So I was pretty beat and ignored the signs at the rest stop specifically saying 'no camping or overnight parking'. A little guiltily I planned to lounge around until it got dark and only then set up so I could always claim to just be resting. I would sleep more in the trees and leave very early.

Plans made and alarm set, I slid into my sleeping bag (no tent so I could leave more quickly), and, with a slight pang of conscience, went to sleep.

Sometime in the night, a chipmunk took exception to my presence and jumped onto me. Specifically it managed to land on my bruised leg (the bruises did turn up) and woke me up. Luckily I quickly identified the chittering so it was no issue for me to fall straight back to sleep.

Even later I was woken again. This time more worried. Something was walking through the woods near me. To my newly awake and anxious ear, it sounded roughly as loud as 90kg man walking through the woods (or my father at any rate).

Several thoughts and actions began, seemingly simultaneously:

1: Uh oh. Uh oh. Uh oh.

2: It's big and seems to be sniffing my bags.

3: The bear spray would probably be handy now, whatever animal it is. Well, not gonna happen. It's on the outside pocket of the pannier away from me that the whole bike is lying on. Maybe the super bug spray. If I get the eyes. That's on this side. But I can't see it to grab it. So I need my light. That's packed too. Anyway I don't want to turn on the light and scare it.

4: I don't want to have a light and see what it is. Ignorance isn't bliss but seems better than the alternative

5: Could I hit it with my kindle?

6: [out loud] Ok poppet (a Cumbrian term of casual endearment used for people younger than oneself; wholly inappropriate for wild animals) so I'm Anna and I'm human. Those are my bags. I'd really rather you went away. So poppet (still inappropriate), why don't you just go away now and we'll pretend this never happened and both go back to sleep.

7: A park person's going to find me tomorrow, shake their head and say "This is why it clearly says no camping".

After I stopped talking, there was just an empty silence. Not even the crickets which seemed to accompany every other moment were stirring. Strained and anxious, I could hear nothing else and eventually fell into an uneasy slumber.

The next morning, I woke at 5:30, just before my alarm. It was still dark but I wasn't going to risk anymore wdlife that night. By 6, I turned on the lights on my bike and was ready to brave the road instead.