LDRxLDN: Starry night

When was the last time you sat in silence, observing stars - free from the obligation to do anything but admire the infinite sky above you?

I keep going back to London; my heart is literally snagged there (the perks of a Long Distance Relationship aka the dreaded LDR). But I guess this pushes me to constantly discover more of the city, to find new and unusual things to do and to make every trip special - thank goodness that London has so much to offer! But sometimes, you just HAVE to get out of the city; take a risk with alternative experiences, and explore something new. And this time, it was a risk that paid off because Kris and I found the perfect getaway, an antidote to our fast-paced lives that allowed us to spend time in nature, focusing on nothing but the elements and each other.

For two nights, the cosy little shepherd hut called Butser became our hideaway, our secluded piece of heaven. Having passed out completely on our first night at Wriggly Tin, we woke up naturally with the sun and the birds, ready to make the most of the glorious day stretching out ahead of us.

The clearing was all misty and covered with dew, and the brisk air was more invigorating than any coffee.

Other huts were getting started on their breakfast, smoke curling cheerfully out of their chimney.

We got started on ours too. Breakfast was a sumptuous affair: we'd ordered a hamper from Alex, the Wriggly Tin owner.

When he had dropped it off the night before, the basket was filled with organic, wholesome farm offerings. A freshly baked crusty bread, still warm in its gingham cloth, milk, butter, mushrooms, tomatoes and potato farls (still not sure what they are exactly but they taste great) for the veggie and rashers and eggs and sausages for the omnomnivore, and the most memorable apple juice I've had: crisp and tart, freshly pressed from Cox apples in a farm nearby.

We also had our S'mores supplies at hand: crackers, chocolate and marshmallows.

The smell of frying butter and rashers and garlicky mushrooms and tea and coffee mingled with the wood-smoke in the clearing.

Simple, wholesome, organic food that tasted all the better for having been cooked on a campfire and devoured, sitting outside in the crisp morning air.

We set off for a post-breakfast stroll which turned out to be a full-fledged hike past funky cows and alpacas (yes, one of those wtf things that the UK does), up hilly promontories, and through an Iron-Age hill fort enclosing a Bronze-Age burial ground complete with barrows and tumuli built some 2500 years ago.

We watched a flock of birds tumble across the sky, dancing their way back home after the winter migration. They looked very confused.

We befriended this horse.

After such a long walk, even the simplest pasta, cooked quickly on the stove, tastes divine. And we had an after-dinner show planned.

If last night I had been too cold and tired to venture outside, this time I wrapped up warm. The sky put on a blazing display: millions of stars twinkled against a fathomless deep blue sky. We had front-row seats to the most awe-inspiring spectacle that the universe has to offer: constellations against the clearest sky we could hope for.

I don't know when the inky sky blended into my star-filled dreams, but again - and this was the magic of the place - we fell profoundly asleep, lulled by the benign night sounds around us.

When the morning dawned, we were still imbued with the imprint of the quiet night and, understandably, were slightly sad that we'd be leaving this place in a few hours.

Staying true to our commitment to live in the moment, we basked by the campfire, hearts warmed by the hot chocolate that we spiked with Baileys and marshmallows, and hands sticky from making S'mores (we eventually turned to the cheat version - made with chocolate digestives).

By the time we cleaned the place and packed up to go, we had silly happy grins on our faces, and we felt as if we had been purged of all the noisy chatter in our heads and all the stress of our daily lives.

If you're heading to London anytime soon, I thoroughly recommend taking two nights out for this experience. This stay was easily one of the most memorable I've had, bringing us both closer to nature and to each other. It's also a great place for a large group of friends or a family, although Alex warns us that he's seen anguished teenagers walk dazedly around, trying to find wi-fi signals.

I loved the unique experience, the personal touches added by Alex, and the "do-it-yourself" approach which you have to apply when building your fire or making tea. What's more, Alex tries to be as conscious as can be. The campsite obviously doesn't use up electricity (although one can argue that the wood used for the stove and fire is not too eco!*). The site has a compostable loo, offers incentives for green travellers and recyclers, and the food provided by Alex is, as far as possible, organic, sourced from local farms and communities. You can find details about Wriggly Tin here. They do get booked up weeks in advance though, so you can look up alternative glamping options on Canopy and Stars (treehouses, yurts, boathouses.)

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Addendum: Alex clarified this about the wood-burning, "burning wood is not so bad environmentally, as long as you plant new trees to soak up the carbon trapped in the wood and released by burning it, which I do. The growing and harvesting cycle for wood is measured in one or two 100 years, while burning coal or gas takes millions of years to recover.".