Cycling UK Forum

how safe is it to wild camp. i've never done it before................
im new to this touring malarkey (road cyclist). i'll probably start in the uk ie scotland. but what about france and spain etc how safe is it?

Safe from what?

Googling suggests you'll only find the common adder like in the UK, but there's always rabies ... I stayed in France with a pharmacist who was on call to give injections ...

bogeyman and things that go bump in the night and then there's the axe man along with the little critters with sharp teeth

Yeah, its amazing how a hedgehog can sound just like a mad axeman when you're alone in a tent!

Someone asked on a recent thread how we got into cycle touring. I forgot to add in my post that it was partly so that I would always be within easy reach of a campsite, something that wasn't possible by backpacking or hitch-hiking (I always ended up wild camping by the side of the road). So my question is why would anyone want to wild camp by bike in the UK? I know there are wilder places accessible by MTB and I know that there are parts of the UK without many campsites but for the sake of a few pounds it seems pointless not to use them if available. And, no, wild camping isn't dangerous (apart from being shot at by lampers... )

bogeyman and things that go bump in the night and then there's the axe man along with the little critters with sharp teeth

exactly!

It is surprising how much noise a hedgehog can make if you've never heard one

horizon wrote:Someone asked on a recent thread how we got into cycle touring. I forgot to add in my post that it was partly so that I would always be within easy reach of a campsite, something that wasn't possible by backpacking or hitch-hiking (I always ended up wild camping by the side of the road). So my question is why would anyone want to wild camp by bike in the UK? I know there are wilder places accessible by MTB and I know that there are parts of the UK without many campsites but for the sake of a few pounds it seems pointless not to use them if available. And, no, wild camping isn't dangerous (apart from being shot at by lampers... )

Why would anyone not want to wild camp if you are in good wild camping country and the weather is good, why waste a few pounds paying for a campsite with rip off prices, noise, etc?
I'm talking about wild camping here as opposed to stealth camping. For me, stealth camping is only for when you get stuck with no alternative, but wild camping is by choice.

So for 40 years i've been camping when cycling or walking ..usually by a stream with a bank at least 1/2 a meter high ..... when did that become "wild camping" ... i've been swimming in rivers and lakes for even longer ...but apparantly its now "wild swimming" ... some people need to get out more .... .. lol