What's the first thing i buy that goes in my pack on my travels? Always?! I will let you ponder that whilst i tell you the other essentials.

Secondly, is a second set of clothes. Trousers, shirt and socks. If you get wet through and are in the middle of nowhere, once you found shelter and dried off, there just ain't nothing like getting into a fresh set of clothes. You know what i mean. You've all been caught in the rain before! Then hang up your wet clothes to dry. Technically, they have just been washed!

Next, cleanliness. Travelling, especially walking, makes you sweat. Even being still, your body's natural order is to dehydrate through your skin. Especially if you have been eating food your body is not used to. Washing regularly is essential. My feet, for example, i tend to EVERY night. Not just for the fact i"m on my feet all day, but my feet are pretty buggered. My left ankle i broke stepping into a rabbit hole about fifteen years back. So now my left ankle leans out and as a penance i have a corn on the sole of my foot. And pretty much all of my toes have been broken due to an accident when i was welding fabricating. And that WAS with steel toe caps on.

So, feet first. The rest of you...? In England and Europe it was easy to sneak into campsites at stupid o"clock in the morning and shower for free, dependant on where you are. If nowhere, budgie bath. More commonly known as strip wash. No shame in it. Being clean is important, so swallow your pride, strip, and wash!

So what to pack: soap. That's it! Simple, clean and effective. Does exactly what it says on the tin.

Just to add to that, i always pack a razor and some kind of mirror. Shave so you dont LOOK like a bum. I guess a phones camera would suffice as a mirror. If you have a phone eh!

And finally (yes, finally) is a plastic sheet of sorts. Something to use as a picnic blanket, something to sit on when the ground is wet, or lay down on. I usually use a Survival Bag. This is a simple yet awesome bit of kit. It's basically a large plastic bag, big enough for you to crawl into like a sleeping bag, but is 100% waterproof. THIS item has been my tent for the past fifteen years. Pros and cons are variable, but i choose it for these reasons:

1) it takes no time to put up. Just unfold it and get in.

2) it is a lot less conspicuous than a tent, so if your camping somewhere you shouldn't, even in a town centre (been there) this ly-lowing bag (behind a hedge row for example) will go unnoticed.

3) its light and takes up the space of a DVD boxset.

They are the four items i always have in my pack.

Oh, i almost forgot the first and most essential.

You ready?

Yep, duct tape. Trust. This one small item is a fecking saviour. Tent got torn by falling branch, no probs. Broken ankle with ten miles to nearest town and no phone, strap it up. Waterproof, repair, this kiddie is truly a god send.

Believe me, and thats why it goes in EVERY pack my friend x