The Book of the Bivvy

They are the best of nights, they are the worst of nights...Bivvying offers a chance to experience a whole new level of immersion in the outdoors, with just a lightweight bag between you and the elements. The Book of the Bivvy provides an informed, humorous, instructive, wry insight into the world of the bivouac, drawing upon Ronald Turnbull's own extensive experience.The book is a half-and-half mix of how to do it and why to do it (or how not to do it and why not to do it). Accounts of bivvybag nights and expeditions, both nice and nasty, are interspersed with practical tips about types of membrane, sites, techniques and minimalist kit. There are stories and anecdotes from all over the UK, plus a few from abroad. The rich and colourful history of the bivvy is also explored in Ronald's own inimitable style, with descriptions of how Diogenes (the Cynic) bivvied under timber and how the Eigerwand was climbed only through improved bivvying technique.The Book of the Bivvy is a celebration of back-to-basic camping, the perfect antidote to our fast-paced, comfort-based modern life. Honest and entertaining, there is every chance it will inspire you to find a remote hilltop, roll out your bag and watch the sunset.

Map key1 IntroductionBag for lifeBivvy night 1: Snowdon2 Primitive bivvyBivvy night 2: Peigne and sufferingProblems of the polybagPlastic bag for pleasure purposesPolybag facts3 Bivvy historyRude people enquire into futurityNights on the EigerBivvy night 3: A walk on the Wye sideMr Brown's little green bag4 Midlevel baggeryBivvy night 4: Fast asleep on the Berwickshire coastCave behaviourBivvy night 5: A bedroom in BorrowdaleFallback bagBag and cameraBivvy night 6: Man managementBag shoppingPoncho, basha, tarp - and the groovy group shelter5 Time, things and MiguelTimeThingsMiguel6 Sleeping on summitsBivvy night 7: Great GableWalking on the wet side7 The comfort zoneBivvy night 8: Up Base Brown in downSleeping matsDew processRoute 1: Merrick two-day trip8 But what if it rains?Bivvy night 9: Wet under thorns in BelfastFurther sufferingWhat if it rains?Look after your bivvy and your bivvy will look after you9 Across Scotland by bagWetness and weight: cross-Scotland constraintsRoute 2: Acharacle to Aberdeenshire10 The art of lightweight long-distanceBag and baggageThe fuel on the hillFast foodHigh cuisineBivvy night 10: A peat-hole on BowlandThe importance of water11 Mountains under the moonRoute 3: Coleridge's Helvellyn overnight crossing12 Bivvybag routesRoute 4 Lakeland all the wayRoute 5: Rannoch Moor: the beauty and the bogBivvy night 11: Helm Crag13 But that was in another countryForeign partsRoute 6: Sierra Nevada: the Spanish 3000sBivvy night 12: Cima Cadin14 And in the endSheltered housing for the elderlyAppendix A Suppliers