Maybe it's the scale of it all. But after ten years since my first trip to the Lake District I still can't get over this place.
Home to both England's biggest lake and its tallest mountain, you could visit 100 times and still feel like you're missing things. This time I'm here to spend a few days with Nemo Equipment - a high end outdoor brand with a focus on lightweight kit.
For the uninitiated, Nemo was founded in the US by MIT graduate and sometime spacesuit engineer Cam Brensinger, who, after spending five night's bad sleep in a poorly designed bivvy sack, decided he could do better. Fast forward 20 something years and Nemo is firmly established in the US as a go-to for thoughtfully-made ultralight gear with a sustainable focus.
It's a newer presence in the UK though, and so I'm here as part of a campout to find out more about Nemo's latest products, along with Advnture contributor Gary Moore (who also happens to be my partner) and other journalists, including Sian Lewis, who was involved in the launch of this very site.
Gary and I have already been in the Lakes for 24 hours before the Nemo campout, taking the opportunity to photograph kit including the best wetsuit I've ever had, and an update on a Patagonia classic. Day one saw us hiking off the Hardknott Pass and swimming in the very cold and very fast River Esk, and then staying the night in a fun Scandinavian barbeque hut near Ambleside.
The next morning we head to Grasmere to photograph more kit, including two excellent changing robes from Zone3 and Red, before driving on to the National Trust's campsite at Great Langdale to meet the group for the campout. The campsite is definitely on the fancy side, with a dedicated drying room (more on that later) and hot showers available 24/7. With the forecast promising heavy rain, we're going to need both, but weather regardless, we arrive very much in the mood for more swimming, more hiking, and lots of gear chat.
There are half a dozen other outdoor writers in camp and in theory we're all competitors, working for rival sites and publications. In practice though, many of us already know each other, having bonded at trade shows and events over our mutual love of the outdoors and nerdish level of interest in the kit. From the outset, it's clear that we're going to get along just fine.
After a short round of introductions the Nemo team wastes no time giving us the low down on the brand's latest kit.
The technical bit: new tents
If you're familiar with Nemo tents already, you'll know that they're very light, beautifully designed, and come with a price tag that reflects both those qualities.
We're shown both existing tents, and upgraded versions coming in the next year, with the Dagger, Dragonfly and Hornet, all making an appearance. Coming for next season are more sustainable fabrics, solution dyes, and more room.
Despite their relatively low profiles, it's possible to sit up in every tent - a boon in rainy British weather, when you may unexpectedly get stuck under canvas for a couple of days. All the tents also have a 'landing zone' in the vestibule to stick shoes and backpacks for more sleeping space, and the larger tents have an opening on each side.
While Gary is very much a thru-hiker, having recently walked from Bristol to Ireland, I'm more of a car camper, so it's been a while since I slept in a tiny tent. Happily, the Nemo Dagger Ridge 3P we've been allocated easily keeps us cozy and dry, despite the often torrential rain that has unhelpfully decided to arrive after a month-long drought.
The Ridge versions of Nemo's tents have an updated pole structure, which adds both height, and more usable space - without extra weight. After two nights sleeping in this one, I'm a fan.
The technical bit: ultralight mats
Finding a sleep mat that's light, packable, comfortable and well-insulated, is a holy grail for any wild camper, and Nemo's Tensor sleep mats seek to answer that quest.
We're shown the latest Tensor sleep mats, including the Nemo Tensor Extreme Conditions sleep mat, which all feature 'suspended' insulation, that hangs between the top and bottom layer of the mat, massively reducing the noisy crinkling sound you often get when rolling over on a lightweight mat.
These mats are super lightweight and pack down to almost nothing, and I find myself marvelling - yet again - at how far this industry has come. We're also given a demo on how to use a pump sack, which I could have done with this summer when struggling to use one on my Therm-a-Rest mat.
The technical bit: spoon-shape sleeping bags
We're taken through a range of sleeping bags, most with Nemo's 'spoon' shape - which has a narrower middle section, but then flares out at the feet. It's an interesting compromise between rectangular bags and mummy-styles, that saves weight, while being a more comfortable option than mummy bags and better for side sleepers. Many of the bags have 'Thermo Gills' in the front - small sections that you can unzip to dump heat, which is a clever touch. I spend the first night in a Riff sack, while Gary has the Disco.
Both down bags hold up to the chilly damp conditions with remarkable ease and we agree the spoon shape is a winner, but I'm reminded when I wake up with a tight chest on the first morning that I'm slightly allergic to down and switch to the synthetic Forte for the second night. It's just as good, and it's going on my Christmas list.
Magic chairs: the Nemo Stargaze
With all that technical chat out of the way, it's time to relax. The Nemo team cook up a feast on the firepit (special shout out must go to Jo for her amazing homemade cakes) and we kick back in Nemo Stargaze chairs. Imagine a camping chair combined with a rocking chair and a recliner and you're on the right track. They are obscenely comfortable (admittedly with a pretty hefty price tag). There are two versions - the original Stargaze reclining chair, and the Stargaze Evo-X, which is a bit sturdier, a bit plusher, and quickly wins the vote over which of the two we prefer.
The group quickly divides between the rockers and 'non'-rockers, although, as you can see in my Insta post below, most of us eventually succumb. If I could take home a single piece of kit from the campout, it would be one of these.
The chat takes in some of our recent adventures and the revelation that one of our number doesn't know who Ilona Maher (US rugby legend) is - if you don't know either, you can check out her Instagram here and thank me later. We spend a while marvelling at how she's built her profile to become the most-followed rugby player in the world. We all agree she's awesome.
Swimming with monsters
The next morning the group splits into those keen for a five hour hike up the Langdale Pikes and, well, me. I have an old knee injury that makes me less nimble on the trails than I'd like. If I join the guided hike I'll be the one lagging at the back the whole time. And that's no fun.
So I set off on a solo adventure instead, making a short hike around the edge of Side Pike to Blea Tarn, where I want to swim. Once I'm off the road, a short wander around the side of another hill and through some very prehistoric-feeling woods, brings me to the lake.
Blea Tarn has existed for so long that the sediment on the bottom of the deepest parts hasn't been disturbed since this land was still covered in glaciers. I feel very privileged to be here.
It's pouring with rain and my only company is a female duck, who I share some of my lunch with before my dip. Because it's high up, the water is still and icy cold but I'm used to cold water, so I just chuck on my wetsuit and get in, admittedly with a gasp.
In recent years I've stopped putting my face in the water when I go wild swimming in the UK - the pollution scare stories are no joke. But I don't worry about that here. The water is clean and clear and high up enough that it's extremely unlikely that anything nasty is getting pumped into it,
I dip my head under and the water is pitch black. My lizard brain kicks in and I immediately foresee death by plesiosaur in my near future. The creeping dread so many people experience in open water is upon me. I know it's just a prey instinct, a genetic hangover designed to remind me not to swim with deep water underneath me (for there once were monsters), but it takes me a minute to recalibrate.
After managing to relax again and bobbing around for quite a while I feel like I've had enough, so I peel off my wetsuit in the water (much easier that way), but then the feeling of the cold against my actual skin is so lovely, I decide to stay in for a bit longer, and eventually strip off my bikini to swim naked. Life's too short not to skinny dip.
I do my best to dry off in the now pouring rain, and wander back to the campsite, taking in a pebbled path that runs down the side of Side Pike. I'm grateful for the Vivobarefoot hiking boots I've been testing recently, and my Silva walking poles, that aren't really designed for 'proper' hiking, but help to keep me upright on the steep decline anyway.
I arrive back at camp a little before the rest of the crew, and spread out my entire kit in the drying room before having a much needed hot shower.
The happy hikers return soon enough, with talk of swimming in waterfalls and trekking above the cloud line. I feel a pang of jealousy at not having been able to join in, but that's forgotten soon enough as the Nemo team starts cooking tonight's veggie chilli and we discuss the perfect S'mores combo.
As night falls the clouds miraculously clears and we pull our chairs out from under the awning, to spot a few constellations and track satellites across the sky.
Swimming in Coniston
After an action-packed couple of days we're ready to pass out soon enough, and crawl into our respective tents. Lots of heart-felt goodbyes are had the next morning, before Gary and I make one final stop - to swim in Coniston Water (here I keep my face out, as the big Lakes have seen increasing pollution).
The water is much warmer here, and there are ducks again.
I marvel at finding such peace in the middle of this crazy world and stretch out across the lake, once again reminded of how lucky I am to so all this and somehow call it work.
Food and accommodation at Great Langdale were provided by Nemo Equipment, without any editorial input to this piece aside from some of the photos you see here.
