Festival rocks to nature’s beat
IT’S been two years since I last pitched my tent and spent a night under the stars...or clouds.
So, the tent is ready, the inflatable bed is hole-free and I have plenty of clothes as the forecast for this weekend is not ideal, but getting better.
As foreign holidays are still out of reach, many of my friends have taken the opportunity to take their tents and camper vans out into faraway places on this wonderful island.
They will be heaving camping stoves and waterproofs across rough terrain to find the perfect spot.
To be honest, I am not heading for some wilderness, instead I will be pitching up at my annual visit to Strummercamp, at Oldham Rugby Union Club.
Yep, camping at Strummercamp means spending time at one of the UK’s friendliest festivals, with a bunch of lovely friends I have met over a decade and a bit.
And we listen to some pretty fine music too.
But I love camping out, there is something special about waking up with just a thin layer of cloth between you and the Great Outdoors, no matter where you are. You can bask in the sunshine or listen to rain pitter-pattering on the canvas.
It is a lovely way to awaken...and suddenly realise where you are!
It’s a weekend away from work, but it’s a weekend among the birds, bees and other assorted insects who pop in to visit or buzz around your tent in the sunshine.
In the mornings, I always like to wander down to Daisy Nook Country Park and along the old Manchester and Ashton-Under-Lyne Canal. At this time of year there are lots of wild flowers being visited by bees, dragonflies and damselflies.
At night, you can sit on the stone steps overlooking the main rugger pitch and watch bats flying overhead and look out for brown hares, coming out of the undergrowth and running faster than any winger could imagine.
While conservationists would prefer overgrown areas of grassland, rugby pitches do come in handy, particularly when they are wet.
Don’t be surprised to see blackbirds, robins and thrushes seeking food.
In fact, I have seen flocks of oystercatchers using these areas as a buffet of insects and worms.
Deer and foxes will have passed through seeking food, particularly when it becomes scarce on the nearby moors.
There are some excellent trees around this lovely rugby field which are great perches for kestrels and sparrowhawks, in case any small mammals try to dart towards the try-line.
The RUFC is very much a border control between the urban fringe of Ashton and Oldham and Daisy
Nook and the Pennines are on its doorstep, but I think they do an amazing job keeping some lovely wild, flowery areas around the pitches.
This weekend my wildlife watching will have a soundtrack of the Freshies “I’m in love with the girl on the Manchester Virgin Megastore checkout desk” and Trevor Roods Buffalo Soldiers singing “One Love.”
Punk rock, reggae and wildlife really do work well together.