Getting away from it all.

Sometimes, the pressures of modern-day life just start to crush you. I’ve endured 40-odd years of working for various people and organisations that ultimately care not-a-jot about my welfare, and who never cared if I was dead or alive. I’ve been ghosted by countless firms who seemed to appreciate my unbounded enthusiasm for helping them in their efforts, until something could save them a few quid, and I was subsequently dumped without as much as a courtesy text message. Raising children in the current state of the world is also a largely thankless task, with the spectre of mental illness looming large, and manifesting itself with every new opportunity for billionaire-owned corporations to suck non-needed money out of you by raiding their young souls for profit. The same sort of billionaires look to amass even more by constantly raising prices of everything with any joy attached, and keeping the working population in their place.

So…..the need to escape once in a while, and give yourself the illusion of control is essential. Most people do this by consuming drugs of some sort - alcohol, narcotics, bad food etc, but i’ve tried to avoid over-consumption of this type of escape by physically removing myself from my daily situation and plonking myself into the wilderness by myself just for a night.

The aerial photo above shows my exact escape spot. It’s easy to get to - behind a big rock, situated a few hundred metres behind the big Langlee Crags in the Harthope Valley in the Cheviot Hills. I used to try and vary my locations, but this single place gives me the peace and quiet I sometimes crave. The views are lovely, the rock gives some shelter from wind, and I can walk there from my car in about 40 minutes. It’s well away from the track used by the shotgun-weilding quad bike mentalists who ride about at night looking for poachers, and I’ve never been disturbed by other wild-campers. Atop the big rock is a place where I can sit looking up the valley, and enjoy a can while watching the sun go down in any season. I’ve been there in winter with snow on the ground, and summer, with all sorts of wildlife knocking about.

Last weekend I visited for the first time in 2026, and even though I endured 70mph winds through the night, my expensive Hilleberg Soulo tent stood firm, and I managed to enjoy the short time I had there. I couldn’t stand up straight while packing down, and lost a tent pole bag to the gale. Below is a picture of my setup just after sunset. The beer sits on the rock, and cools nicely with the icy blasts of wind.

I’m home by 7.30am, and although I’ve had almost no sleep, it rejuvenates the body and soul. Keeping up a bit of a regime of getting away is important, and I’m determined to avoid doing the 7-day working week thing any more.

Here’s to more leisure time.