"Wild Camping in England"

[grantw]

Seems how camping in England outside of a fairly grim dedicated camp ground here. How do you guys go about it?

Being from australia and never really camping here what advice can you give? Are places like Exmoor, Dartmoor, New Forest etc off limits for this? And what happens if you're caught?

 

[karl webster]

I have done loads of wild camping Grant. Never had any issues. We always make sure ALL rubbish is bagged and taken with us and just generally respect the ground where we are. Can't really see as someone could do a lot personally. If approached just be polite etc and all should be good.

 

[Shayne]

As far as i'm aware the rule is you must move on if asked to and thats about it . Unless you turned up in convoy i bet you could camp in the gardens right outside your local council offices for a week before anyone worked out who's job it was to tell you to move on !
Like Karl says respect the grounds and keep things tidy or you could find yourself up in court for creating a public nuisance .

 

[Ben]

If your wild camping at weekends, then Forestry Commission land is great because they dont log at weekends.

We normally camp on forestry land, and have never had any problems.

I dont think I'd want to camp on a farmers field/land without gaining permission first. I think there could be confrontation, and a lot of the farmers I've met dont like us going out green laning.

 

[Caron De Kock]

We have sucessfully wild camped in Wales several times near Strata Florida and Brechfa. We have used a car park to a very rual country park and open fields with no problems at all. Karl is spot on , we always leave the area cleaner than we found it, taking all rubbish with. We also have some Welsh friends who say the Welsh are very relaxed about wild camping though this is unofficial...! Those areas have some stunning green lanes as well

 

[Lorin]

New forest isn't possible in a vehicle. All car parks are regularly patrolled at night. Easy enough to walk in and camp somewhere though. I think you'll struggle to wild camp on National Trust land more than forestry commission as it tends to be much more patrolled. I've wild camped in New Forest for years, just make sure no trace is left and you're not spotted walking in with your gear.

 

[grantw]

Thanks for the tips (and reassurance) guys. Forestry commission land looks like the way forward!

 

[Chris Green90]

From what I could find when I was looking it is a very very gray area. I can't remember exactly which way round it is but from what I read is that it is either "illegal but not against the law" or "against the law but not illegal" I know that makes no sense but that what I found.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Few bits:

-Scotland
Wild Camping is fine, but NOT vehicle camping. Wild camping in Scotland, under the Scottish Access Code, is permissible but it is intended to be lightweight backpacking type camping. ie if you park the car in a layby and walked 20m or so from the vehicle and set up camp there it wouldn't be a problem (except for certain areas)
I've seen cars parked at the side of a main road, and then a tent on the other side of a farmers hedge!

-England
Low level wild camping is a bit of a challenge; there isn't that much land accessible really; as Ben and others have said the Forestry Commission stuff is the best bet. In the New Forest I'd not bother; have a look at the Forest Enterprise sites, there are some smaller ones there but it's so popular that it's hard to wild camp (although I have as part of my Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeds as both a leader and a participant, but that's done with full consent on specific sites that are agreed with the councils)
The rule for walkers is (unofficially) above the last fence line on the high level routes; typically this is above about 500-600m and is often the case in the Lakes, Peaks etc.
Exmoor, Dartmoor etc I'm not so sure on as I've not used those areas.

-Wales
Very much the same as England; there's the same access legislation (CROW Act 2000) so much of it is the same.
There are some good wilder official campsites around in Snowdonia; Gwn Gof Uchaf and Gwn Gof Ilaf (next to one another) are both pretty wild, but do have facilities.

I suppose to sum it up, England and Wales are bit of a minefield, but Scotland is easier... BUT the laning in Scotland is harder because they don't mark on the maps what a BOAT is any longer (perhaps find an older map?), whereas in England and Wales they do. In all cases the easiest way would be to "walk" in with minimal kit, as that avoids the issue of a vehicle being in the wrong place (which in England and Wales could open you up to Trespass prosecution because the argument is that the vehicle has done damage)

Obviously Leave No Trace; if you brought it in, you can bring it out (plus anything else you may find).

Hope that helps, as I think of more I'll add to it.

With regards to the legal side of things; trespass is generally a civil matter, so the Police aren't that fussed... unless you're itinerant workers who have set up a large number of caravan's and deal in scrap metal...

 

[grantw]

Thanks Ed .. some more food for thought.

The scottish one puts quite a twist on the use of a RTT or for that matter sleeping in your car ... essentially making it illegal to use one anywhere?

 

[Red Oktober]

some info on Dartmoor ...

Backpacking and sleeping wild on Dartmoor is tremendous under clear skies. Camping for one or two nights on the open land on Dartmoor is perfectly acceptable provided that you choose your spot sensibly and don't pitch your tent on farmland, on moorland enclosed by walls, on flood plains or on archaeological sites. Lightweight camping equipment should be used and large family frame tents should not be used.
Please ensure that you pitch your tent discreetly at least 100m from a road and so that you are not visible from the roadside or in sight of residential properties.

taken from here http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/visiting/vi-enjoyingdartmoor/camping

 

[sae70]

I've been wild camping for a couple of years now, mostly around Wales and a little in England and have not yet had any trouble with respect to being moved on, touch wood. I often return to the same spots as they become like an old friend and have a safe feeling about them. Some of the regular spots I use come about as a result of spending time laning with others that already use these spots for themselves and others come about directly from doing a specific recce for wild camping spots. I couldn't tell you the hours I've spent looking along a pre-planned route with Google Earth for possible wild camping spots, making a note of the Log & Lat position for further investigation when in the area. On our last three day trip my m8 Giles went up a whole day ahead of the main group to Recce for a wild camp spot for our second night, I'm sure those that were there will agree it was a good'un. Its also a good idea to keep an eye out for potential sites when in an area for future use and well worth just stepping out of the truck for a moment to have a kick around a potential spot or even to divert from a pre planned route for a recce for potential sites if you spot something on the map or out of the window.

If you have an RTT then there are a huge number of well used car parks, laybys and tucked away places used by owners of motorhomes, caravans and the horsey set with horse boxes, not to mention the motor-X boys in their vans. I have camped in a couple of car parks used by the horsey set to access forest bridle paths in my ground tent on the verge at the edge of the car park. The horsey lot set up a complete stables for the weekend out the back of their huge horse box motor homes.

I'm a member of this forum here http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/ It does lean more towards the motorhome owner, but has some good advice and some good spots, even for ground tent users if you think out of the box a little

 

[Jon_Tallis]

I'd echo all of the above, especially "leave not trace" but with one addition.

DON'T camp on any enclosed land without asking the landowner first. If you can't find them - find somewhere else. How would you feel if you woke up and found someone camped in your front garden?

 

[Paddler Ed]

Red Oktober, I wonder how they'd define camping next to a RUPP/BOAT on Dartmoor? It's a road, so they'd want you at least 100m away on their definition.

However, saying that Dartmoor's guidance is very succinct and covers pretty much everything that others have said.

Forgot to say that discrete small tents (ie a swag or something else coloured green) for open ground, or a hammock and tarp in the trees for forest (see DD Hammocks for a good range that aren't bank breaking like Hennessy Hammocks are!) are good ways to dodge being spotted. Bright orange Vango Force 10's stick out like a sore thumb...