Micro Adventures: Pillboxing

It was Saturday afternoon. The problem with living in Sussex is that the majority of friends still reside in the city, hence not many people to play with. Whilst reading through my Afterword for the book for the hundredth time and finally deciding that it was actually finished, I decided I wanted to do something spontaneous…

The micro adventure was coined by Al Humphreys, still inspired by the series of adventure talks from last week, I felt I should try one on for size. Micro adventures are quite an ingenious concept and opens you up to a whole world of experiences waiting to be had, in short, just go somewhere on the spur of the moment and do something for the hell of it…

I packed a small rucksack with headtorch, knife, flint &steel, culinary survival kit, pork (fresh from my friend Dan’s recently despatched piggies) book, i-pod, camera, notepad, two ponchos, hatchet, water and the all important hip flask of whisky. I clipped my sleeping bag and roll mat to the side of the bag and set off into the countryside at 4pm. I didn’t have a destination and only an hour of daylight left, unprepared perhaps, but as Mark Twain once said, you need two things in life: ignorance and confidence. And that seems to have worked for me in the past!

As I walked across the fields and through the woods, expecting to end up sleeping out in the open with just the ponchos between me and the elements, I came across a copse by the river that had a pillbox tucked under a large oak. Still feeling spontaneous and eager to find out what it would be like to bed down in a wartime shelter I went to check it out. A picture paints a thousand words, so to limit my bumbling prose, here is a step by step picture guide of how the rest of the evening went…

 

 

 

Found shelter: the type 28A pillbox, there seem to be quite a few up the Ouse valley, not sure how zee Germans would have made it up the rather small river...

Checking out the digs: there was a fair amount of trash and crap graffiti left over from teenage binges of the past... 

Gather firewood and dry tinder to start fire in pillbox (bad idea?) for comfort and warmth.   
 

  

 

Sit by fire, enjoy a wee dram and try not to suffocate due to volume of smoke...

Explore surroundings and listen to Blackadder goes forth on i-pod to get into mindset of confined wartime living.

Fry onions and garlic in billycan before adding rice, stock and water.

Whittle hazel skewer for pork and cook over embers.

Tuck in, mmmm...porky rice.

    

Appetite sated, lay out sleeping bag and sit back and read book with a drop more whisky, whilst occasionally running outside for fresh air.

Get into sleeping bag at midnight, give fire a few more logs and sleep. Roused at six in the morning by a rabbit exiting its hole in the other room of pillbox and then scurry around on dried leaves. Bastard.

 

Wake up to a grey morning feeling like a hobo, get fire going, make tea, pack up and wander home.

So there you have it: pillboxing. There are a  fair few around here, I might have to go and spend the night in another. On the whole there wasn't much to it, It would have been nice to have the more daylight to go for a forage or even try the river for a fish supper, perhaps when it isn't in flood...

The beauty of micro adventures is that they are perfect for weekends, although wild camping and slumming it in available shelter are a bit more pleasant in summer, winter isn't too bad: this is England not Alaska. so next time you find yourself at a loose end, try something you haven't done before or go somewhere new, experience is everything!

 

 

 

Comments

[Alastair Humphreys]

brilliant!

[The Curious Cat]

Gosh, weren't you freezing? What did you do to pass the time besides Blackadder? I wish I was more comfortable with my own company...maybe it is a lesson to be learnt...I have such a vivid imagination too...I'd probably be scared of pill box ghosties!! xxx

[Giles]

I hate to say it, but didn't it pen and ink in there a bit?? I get the impression that its also used as a toilet now and then...

[Sook @ My Fabulous Recipes]

Wow what an adventurous day you had there. :)

[Jamie]

Didn't it stink of sh1t?

[Alex]

Love it. What a fantastic idea. If you need company on a future micro adventure let it be noted that I am well up for it.

[Nick Weston]

Thanks for the comments chaps and chapesses.

It didn't stink in there as it was way out in the sticks, I cooked, i read and slept and tried not to think about pillbox ghosts...whisky helped the fear subside!

[Jamie]

The pictures remind me a lot of The Blair Witch Project house.

[robert twigger]

brilliant stuff- but, if you want-check out my blog at roberttwigger.com for my blogpost on micro adventures v macro adventures- also if you're interested my novel Dr Ragab's universal language has a whole chapter on pillboxing- for the super keen there is a book called 'pillboxes' by henry wills which lists all their locations and a pillbox way across southern england.

[Nick Weston]

Thanks for the comment- will check out the book, rather intrigued by Real men eat puffer fish...

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