Scotland Wild camping v Camp sites

[gloomyandy]

Hi Folks,
So in Scotland you can within reason pretty much wild camp anyplace you want (though you may not always want to). On a recent trip to the Hebrides, I noticed that a lot of the places that used to be well known for wild camping now seemed to have some sort of organized site on them. These ranged from the site at Horgabost which charges £7.50 per night for a small tent to £2.00 at Uig Sands. Both had water and toilets (I think Horgabost may also have showers), but are pretty basic. Now I don't object to paying a fee for the upkeep of the facilities (and to support the local economy a little), but I'm curious as to exactly what the legal position is? In particular at Horgabost the area used by a lot of tents seemed to be simply the tops of the dunes and was fenced off from the bulk of the site that seemed to be used more for camper vans etc. There also seemed to be a few more signs indicating that camping was not welcome around the islands.

Now obviously if you want to wild camp it is not hard to find spots on the islands that are a little more out in the wilds and discrete, but these may not be quite as idyllic as the the two locations above (which really are in great locations). So I'm interested in how others view this sort of thing. Do you avoid an organised camp site as much as possible? Are you happy to use them and pay the fee? Do you use the land but not the facilities and refuse to pay (is this legal?). Also for any regular visitors to Scotland and particular to the islands have you noticed much of a change?

The last time I toured up there I avoided the site at Horgabost as it just seemed too busy. I would happily have paid the £2 at Uig Sands but didn't go out that way. I'm not sure why but the £7.50 seemed a little over the top to me, but I happily paid a similar amount to camp on Mull (though the facilities at that site are better, but the view not so good!)... So no sort of consistency from me then!

Andy

[pjclinch]

For Some Values Of "any place you want", of course, because you can only wild camp somewhere it's pretty much wild...

The MC of S have a document about it at http://www.mcofs.org.uk/assets/wild%20camping%20advice%201011.pdf and there are some salient points worth taking in to account. One of which would be:

Part of the adventure of real wild camping is finding your own secluded spot rather than resorting to popular congregational places that tend to be overused and often damaged

Further down we see:

Roadside or informal camping
Although camping beside a road is not wild camping, it does take place and is lawful. Following a few simple guidelines can reduce any impacts, but whenever practicable the preference should be to use an official campsite with sanitation facilities

For me it's about playing the game by the rules so the access rights are maintained by my responsible use of them. Sometimes that means paying a fee for an organised site or going well out of my way to find somewhere with real solitude