When it comes to turning ideas into reality, it doesn’t always work out as planned.
Occasionally it’s better than that…..
A couple of years ago, George at Funky Mountain Ventures told me he would often go into the woods and sleep in a Hammock. Overnight.
Eh, you do what?!
In my head I imagined a string Hammock that you’d see on a cartoon that spins you round and you get tangled up like a fly in a web. Overnight in a Hammock? In Scotland? You must be kidding! If you don’t freeze to death you’ll get eaten alive by McMidges! I didn’t realise you could get fully-enclosed, weatherproof Hammocks with a tarp roof (basically a wee tent that hangs from the trees).
Now I could see the attraction. Lazily swinging back and forth in a secluded forest in front of a campfire with a few beers and some mates. If it rains you just zip into your Hammocks and listen to the rain falling on the tarp while you stay cosy inside, or if the weather’s nice you open up the roof and bask in the sun. Bliss.
For the past couple of years we’ve offered Hammocks as alternative accommodation at The Eliminator and Cream o’ the Croft festivals, but kept talking about organising a weekend of biking and hammocking where we’d guide people around some cool trails and spend the night in the woods. Simple but great fun (hopefully!).
“Sweet Singletrack & Homely Hammocks” was born…..
Just to add a layer of mystery, nobody knew where we were going until the day before the event. We then sent a what3words code telling everyone where to meet at 10am. Until that point all they knew was that we’d be within a 30 min drive of Perth.
The morning arrived and it was clear that after a week of solid torrential rain we’d lucked out; the sun was splitting a clear blue sky. Everyone managed to get to our secret meeting spot without any problems before we loaded all the camping gear, dry clothes and supplies for the evening (cough, beer) into the Muck Truck for delivery to camp later.
Once that was done we all saddled up and headed for the hills….via a quick stop at the famous Abernethy Round Tower (it’s one of only two in Scotland dontchyaknow?). After a quick history lesson – that may or may not have been accurate – we headed for the singletrack…..via a quick stop at Clootie McToot’s Dumpling Shop. Would we ever get on our way? Who cares?! We were eating fresh, warm, delicious dumpling, the sun was shining and we had the whole day to ride bikes.
Finally, we set off and as we climbed into the hills with the sun on our backs we blethered about bikes and got to know each other. Before long, we reached the secret flow trail that would lead to camp and give us the first taste of “Sweet Singletrack” we’d promised.
Sunshine, dumpling, singletrack and good company. What a way to start 🙂
For the next few hours it went a bit like this; ride, stop, blether, eat, ride, stop, blether, eat. Repeat.
It was finally time to return to camp for the “Homely Hammocks” part of the day. I brought the Muck Truck with everyone’s camping gear (and a massive stack of pizzas) to camp. We then stuck on some tunes, cracked open a beer (massive thanks to Black Isle Brewery for the delicious #MTBeer) and blethered around the campfire until it was time to settle into our Hammocks for the night.
After a cosy night’s sleep we awoke the next morning, had a brew and biscuits for breakfast and packed up our camp (leaving no trace obviously). The descent back to the village seemed to be the perfect way to end an incredible 24hrs. Some people loaded their vehicles and headed home, some paid another visit to the dumpling shop before returning home. Everyone finished with a smile and a few new riding buddies.
We’ll probably do some more “Sweet Singletrack & Homely Hammocks” days at other venues in 2020……not sure where yet. If you fancy joining us keep an eye out for dates!