Mountain Bothies Association trustee Juls Stodel helps one bivvy enthusiast with his uphill struggle in TGO’s advice column, supported by Highlander Outdoor. Every month, one reader who writes to Juls with an Uphill Struggle will win an £100 voucher to spend with Highlander.
Dear Juls,
What is the correct etiquette if you turn up to a favourite bivvy spot, and someone else is already there? Or if you’re already there and someone else turns up?Chris, July 2025
Dear Chris,
I confess, I am not a fan of a bivvy. Not for reasons of comfort, but because I have such a phobia of slugs that if I ever woke with one on my face I may very well die. But, I admit, one woman’s hellbag is another man’s cosy cocoon. So, what to do if your perfect campsite has already been claimed?
Well, here’s the unfortunate reality; you can’t just tell the other happy camper to get lost, which leaves you with three choices.
The first; be weird. Be your weirdest possible self. Talk about Xenu and offer them a personality test, insist that the Earth is flat and that your nipples can dowse water. Dance without music and claim it quiets the wind. Don’t be creepy, you understand, nor threatening. Just embrace your best weird alter ego. Chances are, your new companion will claim to want to press on a bit and leave you be.
Your second option is to accept this will not be your spot tonight. Give the other camper a polite hello, say what lovely weather we’re having (or whatever British-ism comes to mind) and carry on. If you were there first, this is your time to claim to want to press on a bit and leave them be.
But Chris, what an opportunity – what a third option – you are passing up. Here is a person with an equal love for sleeping in sluggy sacks in rainy climates; a sluggy sacker who picked the same spot as you. You already have things in common – wouldn’t you like to know more? Wouldn’t you like to make a new friend? Your new friend might have excellent snacks. You’ve probably napped on the same hills. Maybe you swear by the same sock brands or both met that guy with the massive, angry wolf dog that walks around the borders in winter. You both survived the wolf dog! Maybe you’ll fall in love. Maybe in two years’ time you’ll be back at this perfect camp spot where you met to decide to spend your lives together, and then you’ll bring your babies (or puppies) here, and the babies will grow up and you two will grow old and when you die your ashes will be scattered together in this enchanted and sacred space where your love story began.
Oh Chris, it might be magical. Or maybe they’ll just be a prick. Look, I might give advice but you can’t hold me responsible for the outcome. At the very least you walk away with a story – but only if you stick around for the plot.
Every month, one reader who writes to Juls with an Uphill Struggle will win an £100 voucher to spend with Highlander Outdoor.
