Is wild camping in England legal or illegal? (Poll)

[horizon]

I've abstracted this query from another thread. It seemed worth focussing on it as it is obviously important for those who may be considering it or who fail to make it to a campsite.

Please say if you know which law it is which makes wild camping illegal in England (if you think it is), how camping is defined, whether common law or statute and whether it distinguishes between private land and say roadside verges and what the maximum penalty is.

Many thanks.

Please note: this thread refers to England not Scotland.

[Tangled Metal]

Needs a third option. It's mostly illegal but there are areas where it is legal. Sorry but I could not take part in the poll because none of the.options were right.

[Vorpal]

IMO, while there are circumstances in which wild camping could be illegal (e.g. criminal trespass upon rail verges/property, for example), in general, it is not. Trespass falls under tort (civil) law, and whilst someone could be held liable for trespass, or any damage done whilst wild camping, they cannot (with the exception of those trespasses specifically defined as criminal) be arrested for it.

It's rather like in a road traffic accident, even if a driver is not charged with something after an accident, s/he can still be held responsible for the damages. That is, they may not have done anything illegal or criminal, but still have to pay for repairs to another vehicle.

If someone camping there has asked and been given permission to camp, they cannot be held liable for any interference nor trespass, but can still be held liable for any damage.

[Tangled Metal]

There is a criminal law of trespass, IIRC the measure is related to whether trespass prevents the landowner.carrying out their legal business. I guess that would mean it is theoretically possible for it to be illegal anywhere. Whatever the real case it is not a clear system. Perhaps there is a need for what is allowed to be expressly written down in law regarding wildcamping.

[horizon]

Needs a third option. It's mostly illegal but there are areas where it is legal. Sorry but I could not take part in the poll because none of the.options were right.

Can you say why you think it is mostly illegal (I take that as a "yes", it is illegal) and what the exceptions are?

[Vorpal]

There is a criminal law of trespass, IIRC the measure is related to whether trespass prevents the landowner.carrying out their legal business. I guess that would mean it is theoretically possible for it to be illegal anywhere. Whatever the real case it is not a clear system. Perhaps there is a need for what is allowed to be expressly written down in law regarding wildcamping.

CPS guidance explains the law http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/tres ... e_on_land/

Unless you are on ambassadorial land, crown property, and a few other specific places, and you have not entered violently, or as part of a group (e.g. for a rave or protest) local authorities can only ask you to move. You have not commited an offence until you either refuse to move, or return within a proscribed period. A court order can also make it an offence for a person or group to enter a specific property.

I think Thirdcrank has posted ont his topic int he past, as well...

edited to add: this is about parking, but the discussion on trespass is valid viewtopic.php?f=7&t=90029&p=817431&hilit=trespass+civil#p817431

[Si]

<house keeping> Just as tents should always* be pitched in the correct area, so should threads </house keeping>



*or rather may be pitched most anywhere but may be asked to move on

[Tangled Metal]

Corrected myself later, my first post fell into the civil vs criminal trap. It's potentially illegal anywhere though AFAIK the measure is related to prevention of landowners business activities.

Then again what if the landowner catches you and asks you to leave. Do you have to? Failure to follow instructions to move on, is that something that converts it from civil.to criminal trespass? You do not have a legal right to wild camp in majority of areas, by that I mean you can wild camp and nothing the landowner can do about it.

The best attitude in my book is to forget about the law and be practical about it. Wild camp in discrete locations but be prepared to carry out any instruction to move on from landowners or.their agents. Also pitch up late.and move on early. Avoid.confrontation too. Arguing a legal point with a landowner is not good.for anyone. I think this attitude keeps informal wild camping open for others into the.future. IMHO the lakes is.a classic case of informal acceptance of wildcamping, usually.described as being OK above the intake wall.

[Tangled Metal]

Stand corrected Vorpal. Years ago I vaguely remember the Tories changed it to include a criminal trespass law. IIRC it was 20 plus years ago and I was not as into the outdoors as now. I do seem to recall something on the news about it where farmers could call the police in for a criminal trespass. It seems you are the saying that is not right. So if I pitched my tent in a field the farmer was about to prepare for a crop or harvest or carry out a commercial shoot on it is not criminal but civil?

[beardy]

Corrected myself later, my first post fell into the civil vs criminal trap. It's potentially illegal anywhere though AFAIK the measure is related to prevention of landowners business activities.

Then again what if the landowner catches you and asks you to leave. Do you have to? Failure to follow instructions to move on, is that something that converts it from civil.to criminal trespass? You do not have a legal right to wild camp in majority of areas, by that I mean you can wild camp and nothing the landowner can do about it.

The best attitude in my book is to forget about the law and be practical about it. Wild camp in discrete locations but be prepared to carry out any instruction to move on from landowners or.their agents. Also pitch up late.and move on early. Avoid.confrontation too. Arguing a legal point with a landowner is not good.for anyone. I think this attitude keeps informal wild camping open for others into the.future. IMHO the lakes is.a classic case of informal acceptance of wildcamping, usually.described as being OK above the intake wall.

It isnt illegal unless you do something beyond the wild camping which is in itself illegal. Driving is potentially illegal and becomes so if you drive while drunk or without insurance but driving is clearly not illegal in itself. The same goes for wild camping.

[loch eck steve]

Wild camping in England is most defenitly illegal ! In theory you should ask the land owners permission every time . In practise though this isen't always practical and most farmers will turn a blind eye as long as you respect the land.

[beardy]

Wild camping in England is most defenitly illegal

Go on then, back up the assertion by naming or referencing or linking to the law which is being broken.

[beardy]

It isnt even illegal to dump waste on private land!
The Police will not* investigate because it is a civil matter on private land, like other forms of trespass all you can do is sue for the damage caused and try and prevent it if you are in a position to try and do so.

The party doing the dumping isnt going to appear in a criminal court or get a criminal prosecution just for the dumping.

*they may do so if there are additional concerns.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
I cant answer that either, bylaws exist on commons for sure.
Highways another thing?
http://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/visiting/vi- ... or/camping
Wild camping

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. Please note that camping is not permitted on Cadover, Haytor, Holne Moor, Roborough and Spitchwick commons.


High ways -
http://www.motorhomeparking.co.uk/roads.htm

http://v-g.me.uk/WildCamp/WildCampLegal.htm

England and Wales except Dartmoor

All land is under the ownership of someone or some organisation, and legally, explicit permission to camp must be sought. In the vast majority of cases this is totally impractical of course, even if planned well in advance, let alone when a choice must be made in mid-backpack. Permission is very unlikely to be granted anyway since wild campers just might do some damage and will certainly do no good. On low-level routes which pass close to farms, apparently most farmers will allow a pitch for one night on request, and the Backpackers Club has a list of known regular farm pitches which is available to members.

Wherever you pitch, the landowners or their representatives have the legal right to order you to depitch and move on, and you must comply. In the mountains of the Lake District or Snowdonia this will almost certainly never happen but it just might in other areas or on low level routes, and you must be prepared to accept it. For interest, we have heard reports that somewhere on the northernmost part of the Offas Dyke Path, one local farmer has a habit of zooming up the hills on summer evenings on his quad-bike specifically to move on any ODP wild campers!. We personally know of one case where a camper was moved on in the Brecon Beacons not far from Pen y Fan, and there are reports that this area is becoming much more sensitive in this respect.


Mid / High level pitches

In practice, in the mountainous regions of the country, wild camping is generally accepted or at least tolerated on the 'open hill' above the farm intake walls. This is an imprecise and over generalised definition since walls and fences can often be found at all levels, but we recognise instinctively what it means when climbing the hills in any given location. You just 'know' when you have crossed this hypothetical boundary to open hillside as the land turns from working farm pasture to rough country. Even up here we try to pitch in a remote spot, away from any paths where possible for discretion (and privacy), and we have never had any problems.

There are also unwritten conventions which should come naturally to all who have a love and respect of our wild places:-
•Leave no trace of your presence
•Use unobtrusive tents: blend in and be inconspicuous
•No pitching en masse - very small groups only, one or two tents.

In the Dark Peak District, the access agreements expressly forbid wild camping, but in law this only makes the area the same as anywhere else in this respect. However in summer, the situation here is rather different due to the very delicate nature of the landscape and the very high fire risk. Park rangers actually walk out to the most likely areas to check for wild campers, and this is understandable when the peat is tinder dry and is basically a huge mound of fuel, and they have the constant worry of careless people starting a potentially extensive and devastating fire, such as those witnessed in recent years. The North York Moors has similar restrictions and the fire risk from camping stoves is again cited as a principal reason. Although in practice the risk from campers' stoves is very small, and certainly very much lower than that from carelessly discarded cigarettes, our advice would nevertheless be:-

** In dry summer spells, avoid wild pitching in these high-risk areas **

It isn't worth the potential hassle and ugly confrontations.

Low level pitches

On low level routes things are a bit more tricky. There are no really remote spots here and most of it is working farmland. However with some common sense and discretion, such routes can be wild camped successfully as we have done. The most important rule here is well known amongst regular backpackers - 'pitch late, leave early'. Also implied is the universal rule that you should leave no trace of your presence wherever you pitch. In summer, agricultural work often continues well into the evening and may force a late pitch.

A particular example worth mentioning is The Ridgeway, which we have done. We heard of a first-hand report of a local farmer who said that he often sees a tent pitched on the ridge, but he doesn't mind provided it is gone early by the time he sets off for his work and that no trace is left. This is entirely unofficial and is merely a statement of the way things are in practice at that location, but it shows that all can go smoothly for everyone if people show due consideration.

A final word

Landowners generally often get flack from the walking community, sometimes quite rightly, but judging by reports of the behaviour of some walkers we have to sympathise with their dislike of the idea of wild camping. One farmer, living close to a National Trail I believe, reported that people had relieved themselves on the open ground, heaved a stone from a drystone wall and just dropped it on top. This sort of thing is indefensible and gives all backpackers a bad name.

Then there is the problem of fire risk as emphasized above. The traditional image of sitting round a glowing campfire may be appealing, but we find it hard to believe that people still light open fires in areas of risk or next to paths. We have occasionally seen the remains of such fires, with stones arranged in a circle and charred wood leaving a scar on the land, and no attempt even to tidy the site afterwards. There is no excuse for this either - use a stove, or keep well away from paths and tidy up scrupulously.

The Backpackers Club expects members to maintain the highest standards of the craft.



Law......................its probable that you will just get passed along to the local authority.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2010/ ... ld-camping

"Wild camping – out on the hills, away from organised campsites – is technically illegal almost everywhere in England, unless you have special permission. And so I would like to deny in the strongest possible terms any suggestion that last week, in the company of a friend, I set out from the village of Buttermere, in the Lake District, on to the surrounding peaks for a first-time experience of British camping's edgiest subculture. Please take what follows, therefore, in the spirit of OJ Simpson's controversial "hypothetical" memoir If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, except without the bit about the horrific double murder.

Regular camping, as everyone knows, suffers from a fundamental contradiction: the urge to escape into rural tranquility tends to bring you, instead, a few unsoundproofed metres from noisy families, revving car engines, and smelly toilet blocks. Wild camping (illegal in England and Wales except for parts of Dartmoor, but broadly legal in Scotland) offers the solution"

Out of sight out of mind.....who cares....