M_MxkLWyLT4_kFHz45MVuisKtnWH8mJtdIQdZxgQCfp3bMLPzqQ9N4VWUl0LZmwDsKKBGUyMcXPUqoY/s200/structure+03.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></a> <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5781289347443758114" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1L-bbzO6gNYQ3uNp9XYhLuaCe0RCbl14drQAcZPQoDo3_v5hsdwUbMw0v9NSqeT18NnS5o_PyA5oGjZfcpANdRe865SQqCvZKsmtkgbuohoOqAD0h3q5oBlL673jKjX5Y9kOZLRyeR9U/s200/structure+diagram.jpg" width="151" yda="true" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Location:</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #444444;"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kinning</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype>, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There is a children’s playpark close to my home, skirting <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city>’s ‘media district’. I would often see groups of people abnormally disappear into a gap in the dense thicket behind the playpark. They seemed to be a mix of dog walkers and youths (who incidentally are about the only people nowadays who ever seem to stray from the prescribed pathways and pavements). One odd character trait I’ve noticed is that most of them bring carrier bags full of alcoholic beverages. I often wonder why alcoholics don’t just drink in the house rather than frequent these byways through urban wastelands. It would make the woods around <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city> a lot less sinister.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I left home around 8pm in the rain - arrived at the playpark soon after and plunged into the bushes just beyond. I was instantly soaked through, and the ground was a dark sticky clay. After a few meters I arrived at a gap in the park’s wire fence where the path led through to a much more substantial forest beyond.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">'P<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">rivate’ wasteland like this (not maintained by the local authority) never appears to get cleaned up. The ground had a blanket covering of scattered beer cans, bottles and plastic bags. The path became more substantial and I soon noticed a huge concrete pipe projecting from the ground with what looks like a discarded tent just beside. There were plastic cups eerily laid out on the concrete - full of rain water as if people had just left. The place was fairly rancid by anyone’s standards. It was a Saturday night though and would be getting dark soon. I was fairly sure no one would be passing through here again tonight. I decided that the level grass just beyond the pipe would be suitable for a shelter and the forest which I had just passed through should have enough timber material scattered around.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5781127109985054114" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBoCX4-Kho0gxyoqSzRD3JMUEcvBm3N-pBbaWCjiQV1NkA0zEfO0qsHEaowANDRv1nAbogOEyLC804m96YNwYsvPB5-MqxuQeTA-Vz54woPOMuzY3xHjogvbC1hPIxfc4SV3Oam74jv6I/s200/hut+5+-+02.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></a> </span><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5781127170742500098" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDRfrb4hkZ780TkWRu50NnTwdzqcWrcpwrukyZ3BGWzb_aMEi37fWUzSW_ZlEMFgQzAcJr3XpztBI8LNBblw4c8TpTkNPkRbNfFz5ADwYpFJNSm2bhgOB1qfBSAUmbBzvY2Uqtn-xFgA/s200/hut+5+-+04.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The Build:</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I already had in my mind the type of shelter I wanted to build. I took inspiration from the typical garden “swing-chair” available in most garden centres. They have an A-frame structure at each end with a swing seat and fabric canopy. It’s this basic idea I wished to translate into a 'shelter type'; two A-frame structures with a bed platform and roof canopy stretched between. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The inspiration - raised sleeping platform with canopy</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I searched the forest by head-torch for suitable structural timbers. It took around two hours of scrabbling through dark bushes, mud and tall grass to find enough timber for the structure. Groups of youths passed fairly frequently on-route to a wild night-out in town. They seemed to pass strangely close, just over a high wall which bound the forests eastern side. Searching for building material is a strange process. There were many occasions where I thought I simply wouldn’t find the branches required for such a build. It feels strangely rewarding to uncover a slimy, slug-covered log, buried deep in some bramble bush in the depths of night. It gives your life a whole new set of primitive priorities - if only for a short time.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I lashed the A-frames together and strung the spanning branches between. The whole thing seemed really sturdy. The skin on my index finger had 3 stinging cuts from dragging logs through thorn bushes. The blood was all washed clean though by the incessant cold rain. I used all the smaller branches (which I had pruned from the structural timbers) to spread across as a sleeping platform. I decided that using lots of small braches rather a few large would make for a more comfortable sleep. Rather than a formal lashed “ladder” frame as a bed, I just lay as many branches as I could find to spread my weight equally across the frame. I lay down on the structure and it seemed ideal. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I built a basic canopy frame above with some lighter timbers and strung out a series of Broom bushes across as roofing tiles (I had learnt after a recent visit to the “Highland Folk Museum” that old Scottish dwellings from the 1700’s used broom bushes as part of their roof construction). They were quite irregular in shape so the roof took on a more free-form aesthetic. It took around 3 hours so gather enough bedding and roofing material so the structure was complete around 1am. The rain hadn’t really stopped all night and I was actually looking forward to a good sleep by this point. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Roughing it.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"></span> <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5781129187833809010" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJ9C_slhrURxPH7sRKZtqW57XRvmlMdBR1RPtD2chQxsGlm77Lz_Gz1tnvEc6nnZljd_bJB9alVOk6y9L1VWmNLt5pgb6sEPvuBBCo5HAkfc7U3FtZzAE7jzHOTqObpwK7fdYpOZt3H0/s200/hut+5+-+07.jpg" width="150" yda="true" /></a> <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5781129248576777810" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvoq7hwZsquD7LUaJgaCYX22nRbKNpni7M88hzCAoZ-_yjTjEOFXc_xPMZSvI5jV3vPe_A2UWRTthIElaFw599MA2LaYDG-DcGq55Illl255T_GYLKyfdiZwY95MHUJqSLgXFLNoRr9k/s200/hut+5+-+08.jpg" width="150" yda="true" /></a> <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#5781130270573730050" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYM4NiZhlv5laV_6lBtp-z0ZSfSkTsRjGqtudZhJjsIhhAoD5SFy62dj-fD3EeQBgIqdcrtfCnBEpwu1x6oxfPUDx77udGoaZpAqWqcUI6uFiMZDei8VU7GuGMo_EySvZJ26qFph3BNQ/s200/hut+5+-+12.jpg" width="133" yda="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I really liked this structure type. It was free-standing (surprisingly), with a raised sleeping platform to keep me off the boggy ground. The roof structure utilised the A-frame uprights - everything seemed interconnected. (One could add a full-height wind-break to one side if the conditions were particularly breezy.) It ticked allot of boxes for me. I pulled my sleeping bag over and rolled into the hut quite gingerly, as not to put too much of my weight on one particular area. After a few creaks and small cracks (and myself writhing around like a eel…trying to get into my sleeping bag) I settled down for the night. The rain was particularly heavy and lots of drips found their way through the roof structure. It did a fairly good job though of keeping the majority of water off. I was pretty tired and the mattress of twigs was pretty comfy. I pulled my head under the sleeping bag to escape the biting midges. I feel asleep amidst the distant screams of party-goers who were heading home for the night. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A-Frame structure with the Scottish BBC headquarters beyond.</td></tr>
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</span><span style="color: #444444;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I woke to a calm and bright morning around 8am. There were men sitting by the concrete pipe on strange metal drums which weren’t there the night before. All at once I felt extremely vulnerable. I slid out the sleeping bag quietly and stood up in the deep wet grass. I started taking some quick pictures when an older chap suddenly noticed me and stood up. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">They had a dog of some description which started barking but I couldn’t actually see it. I stuffed my sleeping bag into my rucksack quickly…twisted into my saturated trainers and followed another muddy trail which led to the nearby road. I looked back to see they had both stood up and were showing considerable interest in the structure…which looked like some mechanically rearranged wilderness. On the short walk home I started to wonder what they must have thought. Sleeping rough in makeshift shelters never gets any easier to justify, even to a group of confused alcoholics.</span></div>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/101781804493782831660/100WildHuts?authkey=Gv1sRgCLj0qMHLh6TRBQ#slideshow/5781130623348461154" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFMQc4FkFjC2y4ZnVhdLyhSQwxvwUrrRA86IYNnpAVaJiVwnJ9QAZmQ60Jwy66i-TrCrpTBtwZH0KuSEQeIMFOtQK6eTKAyv48qBYf1H7NRZHpMw7RO7L7ls3qhNEighItxAl9QiOcuk/s640/hut+5+-+14.jpg" width="640" yda="true" /></a></div>
Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com7Govan Rd, Glasgow, Glasgow City G51, UK55.855058206821404 -4.289045333862304755.8539442068214 -4.2915128338623045 55.856172206821405 -4.2865778338623048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-72085511242778564992012-02-10T09:11:00.001-08:002012-02-13T06:28:30.328-08:00Wild Hut 4<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>A Rough Roundhouse</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-9Fkkit0u7QZAoFsknb7YxUABd3Zre8zlzZvqktFMHvwA80esmmoMNLaTJnc2eKfglYdmPr4pI68DiBD87sqy7U3mpHw6Xz9Crl44lSOpdIxOiUEeKLaXKcbMuMD96Fdtbd-cPwRWDs/s1600/hut3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-9Fkkit0u7QZAoFsknb7YxUABd3Zre8zlzZvqktFMHvwA80esmmoMNLaTJnc2eKfglYdmPr4pI68DiBD87sqy7U3mpHw6Xz9Crl44lSOpdIxOiUEeKLaXKcbMuMD96Fdtbd-cPwRWDs/s320/hut3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been inspired recently by prehistoric ‘roundhouses’ and ‘brochs’, (not a statement I thought I’d ever make) but in actual fact they are quite beautiful things. I found a comical animation on how to build a iron-age roundhouse and decided that any attempt would have to be on a micro-scale as I have limited time and material which conflicts with my wild ambitions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Roundhouse Construction: </span><a href="http://alturl.com/v98wg"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://alturl.com/v98wg</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9YjuCRRaGJdRoLL69vYrd1_iG2ET-AMKKsSQD1HA6igHiKZ44WEPmWekx-nqQKY3ryTj9YnrpyqMiorRcaWwyPJpZN9JD_pBvm-XmBuqlLNCwObV2M9JQNZ0p-02CG_J_SlXQHwzCzc/s1600/Stock___Iron_Age_Roundhouse_by_GothicBohemianStock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9YjuCRRaGJdRoLL69vYrd1_iG2ET-AMKKsSQD1HA6igHiKZ44WEPmWekx-nqQKY3ryTj9YnrpyqMiorRcaWwyPJpZN9JD_pBvm-XmBuqlLNCwObV2M9JQNZ0p-02CG_J_SlXQHwzCzc/s200/Stock___Iron_Age_Roundhouse_by_GothicBohemianStock.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1QutTWcClsUT132CEIUOCru9jFLaND-M-jMV9DsdW_rp7NdtbsWm8FaUg_4dqb2LIyyzWUWywn8D_GI2vCXWucQmI1xzXlR7QPuRmdcUK2on8qifULs4nr25PztVl-UUmzDQtacy7L8/s1600/gosbecks09ss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1QutTWcClsUT132CEIUOCru9jFLaND-M-jMV9DsdW_rp7NdtbsWm8FaUg_4dqb2LIyyzWUWywn8D_GI2vCXWucQmI1xzXlR7QPuRmdcUK2on8qifULs4nr25PztVl-UUmzDQtacy7L8/s200/gosbecks09ss.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Location:</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Clydeside, Glasgow:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Through satellite imagery I noticed on the south side of the Clyde that there seemed to be a fair sized pile of historic rubble nestled on some overgrown promontory. I decided this would be the perfect place to test a roundhouse hut-type. I ventured out after dark to this wet and wild scrap of land and arranged the rounded stones in a circular formation about 2.5m in diameter. I used the heavier stones for the base courses and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in doing so managed to construct the wall to around waist height. It seemed unusually sturdy. I think the circular formation worked much like an arch – the further towards the centre they fell, the stronger it became. This took around 1.5 hours to complete and was fairly heavy going. It was a bit ramshackle but it would do for a one night experiment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXv-HnIXSzZBmHQA5AfzIxywZX7dLlU5FMviPGDr1aASRChXsrZ2fqcQ8OJh8jAxY4bXaPK71SyimEOLHstjHjGlFKKun-UlvE_mrOhaJ0Whbx75o4EZgn4hh1B5CedWbkMngjGVUxnMs/s1600/hut4b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXv-HnIXSzZBmHQA5AfzIxywZX7dLlU5FMviPGDr1aASRChXsrZ2fqcQ8OJh8jAxY4bXaPK71SyimEOLHstjHjGlFKKun-UlvE_mrOhaJ0Whbx75o4EZgn4hh1B5CedWbkMngjGVUxnMs/s200/hut4b.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmE5RUeoA6hdLsqz3m1fb7pKH2M5HceIadWogI-rXrD_JEt1vpZ37EdDks2nXngA4xeznr2TrOwcvFluzy-xWTIaxPjZGEcXegbCRlRGY0nCvZlR6AA6i4n67jJ6GnapfuqlEhbIXo8c/s1600/hut4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmE5RUeoA6hdLsqz3m1fb7pKH2M5HceIadWogI-rXrD_JEt1vpZ37EdDks2nXngA4xeznr2TrOwcvFluzy-xWTIaxPjZGEcXegbCRlRGY0nCvZlR6AA6i4n67jJ6GnapfuqlEhbIXo8c/s200/hut4a.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I cut some structural supports from some wind-felled trees and used scraps of a spindly ever-green shrubs (like a thorn-less Gorsh) to tile the roof. This was then finished off with a deep layer of sphagnum moss which I harvested from the concrete Clyde-side embankment. I built a small fireplace into the entrance and in-filled any gaps in the base-wall with rounded stones. The whole structure stood at around head height and felt surprisingly sturdy. In actual fact the whole roof structure balanced un-tethered on top of some precariously rounded stones. Proper dry-stone walling takes time and skill to administer properly, both things I didn’t have...and even if I did have the skill...I didn’t have the time. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJbGS6sGtsSL_mZ9uVC3XBSt-V7B3k1U9BbF8sf113icSw1gS7-rqjvdSXMhsj28GGBme3Ci20tPY1fUORLmadR0qunUtGHs56kV-3po3-Z4gBAi0R1TIVw3mD8mqGAVXkuX05G5y_dE/s1600/2012c-02-10+08.11.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJbGS6sGtsSL_mZ9uVC3XBSt-V7B3k1U9BbF8sf113icSw1gS7-rqjvdSXMhsj28GGBme3Ci20tPY1fUORLmadR0qunUtGHs56kV-3po3-Z4gBAi0R1TIVw3mD8mqGAVXkuX05G5y_dE/s200/2012c-02-10+08.11.49.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Roughing it:</strong></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Earlier that day, I noticed a giant rat on the way home from work. I stopped to watch the bloated rodent for a while squatting on the pavement blinking at me, possibly suffering the ill-effects of a belly full of poison. Now with the power of hindsight, staring at a large dying rat for 5 mins before sleeping rough on the banks of the River Clyde did nothing for my mental stability. Luckily, the winter landscape seemed empty as ever, other than a fox which made an appearance from time to time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCObew5-gwZeVNAF5EGeovdBSiTtDgVA7CQiyocH7fWstX7JLPSibL2eb4KaCFIZYiCjUg_-1uEBlsP04IKngo47vmFDWhzjbRGm_GR1wRIhCbRCiaj2dMgqf1VURWnmk5kPJtH1Xxmg/s1600/DSCN4332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCObew5-gwZeVNAF5EGeovdBSiTtDgVA7CQiyocH7fWstX7JLPSibL2eb4KaCFIZYiCjUg_-1uEBlsP04IKngo47vmFDWhzjbRGm_GR1wRIhCbRCiaj2dMgqf1VURWnmk5kPJtH1Xxmg/s200/DSCN4332.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcM6eBkIvQWoObKshyrqyv8skeYHQQlfZyVJIC7n0h8ZVbQZPD4vyVIp4e9i44uE4MVw-U8_HtdAgH0XebeYJpbgsZDhs56bdW2y2J_XKpfR58vCbjnMOvuJXPtRdwmt00atRpEzfJntk/s1600/DSCN4334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcM6eBkIvQWoObKshyrqyv8skeYHQQlfZyVJIC7n0h8ZVbQZPD4vyVIp4e9i44uE4MVw-U8_HtdAgH0XebeYJpbgsZDhs56bdW2y2J_XKpfR58vCbjnMOvuJXPtRdwmt00atRpEzfJntk/s200/DSCN4334.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBZohlVYehYRCbdeVZFxrhe-Jfdw4ViofG3DnEsXedx4RuJbR98eOccwJWxMNro2elMXZzOZ5QNX_dl3gb3V9nAVYFP4fwLZ4M4esf2nw_RLpv4aanhL_EZIeJWvop6CYkEX0-MZQTNQ/s1600/hut4+b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBZohlVYehYRCbdeVZFxrhe-Jfdw4ViofG3DnEsXedx4RuJbR98eOccwJWxMNro2elMXZzOZ5QNX_dl3gb3V9nAVYFP4fwLZ4M4esf2nw_RLpv4aanhL_EZIeJWvop6CYkEX0-MZQTNQ/s200/hut4+b.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoq1Te9kDA2AyIXlKhusHEArh226m28ytAJZixlXS-4d_t-3XRgZFn7MunZ2aAD4eDG1-66dHU05fbAh8JkETU-sWuQ_DscNftq4z22vLdHopkvZMkjQiWkXfeYgJoxRAnmklK-ftVvCg/s1600/hut4+d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoq1Te9kDA2AyIXlKhusHEArh226m28ytAJZixlXS-4d_t-3XRgZFn7MunZ2aAD4eDG1-66dHU05fbAh8JkETU-sWuQ_DscNftq4z22vLdHopkvZMkjQiWkXfeYgJoxRAnmklK-ftVvCg/s200/hut4+d.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I shuffled some stones around inside and lay my sleeping bag down around 12:30am. I can honestly say sleeping in this shelter was the most comfortable experience so far, (other than the stony floor). It’s good to have somewhere to store your shoes, to be able to pack your sleeping bag away whilst still under cover. The small things make a big difference when its freezing cold, dark and wet. It rained for most of the night but I stayed remarkably dry under this basic canopy of thick moss and sticks. In the morning I left with the feeling that this type of shelter could be used for longer periods without any problems as it seemed strong and roomy (albeit only one room). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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</div>Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-42525168084415232502012-01-26T06:34:00.000-08:002012-01-27T01:47:07.708-08:00Wild Hut 3<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Location: Festival Park, Pacific Quay, Glasgow</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDb29KbE0vvk2Z9P-jXoOBasfHzCB4zG5HqjGvn0bG0LZkNMkeHWIml3LIqniAPLKzX7Oj-OFeicM8LammnqyAMRcK4KqrnD4CWibxCuxov2C_ieji8KzzXH60LqjwM2K7m4jBsdWOCk/s1600/test03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDb29KbE0vvk2Z9P-jXoOBasfHzCB4zG5HqjGvn0bG0LZkNMkeHWIml3LIqniAPLKzX7Oj-OFeicM8LammnqyAMRcK4KqrnD4CWibxCuxov2C_ieji8KzzXH60LqjwM2K7m4jBsdWOCk/s320/test03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 1988, almost 5 million people came to visit the National Garden Festival held at Glasgow’s Pacific Quay. I have blurry memories myself of being dragged around there by the school when I was about 6, wondering what on earth a ‘garden’ was...and why it merited a festival. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCXV05inyhWKwBQS-fnMzM8tRfYXgx_9giG-C0y9q308o51CvfemqFc4gj3ntQWQFZdA2-X41BZcv-Jb4Cnsai7J1uSCyiLgMVP59vkrNvFOXxXRbA-VbZz33S2S5wllRamRDKQCzbdo/s1600/location+1988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCXV05inyhWKwBQS-fnMzM8tRfYXgx_9giG-C0y9q308o51CvfemqFc4gj3ntQWQFZdA2-X41BZcv-Jb4Cnsai7J1uSCyiLgMVP59vkrNvFOXxXRbA-VbZz33S2S5wllRamRDKQCzbdo/s200/location+1988.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszQjVAzb8RvDNdj6hI1gI4PhaMJg_fDG1pWpRK9XFEr_EIaciHDs4B1ekxqrwy_05pta_LU80LmF-reyxfJ8HD4hyphenhypheng9QCPeBp9Us6o-9PDd69aLphrbDcAFvprKn-atBZmKoW6m-amdw/s1600/location+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszQjVAzb8RvDNdj6hI1gI4PhaMJg_fDG1pWpRK9XFEr_EIaciHDs4B1ekxqrwy_05pta_LU80LmF-reyxfJ8HD4hyphenhypheng9QCPeBp9Us6o-9PDd69aLphrbDcAFvprKn-atBZmKoW6m-amdw/s200/location+2012.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Other than the new media district, the vast majority of this area remains undeveloped today with much of it being fairly overgrown with birch and sporadic juniper. Although the majority of forests are in thin peripheral bands, you can follow evolved muddy trails through much of it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hut Construction:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the parks south east corner, I followed converging paths until they terminated in a clearing on top of a small hill. I decided to make a simple lean-to construction with a sleeping platform as there seemed an abundance in strong timber that would support my increasing weight.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I foraged for an hour, gathering the largest branches I could find from wind-felled trees. I lashed these quickly together with some old twine, forming a sturdy bed platform and a single-pitch roof. I was surprised at how quickly this could be constructed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwO71QL8ALBpa4PdDPei3FQ6Rm9O7VFcHhtSTDJcEW1XVIPi8JTE7eAZH8lK1tgzwny6kjZLqpMs-JRDg_KW6CmVsY66RX_z_K4DBKen-m0WmsQbp0F87_DCb7YkaOGsqrvVKxgP_3y8/s1600/DSCN4243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwO71QL8ALBpa4PdDPei3FQ6Rm9O7VFcHhtSTDJcEW1XVIPi8JTE7eAZH8lK1tgzwny6kjZLqpMs-JRDg_KW6CmVsY66RX_z_K4DBKen-m0WmsQbp0F87_DCb7YkaOGsqrvVKxgP_3y8/s200/DSCN4243.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZWlNu2eHISE4N4yGUKcWYBEtREKiyFEbIKYdZCEI9dKAUlxEvsnpq8cf476FEKLq7UhKKXUxcbLKQkyndecpKTWW8-HNBF4NsOjFiW8-p_tNDTyaEAUtOvAwmIce8H-miT8sX7Ta0IY/s1600/DSCN4258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZWlNu2eHISE4N4yGUKcWYBEtREKiyFEbIKYdZCEI9dKAUlxEvsnpq8cf476FEKLq7UhKKXUxcbLKQkyndecpKTWW8-HNBF4NsOjFiW8-p_tNDTyaEAUtOvAwmIce8H-miT8sX7Ta0IY/s200/DSCN4258.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I decided to use the heavier gauge logs to sleep on, with the lighter branches forming a roof structure. I didn’t like the thought of sleeping under a ton of wet and heavy roof, so I used a light weight branch for the main ridge pole...(a rational but ultimately flawed decision that would come back to haunt me.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMfGSRifMnFO4sAZQXnSoNC11QEn26DAseqyLNQ3C_iKpQNc3T02iZ7cQl1vG_UY4VZ6Znp3VJ73WRZ7EuIXGUGG52-JV3fFjkwSBqHsYJkqCfntCSmgGr_2fTe6oJQAPrgcSUGqkSME/s1600/DSCN4245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMfGSRifMnFO4sAZQXnSoNC11QEn26DAseqyLNQ3C_iKpQNc3T02iZ7cQl1vG_UY4VZ6Znp3VJ73WRZ7EuIXGUGG52-JV3fFjkwSBqHsYJkqCfntCSmgGr_2fTe6oJQAPrgcSUGqkSME/s200/DSCN4245.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_j8WUeLMchAYMjtWeJ-JSFhXMHlKeCXfv9Us0zn4jmRK5AV7JsW3XckAQ2Ks9Cvq_fBYtGX40UjaxAfTyLjMB8NTVMYPWSWeSldznyq9QxP3S1rJpdNHLWzqDbK2smL9kgq7Ugg6ON8/s1600/DSCN4250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_j8WUeLMchAYMjtWeJ-JSFhXMHlKeCXfv9Us0zn4jmRK5AV7JsW3XckAQ2Ks9Cvq_fBYtGX40UjaxAfTyLjMB8NTVMYPWSWeSldznyq9QxP3S1rJpdNHLWzqDbK2smL9kgq7Ugg6ON8/s200/DSCN4250.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the far end of the park a 20ft pine tree had been felled by the wind. I pruned it’s dead but ever-green branches which I hoped would make good roofing material. The needles were dense and looked like they would provide good rain cover and in the process left the skin on my hands perforated like a pin cushion. I brought the fur branches back to the hut and tiled the roof with these dense needles. I was fairly impressed at how quickly the hut construction took, around 3 hours in total.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDxtSUNIh_U88dyaSy1OrBoKXXW5bUq6VQkAqVdNDEzN2FbvH89OBBYbNakfXZNiL_JWlEA_VA9c-VcuKTe0fGE90VtK9xCWHqVBx2y1nZ-6y4seNrxkAfbOJkzQ7PmxrOFym5xxYxWw/s1600/DSCN4254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDxtSUNIh_U88dyaSy1OrBoKXXW5bUq6VQkAqVdNDEzN2FbvH89OBBYbNakfXZNiL_JWlEA_VA9c-VcuKTe0fGE90VtK9xCWHqVBx2y1nZ-6y4seNrxkAfbOJkzQ7PmxrOFym5xxYxWw/s200/DSCN4254.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PX3CSZ_yIhDztsfaiQMCfuW6eSpK9zrk3qFqgEZpnqRfqBASzyz-Vrj4F55A3KvnrA0aDecdwh7ymusnCnV_F_8h69CGJLydWMWp-PGaFfouKLWOYRdYgtwLxGaaTS_WWxsqp8AYH7I/s1600/DSCN4260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PX3CSZ_yIhDztsfaiQMCfuW6eSpK9zrk3qFqgEZpnqRfqBASzyz-Vrj4F55A3KvnrA0aDecdwh7ymusnCnV_F_8h69CGJLydWMWp-PGaFfouKLWOYRdYgtwLxGaaTS_WWxsqp8AYH7I/s200/DSCN4260.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Roughing it:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The rain was relentless but luckily the equally relentless winds couldn’t penetrate the thick forest cover. I decided I would test the sleeping platform so lay down across the base-logs. Something instantly gave way and I found myself rolling around on the slippery structure like a lubricated turtle. Hmm...one of the support ‘sticks’ must have been partially rotten. I repaired the platform and used some fan-like juniper branches to spread my weight more evenly across the bed. It was all surprisingly comfy, but the rain was torrential and some drips were managing to penetrate the roof cover.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrciH-zDNEUkRQynALILTRcvvlqqQkdwxGpRRP5v2Y6mGS5EKbOkj2HgYcNHw3tEZqBRoTEzbn-Zalf4FYVk7tfOBCyWBkkUTPfgXq-8Lv9wjnpQxiXESaji0oLm_v0Q5oMQg5HN4XXI/s1600/DSCN4266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrciH-zDNEUkRQynALILTRcvvlqqQkdwxGpRRP5v2Y6mGS5EKbOkj2HgYcNHw3tEZqBRoTEzbn-Zalf4FYVk7tfOBCyWBkkUTPfgXq-8Lv9wjnpQxiXESaji0oLm_v0Q5oMQg5HN4XXI/s320/DSCN4266.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the forest floor, not far from the structure, something quite unexpected began swirling around in a dazzling array of flashing lights. It is fair to say at this point that I momentarily decided to be scared. It was like a blurry amorphous ball of golden swirls and lights, hovering just off the ground. As I peered through the darkness and rain, I was relieved to see it was only a small dog with some futuristic flashing collar. It felt strange to be startled by something so ordinary in the forest. When you’re surrounded by dark woods, your senses are always on-edge, although dogs were the least of my worries. I was more concerned at how I would explain myself to passing police officers who might patrol the park, or a group of drunken youths. Luckily, the forest returned to quiet, other than the peaceful spatter of water on leaf-litter.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was again around midnight when I decided to go to sleep. The roof kept out the majority of the storm except for any odd drip which managed to navigate through the dense fur covering. The bed of juniper was springy and comfortable and it suitably managed to spread my weight evenly across the platform.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjMFyWKgT47gjsM-VEH0aBXxZLwzi8MxGxsSSLgXDijbFyfNquWp4Eo-scZ5wijiwWY3zAHAXdRmUMKul-JYrz3xNF5kv3EvA0EOlHtm5iOHpDelumb-qBJKLTYzgz7LRUGi8QDs2W-E/s1600/DSCN4273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjMFyWKgT47gjsM-VEH0aBXxZLwzi8MxGxsSSLgXDijbFyfNquWp4Eo-scZ5wijiwWY3zAHAXdRmUMKul-JYrz3xNF5kv3EvA0EOlHtm5iOHpDelumb-qBJKLTYzgz7LRUGi8QDs2W-E/s200/DSCN4273.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cirYW1OpeC6LqTLiZZKHrBe-tkj9pCH0KxxVR7IVBBBURljvhrFYz5t9g4TI2jvURvE5EsKEphq84ZliiaeTU7lfECPGfUCxjUlrZjMYoPVjlgd-VM8-1jqPjHGSXhiMZblo5HwCwOo/s1600/DSCN4269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cirYW1OpeC6LqTLiZZKHrBe-tkj9pCH0KxxVR7IVBBBURljvhrFYz5t9g4TI2jvURvE5EsKEphq84ZliiaeTU7lfECPGfUCxjUlrZjMYoPVjlgd-VM8-1jqPjHGSXhiMZblo5HwCwOo/s200/DSCN4269.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, (this is the embarrassing bit) at 3am I woke to find my legs trapped under a erm....fallen roof. I lay there for maybe 10 minutes, wondering if I should just go back to sleep. But I decided that learning from my mistakes and gathering useful experiences is what this is all about. I slid out from the rubble of branches and managed to find a suitable replacement for my snapped ridge pole. (I also introduced a central support...just in case.) The decision to use lightweight timber on the roof had back fired. In future, the structural elements should be of ‘structural quality’, especially if they are hovering above your sleeping head. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGmjlBtGOK18bTcN9gkQWgartBRrlwac7kdsnpJPwgkkE4h7L5jOhfic9Tq89bq5xaYNkh5WpFN99CES1z0sY0GHCJxJ3fm81eWQdpFaq3MJgN_gn7ibTk1CWfzNlF5jdC3YiQJ2tlB8/s1600/2012-01-26+08.40.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGmjlBtGOK18bTcN9gkQWgartBRrlwac7kdsnpJPwgkkE4h7L5jOhfic9Tq89bq5xaYNkh5WpFN99CES1z0sY0GHCJxJ3fm81eWQdpFaq3MJgN_gn7ibTk1CWfzNlF5jdC3YiQJ2tlB8/s320/2012-01-26+08.40.34.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I woke to a frosty start and a still clear morning. It was another strange night in a strange place with the prospect of a full day’s work in the office ahead of me. The project seems difficult to justify on many levels but I always feel strangely refreshed after a night of ‘hutting’, so that’s enough justification for now. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjy_K_8BwvJmlUVcZD5XmkPg0aaWCEOrZH2sLwHcl2RC2Ndf8p19o9lcRgN_LGmIeZ8iHNGY7E1-05KIAiTAd4gNDHspB1sCY5DtqrvZRyaqmHm8-cxpSUvCMrd3GXEVsL920w5PVwwIw/s1600/2012-01-26+08.39.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjy_K_8BwvJmlUVcZD5XmkPg0aaWCEOrZH2sLwHcl2RC2Ndf8p19o9lcRgN_LGmIeZ8iHNGY7E1-05KIAiTAd4gNDHspB1sCY5DtqrvZRyaqmHm8-cxpSUvCMrd3GXEVsL920w5PVwwIw/s200/2012-01-26+08.39.09.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOwXW15CJpcbhP46neHpXqT9zzk52zgm18zscG4ge0bsv42Yal7VHJypVQbUdL6GiIiBhWaKPBUb4Uqc7Jm8hCX9pmhm63aLbGysFnN4aMN-iwGvQWmCfTmxdLifqbCkLfrUrmAgy7yw/s1600/2012-01-26+08.41.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOwXW15CJpcbhP46neHpXqT9zzk52zgm18zscG4ge0bsv42Yal7VHJypVQbUdL6GiIiBhWaKPBUb4Uqc7Jm8hCX9pmhm63aLbGysFnN4aMN-iwGvQWmCfTmxdLifqbCkLfrUrmAgy7yw/s200/2012-01-26+08.41.08.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div>Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com4Festival Park, Glasgow, Glasgow City G51, UK55.854338713246044 -4.289507048812879555.852758713246047 -4.29379204881288 55.855918713246041 -4.2852220488128792tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-33061921006483702132012-01-15T16:31:00.000-08:002012-01-27T08:20:28.049-08:00Wild Hut 2<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Location: Graving Docks, by Ibrox, Glasgow</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMjnCOrvxmATiCTxTkT6jTUa5jP_KSX7UCO_F2AS-7n7MShAWcqgZdII5Cz0sddqkry2kfm24DsnrtlEiZDFlGpxQ-tiUa43Ggu4ktpj9XRXXVxydTkKB6cjLz2RsniKGbaP4RNQrTv8/s1600/hut+concept+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMjnCOrvxmATiCTxTkT6jTUa5jP_KSX7UCO_F2AS-7n7MShAWcqgZdII5Cz0sddqkry2kfm24DsnrtlEiZDFlGpxQ-tiUa43Ggu4ktpj9XRXXVxydTkKB6cjLz2RsniKGbaP4RNQrTv8/s320/hut+concept+02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the south bank of the River Clyde, (almost opposite the new Transport Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects) is a derelict series of vast concrete basins, a relic of Glasgow’s proud ship-building heritage. These docks are hundreds of meters in length and contain murky brown reservoirs of stagnant, soupy river. If the tens of thousands of beer cans are anything to go by – either someone was planning to build a gleaming aluminium ship from recycled metal, or this place had harboured some of Glasgow’s thirstiest alcoholics for what must have been a considerable time. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCk29pg86nMrDi5ZfN3mRGIit1Odyn4BNTUxSYWYvIHN1mv5RmQh_K5PjceoQDBjgaucV8vQyeL_7doXpvEoE4QhCg0_g0_xKuGaTy4p2D7SAM2456kBqv5-6sH7EOhbYSTJf9xh6iHw/s1600/2012-01-14+11.32.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCk29pg86nMrDi5ZfN3mRGIit1Odyn4BNTUxSYWYvIHN1mv5RmQh_K5PjceoQDBjgaucV8vQyeL_7doXpvEoE4QhCg0_g0_xKuGaTy4p2D7SAM2456kBqv5-6sH7EOhbYSTJf9xh6iHw/s200/2012-01-14+11.32.01.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8yvI5Z2LtJLCGLWIT_7QwC7XTFg3pALlTHQca935iD3WRriL1wPTp3xIgCZnqLfp4uWfSnAahrW8saxsDgNDMekMsBmwXJbrwkGaYIXYxktaP_S0-mKxAq7GtfPEmBHmCFQ9cS9wIX8/s1600/2012-01-14+10.54.59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8yvI5Z2LtJLCGLWIT_7QwC7XTFg3pALlTHQca935iD3WRriL1wPTp3xIgCZnqLfp4uWfSnAahrW8saxsDgNDMekMsBmwXJbrwkGaYIXYxktaP_S0-mKxAq7GtfPEmBHmCFQ9cS9wIX8/s200/2012-01-14+10.54.59.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There were also tent like structures scattered throughout this overgrown dockland. They made me wonder what kind of people used this place as a makeshift home. Whoever they were, it was obvious from the junk scattered around the tents that they loved drink & drugs and weren’t too bothered about cleaning up. These areas were tarred with the worst kind of litter – a human slug-trail of lighters, tinfoil, vast bonfires and mountains of beer cans. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All this made me wonder, if anyone could show these unfortunates how to build a proper drug-den it was me!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hut Construction:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I decided at this point that I would need to find my own part of the dock away from all the junkie’s gazebos. After following an evolved path through a thicket of dry bushes, I found a flat site on the river bank at the most westerly end of the peninsula. There were vast piles of cut stone which I quickly decided would make the perfect walling material.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As the blocks were fairly rectilinear (other than some amorphous blobs of black tar which bound many of them together), they were fairly quick to build with. I formed a coffin shape series of walls, 4 courses high and around 2m in length. This only took around half an hour to build and formed the base-walls of a basic hut structure. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFT8szAPdZYDAbWag5oRJTsx0ETf-LY7F2JX7iAy9R_1Wj5gNJtfXbPc21_OTXP3FaApFdEQSR7XIvKBn5PoYoS1den8_TTew3-wKZfXtHXKTtbNeZCQC9wNC5zar6e4CDGWehyphenhyphensB71M/s1600/2012-01-14+10.38.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFT8szAPdZYDAbWag5oRJTsx0ETf-LY7F2JX7iAy9R_1Wj5gNJtfXbPc21_OTXP3FaApFdEQSR7XIvKBn5PoYoS1den8_TTew3-wKZfXtHXKTtbNeZCQC9wNC5zar6e4CDGWehyphenhyphensB71M/s320/2012-01-14+10.38.05.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I decided I would try to find natural fallen branches and build a roof that is within the spirit of the project, rather than use the vast amounts of factory cut timber which I had noticed scattered around the docks. Due to a lack of mature trees though, it took a considerable effort to find enough </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">branches. I kept it simple and just framed out a basic structure with the few branches I had found. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPJ_c8VNo_hZha-HP3Bf5ka9WUTBTktQRcoDA6SB8NKg01hcmPgjrktMND3we73vOTt_AlqLp3EYNX_0fPwuH4hAO3RUnAUlk8qNjKWyY3wlGZzivZBIO_yVQZt7TZRM1M0-r-Ddsh0g/s1600/DSCN4172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPJ_c8VNo_hZha-HP3Bf5ka9WUTBTktQRcoDA6SB8NKg01hcmPgjrktMND3we73vOTt_AlqLp3EYNX_0fPwuH4hAO3RUnAUlk8qNjKWyY3wlGZzivZBIO_yVQZt7TZRM1M0-r-Ddsh0g/s200/DSCN4172.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7Mlijhdybw7KceyFGwh1KdtvyUNulJuUdHxfAXCglxor3TxvCOCl_5RVaTGMxRvkP2I8uvgJX153gFwCf2gIKpdzxlBh4N46PSvEVJtk3olSz_4aDqpbHylKg2j7RHsRLT-AGNiF8v0/s1600/DSCN4179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7Mlijhdybw7KceyFGwh1KdtvyUNulJuUdHxfAXCglxor3TxvCOCl_5RVaTGMxRvkP2I8uvgJX153gFwCf2gIKpdzxlBh4N46PSvEVJtk3olSz_4aDqpbHylKg2j7RHsRLT-AGNiF8v0/s200/DSCN4179.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcOvc4WoBqavqqmpatCqW6D76GOrO9zImLw_XHQIj26ZF__zmcdS6o0HYV_doG0x_IQsZ2SHTVuoCdHkqxmPM4JLTWo5e5TWqlg80DoaYm6zTbmdQK5mgKpMmfg3GbM5fzCYZa69_u-A/s1600/DSCN4188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcOvc4WoBqavqqmpatCqW6D76GOrO9zImLw_XHQIj26ZF__zmcdS6o0HYV_doG0x_IQsZ2SHTVuoCdHkqxmPM4JLTWo5e5TWqlg80DoaYm6zTbmdQK5mgKpMmfg3GbM5fzCYZa69_u-A/s200/DSCN4188.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyW3DHF2_1IVq9-DuQztQqqeRB2SQVGgFl4dtkOwPQ2k3fAckp6YrItihsfJgY4VJY5mC__i9IB38TlYlceolVdKA9lezTjiE5p6Gp6omHSCq7xkUUMoDf3kDMs64oq_2qG-QyJBRG7M/s1600/DSCN4223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyW3DHF2_1IVq9-DuQztQqqeRB2SQVGgFl4dtkOwPQ2k3fAckp6YrItihsfJgY4VJY5mC__i9IB38TlYlceolVdKA9lezTjiE5p6Gp6omHSCq7xkUUMoDf3kDMs64oq_2qG-QyJBRG7M/s200/DSCN4223.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After constructing a simple pitched roof structure with a hipped-gable, I noticed that the surrounding grass was very short and the bushes were pretty bare. It quickly dawned on me that finding suitable roofing material might be a struggle. The hut at this stage was beginning to remind me of a traditional 'highland croft', and so I was suitably inspired to thatch the structure with vertical twigs which became the supporting layer under a heavy moss covering. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(This was actually a quick process and after a couple of hours the roof was complete. If it was breezy, I would have probably bound the roof structure to the base walls, but as it was a calm night the weight of the branches, twigs and moss was enough. I gave it all a quick shake and it seemed fairly sturdy and heavy.) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Roughing it:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was around midnight when I decided to head to bed. The chorus of children’s voices screaming from the Govan tenements had stopped a few hours earlier, after a similar chorus of wailing parents had called the children home from their windows. A police helicopter hovered past on an hourly cycle. It circled the housing scheme and returned to the landing pad at the same trajectory each time, which coincidently was around 80 feet in the air directly above the shelter. I wondered if they had an infra-red heat sensor which could see me lying there on the banks of the river at -2 degrees on a Saturday night. Even if I wasn’t breaking any laws, I’m sure they could have locked me up on grounds of insanity. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycQT7PvLzcVEwWPBKwJ7kGkNexh3ip-ecy-FrCsQFcCN-aFFhx1io8jV-uJFcaB5XqOl1Z5ME3wnpwMNoyZGFsa2MezP4HMhk_3DUsoS00D3SvFDZTCN4_cGSzCXQB3881BLx2Pzv3D4/s1600/DSCN4226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycQT7PvLzcVEwWPBKwJ7kGkNexh3ip-ecy-FrCsQFcCN-aFFhx1io8jV-uJFcaB5XqOl1Z5ME3wnpwMNoyZGFsa2MezP4HMhk_3DUsoS00D3SvFDZTCN4_cGSzCXQB3881BLx2Pzv3D4/s200/DSCN4226.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyoF2M6YHuEiQ8njEvZjzzsiEIOVP9DShIe5tTlh6q1z3tbZrYy9_zQkiGwhJZXZPBlwZoTvh8QW39jKuo599XG7cAyqUJuo-2cZlU8UYr6ujE3aJt3XgPE4b8uCt1hy-kOWEKXppl68/s1600/DSCN4234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyoF2M6YHuEiQ8njEvZjzzsiEIOVP9DShIe5tTlh6q1z3tbZrYy9_zQkiGwhJZXZPBlwZoTvh8QW39jKuo599XG7cAyqUJuo-2cZlU8UYr6ujE3aJt3XgPE4b8uCt1hy-kOWEKXppl68/s200/DSCN4234.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The sky was clear (other than clouds of helicopters) but the stars were diluted by the orange light pollution of the adjacent buildings. The hut’s roof and the surrounding docklands became draped in a white frosting of sparkling ice. I could feel my breath condense on the collar of my sleeping bag and drip instantly back onto my face. I pulled my hood up and moved the sleeping bag down as to avoid these ice cold drips. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It made me think that sleeping rough in the winter was less about dealing with rodents and insects and more about dealing with ice and condensation. The night was crisp, calm and silent. I fell asleep fairly quickly and slept right through until 7am.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBsG2v3Y9W3yzns6ql_lF4OWDQvESpmLX2vd7zFfdxHU0cRrENmZgpWPq1maIRolOavCjH8g9HQMjuf3NWLm5VOdw1XCxF-g6nx_7n82g6hwaOPF8Ct6MxeDjxc3fTsGfTHOQNpp4ZkQ/s1600/2012-01-15+14.56.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBsG2v3Y9W3yzns6ql_lF4OWDQvESpmLX2vd7zFfdxHU0cRrENmZgpWPq1maIRolOavCjH8g9HQMjuf3NWLm5VOdw1XCxF-g6nx_7n82g6hwaOPF8Ct6MxeDjxc3fTsGfTHOQNpp4ZkQ/s400/2012-01-15+14.56.31.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I finally woke, I sat for a while on the river bank, admiring Glasgow’s new riverside museum opposite. This newly built piece of spaceship architecture was inspired by the Clyde’s historic ship-building sheds, echoed through a series of modern sharp pitched roofs. For a very brief moment I felt separate from society. How can striving for less mean so much and why did I feel content lying so primitively in this wasteland? I gathered my thoughts and my sleeping bag and slipped back through the gap in the fence which I had entered. </span></div>Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com4Glasgow, UK55.862320163201254 -4.302585499969495755.788139163201251 -4.4633274999694956 55.936501163201257 -4.1418434999694957tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-43953934878985422582012-01-12T05:19:00.000-08:002012-01-13T05:35:12.240-08:00Wild Hut 1<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Location: Glasgow, Scotland</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The site I had picked was fairly close to home on some overgrown redundant land just north of Festival Park in Glasgow’s south side (adjacent to the BBC Headquarters).</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzDk1Avl-JGsjYlWOtBNMak9OBLMFXS1PKeZFGiOyWY0axyspZ8jJswfEZBSb1llJixVm9Mfkoi55lFbX7U2Mm3FN4an5XF9P9lsfyxf_HqGEHJ-rEdQRpylOz4RvkOeviQKdmfpMnvI/s1600/100+wild+hut+concept01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzDk1Avl-JGsjYlWOtBNMak9OBLMFXS1PKeZFGiOyWY0axyspZ8jJswfEZBSb1llJixVm9Mfkoi55lFbX7U2Mm3FN4an5XF9P9lsfyxf_HqGEHJ-rEdQRpylOz4RvkOeviQKdmfpMnvI/s320/100+wild+hut+concept01.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hut Construction:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recent wind had brought down a good supply of branches which I thought could be used to build a structural frame. Another thing I noticed was that a vast reed-bed grew along the length of a wide shallow ditch. The reeds were usefully about waist height and dry like straw. I decided to position the hut as close as possible to the forest edge and this reed-bed in order to minimise the accumulative distance of repeat foraging. I found a small clearing between the ditch and the forest which looked fairly well drained and far enough from the forest edge to be clear from any further falling branches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For this first ‘trial run’ I decided to bring with me a small ball of biodegradable garden twine. I used this to lash together a fairly simple mono-pitched structural frame. I laddered the roof with small cross members, which gave the frame some rigidity and supplied fixing points for the roofing material.</span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt-4CXh9r6AQXQ08C_fsHcekcRpAuN6UGW43Ijrpg4VGI58Mry5EcP3ym3aibb8Zpiz9dJWfyPm3Khs5sgHbP_YDZAeZgqrLGjXVBkqOWUEOWG5ZHmOAPxgpdoymkRSJPhI93qCi910k/s1600/hut+view+01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt-4CXh9r6AQXQ08C_fsHcekcRpAuN6UGW43Ijrpg4VGI58Mry5EcP3ym3aibb8Zpiz9dJWfyPm3Khs5sgHbP_YDZAeZgqrLGjXVBkqOWUEOWG5ZHmOAPxgpdoymkRSJPhI93qCi910k/s200/hut+view+01.JPG" width="200px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJb_XVt8TOpFPCEYMSjFBq-weZryciHvy9GUVJ7nYXb7AfNgVqTqgZKeCKfJptREKurYzHYhoSqg-3w5VKhyphenhyphenuVbtS-JKv0Kd9HirF0-UDqfHP7T23qGQ4Q4JL_wnLQP3NcSlqYclmfqZs/s1600/DSCN4111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJb_XVt8TOpFPCEYMSjFBq-weZryciHvy9GUVJ7nYXb7AfNgVqTqgZKeCKfJptREKurYzHYhoSqg-3w5VKhyphenhyphenuVbtS-JKv0Kd9HirF0-UDqfHP7T23qGQ4Q4JL_wnLQP3NcSlqYclmfqZs/s200/DSCN4111.JPG" width="200px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4A7RErCibUeU-ASnq0DsNjb-Byo1hzb6Yf3uPYFy_-MTeQjZCxcfxk5dXJ6ddYNrS7gYl8f9GryCK_eGdmKkNr6FMN82g3nWIVniM99K65t0va02YsYV9dDTrwJ0aAWzgkIvIweOtZVU/s1600/DSCN4138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4A7RErCibUeU-ASnq0DsNjb-Byo1hzb6Yf3uPYFy_-MTeQjZCxcfxk5dXJ6ddYNrS7gYl8f9GryCK_eGdmKkNr6FMN82g3nWIVniM99K65t0va02YsYV9dDTrwJ0aAWzgkIvIweOtZVU/s200/DSCN4138.JPG" width="200px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYOgjITY1w9cW1rQkdsL0F5rbHqlvXfiLis1bySV2LTowoVWFJAKHPBjY9bbHREHTNkBGKPJ1XiVcKNZGykSe1vlRY-JrnUTd3rdIRerpmtLOQSqV7RiICxJ1AO_Q0cxtKG1AtY4GcHo/s1600/DSCN4114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYOgjITY1w9cW1rQkdsL0F5rbHqlvXfiLis1bySV2LTowoVWFJAKHPBjY9bbHREHTNkBGKPJ1XiVcKNZGykSe1vlRY-JrnUTd3rdIRerpmtLOQSqV7RiICxJ1AO_Q0cxtKG1AtY4GcHo/s200/DSCN4114.JPG" width="200px" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I then cut numerous handfuls of reeds, binding them at one end in order to use the mini-bails like roofing tiles. These where then lain out in horizontal bands, starting from the base of the structure to create overlapping tiles. Long and flexible twigs were then used to tether the reeds down onto the frame. More reed-bails were used at the side to form a make-shift wind break.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In all honesty this was a slow going process. It took me 2 hours to build the structural frame, 2 further hours to tile the roof in a thatch-like fashion and a further hour to insert the wind-break wall and finish it all off.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(Instead of tying every bundle of reeds together, in the future it might be quicker to simply trap them between some branches, possibly just held in place by gravity. Messing around with thin twine on a dark windy night is very fiddly (especially if you have sausage fingers like me) and made worse by increasingly cold hands. It’s a time consuming process to bind everything together, although finding timber and cutting reeds seemed relatively quick work. As my hands and legs can now contest, thorny brambles are fairly invisible in the dark undergrowth.)</span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hFmw_DnKoRYAHORytHJUIsVtZhEhbXwo7aKbVurW7-oCRBvcwdLWOH5yKX2KoGFZzPfiCrHyhgju1rB5pKjIwFkqsjWS7jzqCUYgpn3JnfZrec8idacdpLNoYpuvSoJjnjKtxYx2dxI/s1600/DSCN4139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hFmw_DnKoRYAHORytHJUIsVtZhEhbXwo7aKbVurW7-oCRBvcwdLWOH5yKX2KoGFZzPfiCrHyhgju1rB5pKjIwFkqsjWS7jzqCUYgpn3JnfZrec8idacdpLNoYpuvSoJjnjKtxYx2dxI/s320/DSCN4139.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Roughing it:</strong></span></div></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I felt fairly uneasy stumbling around a forest at night. It seemed completely lifeless, other than some magpies which screeched high in the trees as I fought my way through fairly thick undergrowth. A police helicopter repeatedly flew past, shining its search light in all directions. When I was finally bathed in a white light, I was surprised to find it was instead the moon, which had temporarily made an appearance in the east, between fast moving clouds. The weather forecast said it would rain during the night between midnight and 4am so I was looking forward to that as you might imagine. </span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Groups of drunken teenagers wondered past every hour or so, but I felt fairly hidden in the undergrowth some 100m away, almost like a nocturnal animal shunning human contact. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_QKfdAo2t2TVTOlPvcAxzSE8lAAaMYqkJqCmSboeAKnmERUpqg-mSysvLg-dk7mAJlu6lnDbMHXRilaFHlp7UmX7z3fRicN9tcWLqrVZJB4EuWv17d2gmJ_ZntifpsEtiW-N6OEdDMxM/s1600/DSCN4152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_QKfdAo2t2TVTOlPvcAxzSE8lAAaMYqkJqCmSboeAKnmERUpqg-mSysvLg-dk7mAJlu6lnDbMHXRilaFHlp7UmX7z3fRicN9tcWLqrVZJB4EuWv17d2gmJ_ZntifpsEtiW-N6OEdDMxM/s320/DSCN4152.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was fairly tired by the time I rolled out my sleeping bag and lay down in the shelter for the first time. It was about midnight and I was sure the rain would start at any moment. It felt strangely apt yet surreal that I was lying down in some forgotten overgrown wasteland in the shadow of the new iconic ‘spaceship-architecture’ which had sprung up processionally along the Clyde front.</span></div></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had imagined this place to be an insect infested quagmire, but in the winter the place seemed devoid of life, no rodents, no insects just the occasional slug or screeching magpie. There was a tranquillity that I wasn’t expecting and I soon fell asleep staring at the clouds as they raced across the purple sky. </span></div></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I woke in the night to find the roof deflecting the majority of the heavy rain. The easterly wind seemed unable to penetrate the reed thatch wall either which was a relief. I woke around 7am to the sounds of rhythmical drips falling on the sleeping bag and noticed the moon was now high in the west. The thought of going into work was strangely surreal from this perspective. Waking up in a ditch and doing a full day’s work in an office seems worlds apart. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolxd6SyfVhV84dm2Stoke5I8BCNpJxSXx3gTE7vecn_RC5RmDDMOtJXdq0giB4ZUk5WI5yNEdlaeZ7KTMSASDFVuESV-Hzlhu1x_TI42iCH7n_wscBGWnHjexFDGp7v_FwdaABWMNPIA/s1600/DSCN4166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolxd6SyfVhV84dm2Stoke5I8BCNpJxSXx3gTE7vecn_RC5RmDDMOtJXdq0giB4ZUk5WI5yNEdlaeZ7KTMSASDFVuESV-Hzlhu1x_TI42iCH7n_wscBGWnHjexFDGp7v_FwdaABWMNPIA/s320/DSCN4166.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I felt pleased with how I used this time. It would have been another evening forgotten in front of the TV. The pro-active hunt for memorable experiences had begun! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEuDSD2Y02bIcGrIuV45D4dxMDY-e6wg3kQyZvMscjNF7ev9xXM2ChjBPIYErewe2smDt37YJW8hNraT3hmRmO6qXhwGheI6IYbPm_vczGdEX9ATIkeGHMJvo7C5385A1Wk3TZs-N3VdU/s1600/2012-01-12+08.19.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEuDSD2Y02bIcGrIuV45D4dxMDY-e6wg3kQyZvMscjNF7ev9xXM2ChjBPIYErewe2smDt37YJW8hNraT3hmRmO6qXhwGheI6IYbPm_vczGdEX9ATIkeGHMJvo7C5385A1Wk3TZs-N3VdU/s320/2012-01-12+08.19.56.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
</div></div></div>Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com4Festival Park, Glasgow, Glasgow City G51, UK55.854889729848225 -4.29119147607423255.853309729848228 -4.2954764760742323 55.856469729848222 -4.2869064760742317tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7831034567406547194.post-72219126367652738192012-01-11T02:17:00.000-08:002012-01-11T03:09:30.767-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Project Aims:</span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">100 Wild Huts</i> is an experimental challenge I’ve set myself to build 100 small survival shelters on any piece of ground that harbours enough natural resources for the build. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I intend to sleep rough in each shelter for one night and blog about the experiences. I intend to experiment with the huts form, structure and materiality in the hope that in due course, this may become a useful resource for budding adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts alike! </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I intend only to use a small wooden handled hatchet (£9.99 from my local DIY store) and construct the small shelters sustainably; using only the natural resources of the selected site. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63E7kuxywfrnLIqVMUnmcybC-ktOXjSJCWGGOX_yKIDtiB4T_nnTuEw4m2flmu_RV6I69-KEcCLwoz3gBWV9dAS8wQbS4qD_fpFhrv1I9eK8X90oS_8kROkhTPeuHtalXNAhFmMAQd6A/s1600/igloo_partick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63E7kuxywfrnLIqVMUnmcybC-ktOXjSJCWGGOX_yKIDtiB4T_nnTuEw4m2flmu_RV6I69-KEcCLwoz3gBWV9dAS8wQbS4qD_fpFhrv1I9eK8X90oS_8kROkhTPeuHtalXNAhFmMAQd6A/s320/igloo_partick.jpg" width="240px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The challenge ahead:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know that this challenge will be excruciatingly hard and that there is a small chance I’ll regret this eccentric idea in the depths of some cold night and want to give up. It may take me years to complete - but I’d rather challenge myself than just exist, I’d rather feel anything than feel nothing. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In all honesty I want to feel afraid; I want to abandon the sanitised sterility of urban life and find a true type of contentment down amongst the moss and mud. I want to experience the fear of being alone on a cold, dark wet winter’s night. I want to learn how to feel comfortable resting beside worms, biting insects, scurrying rodents, noisy birds or if I’m lucky - an inquisitive fox. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I sit here now though, warm in my central heated family home, the biggest decision I’ve made all night is whether I should have one pop-tart or two for my supper? (I know what you’re thinking, probably best having two...) I often think our ‘contemporary culture’ can also be a soulless one. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I may even eat them tonight whilst the jam is still boiling hot - I think melting half my lip off with a pop-tart could be what’s needed to remind me...that I’m actually alive and that we don’t just live in our heads.</span></div>Kev Langanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17613556611357957573noreply@blogger.com12