What do you think?
Rate this book
Wilderness Weekends: Wild adventures in Britain's rugged corners
Bed down among some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world and discover your own bolthole in one of Britain's rugged corners. Wilderness Weekends reveals the 26 best places for wild camping from the south coast of England to Scotland's far north. Each weekend includes practical advice, detailed maps and inspiring photographs to help the camping enthusiast take the next adventurous step. With a host of hard-won tips on what to take and when to go, this is the helping hand needed to unlock your outdoor potential.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2015
3 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Phoebe Smith
17 books28 followersPhoebe Smith is an adventurer, presenter, broadcaster, author, photographer, speaker and podcast host.
She is an award-winning travel writer, photographer, presenter and broadcaster (specialising in adventure, sustainable travel, walking, solo travel, family adventure and wildlife conservation). She is host of the multi-award-winning Wander Woman Podcast an audio travel magazine. She regularly writes for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times (of London) and is a correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent.
She is also Sleep Storyteller-in-Residence at Calm where her stories have been listened to over 30 million times and been narrated by Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Cillian Murphy, Jerome Flynn, Bindi Irwin and Danai Gurira to name a few.
She is co-founder and trustee of the #WeTwo Foundation a charity which empowers underprivileged young people and their local communities through conservation initiatives and life-changing expeditions.
She the first person to camp at all the extreme points of mainland Britain, solo, on consecutive nights, has slept the 3 Peaks and walked across Britain, sleeping rough while dressed as Wander Woman raising over £42,000 for homeless young people.
She is an award-winning travel writer, photographer, presenter and broadcaster (specialising in adventure, sustainable travel, walking, solo travel, family adventure and wildlife conservation). She is host of the multi-award-winning Wander Woman Podcast an audio travel magazine. She regularly writes for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times (of London) and is a correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent.
She is also Sleep Storyteller-in-Residence at Calm where her stories have been listened to over 30 million times and been narrated by Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Cillian Murphy, Jerome Flynn, Bindi Irwin and Danai Gurira to name a few.
She is co-founder and trustee of the #WeTwo Foundation a charity which empowers underprivileged young people and their local communities through conservation initiatives and life-changing expeditions.
She the first person to camp at all the extreme points of mainland Britain, solo, on consecutive nights, has slept the 3 Peaks and walked across Britain, sleeping rough while dressed as Wander Woman raising over £42,000 for homeless young people.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 4, 2021
Used it for a couple of routes in the Lake District. It’s great, don’t get me wrong .... the only improvement I’d love to see is real metrics into distance behind a route and is hard to calculate how long they should take.
As with anything physical it’s hard to estimate what I can do versus someone else and be a judge of the route. Sometimes I’m not looking to climb Everest prior to camping. Then again, the book does cater to some smaller routes.
I’ll be using this again and again for a guide on new spots to explore and camps. This book follows me in my car everywhere I go. The world needs more Phoebe Smiths
As with anything physical it’s hard to estimate what I can do versus someone else and be a judge of the route. Sometimes I’m not looking to climb Everest prior to camping. Then again, the book does cater to some smaller routes.
I’ll be using this again and again for a guide on new spots to explore and camps. This book follows me in my car everywhere I go. The world needs more Phoebe Smiths
February 18, 2021
Phoebe Smith is adamant that one does not need to travel far or to exotic places for adventure. She dedicates this book to “those who will never find the time, money or courage to cross continents, row oceans or climb the highest mountains.” I found this humbling and reevaluated my own definition of the word adventure (and ridiculous collection of crazy African adventure stories).
Wilderness Weekends is an informative book for those who seek lesser-known/ unknown tent pitch locations in well-known hiking spots in the UK. This book has a heavy northern and western UK bias and focuses on the Lake District, Dartmoor, Wales and Scotland. Phoebe has divided the book into 26 weekend plans. She discusses legends and myths about a location, the best season to go, transport and the best hiking routes.
I really enjoyed this book and read every word in one sitting. However, I had hoped it would be more inclusive of locations closer to London. Overall, this is a brilliant book for those new to camping and hiking (in the UK), who would benefit from very specific guidance. There are definitely places highlighted by Phoebe that I have not been to, and this book will come in very handy i’m sure!
PS. Thank you, Tom, for sending me this book :) It’s your turn to read it next.
Wilderness Weekends is an informative book for those who seek lesser-known/ unknown tent pitch locations in well-known hiking spots in the UK. This book has a heavy northern and western UK bias and focuses on the Lake District, Dartmoor, Wales and Scotland. Phoebe has divided the book into 26 weekend plans. She discusses legends and myths about a location, the best season to go, transport and the best hiking routes.
I really enjoyed this book and read every word in one sitting. However, I had hoped it would be more inclusive of locations closer to London. Overall, this is a brilliant book for those new to camping and hiking (in the UK), who would benefit from very specific guidance. There are definitely places highlighted by Phoebe that I have not been to, and this book will come in very handy i’m sure!
PS. Thank you, Tom, for sending me this book :) It’s your turn to read it next.
April 22, 2015
A really useful book full of helpful information and inspiration for adventures. The level of detail such as bus times and where to pick up supplies and water are bound to take a lot of the hassle out of planning these weekends and it is nice to now be able to recreate some of the trips detailed in Smith's earlier work Extreme Sleeps: Adventures of a Wild Camper
August 25, 2023
Unfortunately most of these hikes, at least the few I briefly looked over before returning the book. Are hikes that can be easily done in an afternoon and certainly aren't long enough to justify an overnight stay.
That might be why the author doesn't include distances of the hikes in an obvious place
That might be why the author doesn't include distances of the hikes in an obvious place
October 19, 2019
Great guide for people wanting to get in to wild camping. Lots of good advice and well written.
August 25, 2017
the Kindle version isn't great. and it could be boiled down to a list of maps. but good for inspiration I guess
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews