Upon watching quite a few YouTube videos on photography it seems that wild camping goes hand in hand along side it. After a bit of deliberation I decided it would make photography that little bit more enjoyable, having the opportunity not only for lightpainting but landscape photography also. The benefits of wild camping at a location means you can not only shoot the sunset but also the sunrise at any one given location without the hassle of trying to hike in the dark.

For our first wild camp I wanted to stay fairly local with easy access and a beautiful location. Lulworth cove seemed a good choice as it’s only a few hours drive and easily accessible without straying too far from the car ( just in case) but at the same time be remote enough to be away from any form of civilisation.

We packed our bags up and headed out to Lulworth for our first wild camp. We arrived there around 7.30 pm Parked the car up laced up our walking boots and headed off to find a nice spot for the night. We entered the cove from the small village at the right hand side of the cove and walked around the basin to the other side. The shore of the cove is covered in round white stones and there are high chalk cliffs all the way round, there are beautiful big lumps of chalk which have broken off the cliffs on the shore line and the water is surprisingly clear. On the other side there are some stairs leading up to top of the cliff which we walked up they were steep and winding. Once we reached the top of the stairs we followed the path round to the left and found ourselves on the top of the cove to the left.

We found a spot to pitch up for the night hidden away behind a small bank out of view from the small town on the other side of the cove. By this time the sun was setting nicely and we went for a little stroll along the cliff edge as the sun set.

About half an hour after sunset still with a small amount of light left we decided to make camp. I pitched up the tent as Becky opened up the self inflating mats and pillows. After our camp was set up we boiled up some water and had ourselves a pot noodle and opened up a beer, sat on the cliff side eating dinner and drinking a beer watching the stars appear.

As night set in we sat drinking our beers gazing at the stars and spotting planets. We had Venus to our right and Jupiter to our left. There’s not a soul in sight or a sound around ( apart from the lapping of waves and the rustle of the wind). I set up my camera for some star trail images, until the clouds started to roll in. When the clouds came over we decided it was time for us to retire for the night and headed into the tent for bed time.

We woke early in the morning at 4am as I wanted to be up for sunrise for some landscape images. After attempting to make coffee and failing miserably as I accidentally spilled the hot water (on my hand) we packed up the camp site making sure to leave nothing behind. I think that if you are going to wild camp it is important to leave as if you were never even there. After packing up and waiting for the sun to peek up and light up the cliffs opposite it was absolutely gorgeous, just a short stroll to the location of the shoot.

We headed back following the path to the stairs down into the cove stopping for another image along the way, before walking along the beautiful stone shore line and back up through the small town to the car. A swift change of shoes that was it our first wild camp was over. It was a truly amazing experience being outside just you and the landscape, it’s very difficult to put it into words. I can’t wait to discover more locations and head out into the landscape again, it really does make the images you take more meaningful as this is where you slept and lived for a night.