December 4th, 2023 | EDITION THREE - TOM
Okay, someone please explain to me how it is Christmas in 14 days…
It only seems like yesterday that we launched the project in August and yet as I write this I am wearing a festive jumper! No shame at all, I bloody love Christmas.
Despite the fact it is only two weeks to go until the big man arrives, things are not slowing down at all.
In fact, this last week has been a non-stop conveyor belt of one exciting revelation after the next!
Wild Spaces: Unedited
You may have seen this week that we launched a new gallery on our website. It showcases a selection of our favourite shots, captured by the very gifted Tom Dauben.
The most powerful tools we have to inspire you all to explore Wild Spaces are stories, photos and videos. And so we are investing a lot of time into ensuring we can do exactly that.
We already have our ReWilded: Your Stories Campaign (more below!) and over the last month, we have begun to work with Tom, an amateur photographer and environmental consultant from the fringes of Dartmoor. Tom has an uncanny ability to capture the essence of a space, its mood, light and the life found there. He also doesn’t edit a single one his shots. No filters, no editing, no cropping, meaning every image is an honest portrayal of the experience you will have there yourself when you visit.
Tom has never made his photography available as prints before and given we have become a tad obsessed with his work, we had to support him to make his dream a reality! Over the coming months, we will be adding more and more of Toms series into the gallery, every one available as an A3 or A4 print.
A timeless memory of your adventures or an ever-present reminder of the adventures to come.
ReWilded: Your Stories
This campaign will become the beating heart of project as we grow. The idea is simple, each season we will invite a small group of our community - the Wildlings - to visit Wild Spaces, free of charge and in return capture their stories. These stories will then inspire others, creating a ripple effect that we hope will never end.
These stories will always be different, from wildlife encounters to witnessing the Northern Lights, to foraging for the first time or the pure joy of skinny dipping in your personal, natural infinity pool.
With winter now upon us, we once again invite you to become a Wildling. Whether you want to get out & experience camping in the snow for the first time or escape to a Wild Space in your camper or rooftop tent, snuggled under a duvet (it’s not cheating!).
To apply, each season we ask a question. All you have to is respond and we will choose our favourite answers.
And so,
Why on earth would you want to go camping in the winter?!
Let us know and get in touch, by responding to this email. We have already asked 4 applicants to join the Winter Wildlings, with one even heading out this weekend just gone!
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Camping Season? What's that?
We have a tendency here in the UK to describe the period between April and October as ‘Camping Season’.
Over three-quarters of all British campsites close (for tents at least) and the industry seems to go into hibernation. We fully understand why, it is colder, wetter and campsites must go dark to protect ground conditions for the summer months.
But what you miss out on is the opportunity to experience some of the most magical times of the year in the great outdoors. Shorter days mean longer and darker nights, the best time of year to spot the Milky Way or the Northern Lights. Early March heralds the parade of snow-drops, then daffodils, then bluebells and November paints a kaleidoscope of reds, browns, oranges, and purples across our woodlands.
As we have moved through the seasons since we launched the project, we have seen firsthand the stunning beauty of our Wild Spaces ‘out of season’ and it has ignited our passion to inspire & enable you to try it for yourself.
It has been a surprise but also a delight at the number of people seeking to try a new type of adventure this winter and we even had members book to spend New Years Eve in a Wild Space this last week!!
We would love to know from you what would inspire, help and support you all to get out in the off-season!? Reach out with ideas, thoughts and comments and we can build them into our plans as we develop out the platform.
What's on this week?
This coming week is non-stop, as the clock ticks down to Christmas! We are off again to the warmer climes of the South East, visiting another brilliant group of Wild Space Hosts. Very excited about one of them as it is on one of the oldest commercial orchards in England and has its very own wild swimming lake!! We may have to test it out…
It is also our self-titled ‘Christmas Party’ which will consist effectively of a wild swim followed by finding the oldest country pub we can, sitting by the fire and sinking several of the local tipple.
Enjoy settling into the festive season! See you next week. Happy Camping! Tom & Alex
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