WORDS FROM THE WILD

On the road

By Lauren Eaton

It’s been a busy month for me, Ralph the L322, and Celyn the travelling dog. We’ve been living in the wild, exploring and researching the past and present of old roads and ways, and this has required a lot of working while on the road, or in the forest as the case may be.

Work is a common question I get asked about, it's either,

'Do you work? What do you do that allows so much time off?'

or (most accurately)

'What do you do that allows you to travel while working?"

It’s definitely a top five in my frequently asked questions, so I thought I’d answer it along with the other four.

Working on the road, how do you do it?

Before I even begin, I will tell you that it does not involve either Instagram or YouTube (or OnlyFans!). Not only is that avenue of revenue beyond saturated, which leaves little opportunity for the newbie, it isn’t as much fun, real, or lucrative as anyone thinks. The true greats who make honest, real, pay-a-livelihood level of income are few and far between.

I couldn’t do it anyway, I detest being on camera, hate the sound of my own voice, and presume people aren’t all that interested in the first place. Though many must be interested, because, while my social media accounts aren’t close to earning me a penny, I do receive a lot of questions.

The work thing is pretty simple, or at least I think it is. I don’t get tons of time off, I don’t stop work to travel, I work and travel, and yes, I very much need to work to fund my travels, so I write. Copywriting is a job that is often carried out remotely, even if it’s a full time permanent position, the same goes for content creation and photography, and while I may have little interest in producing any for myself, I can make a wedge from doing it for others.

Nature's office!

Working in rights of way often requires travel, and that’s where my job at GLASS fitted in. As I travelled to survey lanes, support reps, deal with screaming antis, do some public speaking, or handle a legal case, I could make a weekend, a week, or longer from it and do the desk stuff from the truck.

Lanes are usually located in pretty, rural areas, so if I fancied staying there I would. The same goes for certain types of research projects, conservation work, and access surveying/research work. It all requires you to travel and be outdoors, and it can often get you permission to drive to and camp in places the public never gets to see.

I also run a small business selling artwork based on my favourite place, Scotland. I paint the glorious landscapes I visit and use the proceeds to fill the tank.

You need to be set up of course. I have laptops, tablets, various phones on different networks (EE is still best for coverage in my opinion) with unlimited data, a dongle, headsets, camera, video camera (that I’ve never used), even an extra screen and digital graphics tablet to keep me connected and able to produce stuff in the most remote of places.

Of course I need power for all this, so I have a second battery installed, extra charging points, and all sorts of power banks that can be charged while I’m driving and keep devices running when I stop.

How do you find places to stay? Where can you wild camp?

This gets asked a lot in social media groups, and no, I’m not going to give any wild camping spots away! This isn’t because I’m a total cow, it’s because if any of us want to continue to do it, then we need to avoid repetitive stays and crowding spots. There are apps you can use, but these have caused many places to become lost and restricted by bylaws for just those reasons.

I don’t plan my overnight stays, I just find them as I go, and in more years than I care to remember I’ve never not found a decent spot, nor have I ever been moved on, annoyed anyone, or been challenged.

While I’m not going to share locations, I will happily share my list of dos and don’ts:

1. If anyone else is there, don’t stop.

2. If you can see people’s homes, don’t stop.

3. Head away from people and settlements. What’s the point if you’re going to park in a layby on an A road next to a housing estate? Head as far away from other people as possible.

4. If there’s no one around, it’s likely to be a good place.

5. Don’t draw attention to yourself by setting up a campsite, or taking 5 friends in their trucks.

6. Don’t block entrances, drive onto private land, litter, light fires, be noisy or otherwise be a nuisance - that should all be common sense

7. Learn the law. Wild camping in law pertains to people in tents, sleeping in a vehicle is not recognised as wild camping in law. Learn the laws, learn them well and stick to them, they really are your best guide (*NOTE - Scotland has different laws to England and Wales), they tell you how to do it, but most people think they just prevent you doing it, and that’s where they would be wrong! Plus if you learn how to do it, you won’t need to ask every time you head out, you’ll be free, isn’t that the whole point?

What do you eat?

Exactly the same things I eat at home!

I have a fridge freezer in the L322, various options of camp cookers, knives, chopping board, utensils, and a travelling herb/spice/sauces kit (it’s pretty massive as I was a chef in a previous incarnation, but doesn’t need to be). That’s all we have at home - tools, a heat source and ingredients, so there’s no reason we can’t make many of the same dishes on the road.

I do keep a stash of easy stuff in case I’m short on time, and to carry with me in case I go out for the day and don’t fancy going home that night. Pasta, noodles, pesto, oats, chapati flour, tins of soup and pulses, and passata (and gin), coupled with a herb and spice collection can make a large variety of meals.

My truck is always ready for a night or even a week away, this is how I get to squeeze in so much time on the road, there’s no rush or reason to return from anywhere if I have everything I need with me.

If you want to buy one thing that can expand your cooking ability while on the road, splash out on a dutch oven, this will give you a lot of flexibility when it comes to cooking methods. You can make bread and baked items in them as easily as a curry or slow-cooked dish.

Stop off at farms to buy meat, eggs, and fresh ingredients. Forage herbs and mushrooms if you know what you’re doing of course (I take no responsibility for anyone contracting PTSD from hallucinating Liz Truss dancing on their bonnets - sorry for that terrifying vision!), and pack a variety of ambient, tinned and dried stuff to take with you.

Labels make finding the 'essentials' easy.

If you want Insta-quality content think outside the box.

I’ve cooked fish nailed to driftwood next to a campfire, cooked all sorts of flatbreads and meat on a flat, cleaned rock placed on the fire, and garnished dishes with edible flowers, berries, and greens.

I usually spend only one night in a location, so I tend to focus on necessities rather than extravagances, but all the above are quick, cheap, cheerful, and save on washing up.

They will also look cool on your Insta, but I tend to be too hungry to think about photographing my dinner (these two photos were notable exceptions).

Where do you sh*t, shower, and shave?

It’s bold of you to presume I don’t prefer to wear a full beard, but here we are!

These are things we all need to do on a daily basis, so it should be a primary consideration when packing for a trip. If you’re in a 4x4, it’s unlikely you’re going to want to install a chemical or composting toilet, but there are smaller, lightweight alternatives available. Not to beat about the bush (something I’ll discuss maintenance of very shortly), you have two options - you turf a hole about a foot deep and replace the earth so it looks like you were never there, or you bag it and bin it like you would with your dog’s waste. Biodegradable bags and sawdust or wood-based cat litter are your friends here. If the thought of it makes you squeamish then stick to hotels, or at least campsites with full facilities.

Showering is something I’ve just gone high tech with. I recently purchased a Joolca Hottap v2 with their Outing kit. It runs on LPG and provides instant hot water. Not only that, it will filter and pump water from a lake or river up to 30m away (even uphill) to your desired location.

I still prefer to take a dip in a lake or river, and use the same for clothes washing, but this isn’t something I’m as comfortable doing in most of England and many parts of Wales (where water quality can be dubious at best) as I am in the Highlands of Scotland and various other countries.

I use natural soap (for body, dishes, and clothes) and shampoo; you can easily buy stuff that doesn’t contain anything harmful to the environment. Many of these come in bar form, which saves space and weight in your rig too, they also last a lot longer than a bottle of liquid.

As for shaving, that’s the easiest of the lot. A USB chargeable shaver is the obvious answer to wo/man scaping on the go.

Don’t you get scared of being alone?

Alone? No. With other people? Yes, at least sometimes.

If we’re talking about the UK or Europe, the most dangerous animal is the human being. In my case it was someone I used to travel with, but if you’re alone then there are none of them to bother you.

People often ask about kit security, and concerns about theft and attacks, and yes, these have been considerations when I’ve visited Birmingham, but I don’t camp there. They have also been considerations when I (many, many years ago) last used campsites, or when travelling very long distances abroad, but again mainly through towns and cities or across borders. I’ll cover my further flung escapades another time.

As for vehicle security, this is a topic in itself. But whatever you do, if someone is intent on robbing you, they will. Yes, buy security devices as these will put off opportunists, but make sure you are insured, and have a contingency fund if needs be. Even insurance can take a while to sort out, so be self-sufficient and have a plan B in case you ever need it. If you don’t, you can always spend it in the pub on your return.

That’s all from me folks. Just one last thing, in the words of Douglas Adams, always know where your towel is.

Safe travels, Lauren and Celyn x