Rais-forest shower

Over the past couple of years we've come up with all sorts of ideas about a shower at the woods and had pretty much settled on the bucket shower - the kind used in safari tents across Africa. A very simple arrangement with a bucket full of warm water suspended above your head with some kind of tap to turn the water on and off. Perfect for "navvie" showers where you can get wet, turn it off, lather up, turn it back on and rinse.
Armed with a spare water butt tap, some hose pipe and a massive selection of old watering can roses (who else has a collection of 8 in their shed?, or have I just got some weird obsession?), I head off to Rais hoping Simon can create something suitable with them whilst we ladies get covered in clay.
Simon arrived equally armed with a collection of bits and pieces, but more importantly... a bucket. We looked for a suitable place to site the shower, unsure whether the stream would simply get contaminated with washing products - not everyone knows to use products like Ecover or Incognito. But since we can control (to a certain degree) what people at Rais use in the shower, it was decided that the original location in the pool area would be as good a place as any to give it a try. At least being in or on the water means easy access to it and no need to worry about creating an underfoot soak-away. Also half the steps were already in and therefore it needed less work to provide safe access. Plus of course the water is deep enough there to double as a refreshing bath if you so wished! (or in Simon's case, a beer fridge).

Eco-friendly Mosquito-repellent hair and body
wash from Incognito

I was not involved in the build at all and only really saw it when it was functional (standing like an excited kid in my swimmers with towel waiting to get in!). It did not disappoint, and I was treated to the luxury version with a whole bucket of hot water to myself - 3 minutes of bliss after a hard days clay-making.
You stand on a solid wooden bridge that straddles the deepest part of the stream which has, over time, formed a circular pool. You have a cracking view either across the way-leave to the sunny south, or into the woods on the Eastern side. There is an optional shower curtain, but it's in a fairly secluded spot and, as such, the only spectators are likely to be the birds, bees and butterflies.  I love it and it was a truly magical way to end a gruelling day, mostly spent itchy, hot and covered in clay.