Wild Camping Petition.

[featured_spectre]

LEGALISE WILD CAMPING IN THE UK - e-petitions

 

This is something close to me. In Sweden and other European countries, wild camping is legal, with little issue, yet the UK has an obscured view on this. Please sign the petition to help get the legislation changed.

[eyetea]

LEGALISE WILD CAMPING IN THE UK - e-petitions

 

This is something close to me. In Sweden and other European countries, wild camping is legal, with little issue, yet the UK has an obscured view on this. Please sign the petition to help get the legislation changed.

 

Have popped my name down, will share within my Scouting circles

[Dos_Box]

What? Do you mean you don't enjoy paying £25 a night to camp in a field with hundreds of other people!

[featured_spectre]

Not really no, especially when they're loud, obnoxious, leave the place in a mess. I've been to many a camp site which has been awful, and now I'd rather camp in my garden if I want to do it.

 

I would love to camp on any public land, even if it is the woods behind my house, but alas, not an option whilst it is illegal.

[abillybob]

I camp loads of times on public land and I've never got into trouble? I never even knew this was a law, the police drove past once and we never had any grief... though I am worried now and @Galway makes a good point but I think I'll still sign it!

 

Only 541 signatures at the time of this post.... don't think it's doing very well to be honest.

Edited August 28, 2014 by abillybob

[featured_spectre]

Wild camping is that, camping on wild lands. You can stretch it for 2 weeks if you really wanted too, but by that point you'd be damaging the surrounding environment. However the current view is, any form of camping on land that isn't sanctioned for it, will damage the wildlife. Yet studies in Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Belarus have shown that when people do wild camping with the rules laid out in the law, it is generally respected, with less than 1% of people doing actual harm to the environment.

 

The people that actively would like to do wild camping, are the ones that would respect the law and the traditions of bushcraft, and it is an ideal chance to teach children about the wilderness.

 

You saying that it will be abused, the same can be said for anything else. Driving can be abused, Alcohol can be abused, yet both are perfectly legal to do or use.

[laserblazer]

We've just come back from Northumberland and I did notice a couple of tents tucked away pretty much out of sight. If wild-camping was legalised then it would open the floodgates and what beautiful countryside we have left would be littered with varying hues of canvas and the detriment left behind when they finally leave. In the Algarve, wild campervans are a big problem, taking over carparks, using public facilities and tipping their portaloos into the storm drains. The authorities are now starting to get tough, with early morning raids and eviction.

[pcstru]

I'm reluctant to sign but am somewhat sympathetic. There seems little in argument other than that the law only 'disadvantages' the law abiding. That argument can be applied to any law - criminals by definition break the law. Law abiding citizens, by definition, do not. So it tells us little about the merits of the law or the actual problems that may be faced when considering a change in the law. The problem with wild camping is that all land in England has a legal owner and there are laws of trespass which give owners rights over who may be on the land and for what purpose. The only bar to "wild camping" is therefore getting the permission from the owner, which seems relatively sensible (and does result in some owners - NT Dartmore for example, welcoming 'wild campers').

 

So what would a law look like that didn't require the permission of the landowner? What problems might arise from that? A discussion which addressed the actual issues would be much better than the blanket "laws only inconvenience the law abiding". When that argument is pulled out of the hat, I'm suspicious that there is very little merit in a proposal - although (I like to think) I'm happy to be shown I'm wrong.

[visioN]

I am also reluctant to sign.

 

I think too many people would abuse & damage wild life.

 

I'd love to wild camp... camping on a camp site is boring and like you say may as well do in your garden!

 

Would be interested if they had a dedicated area to "wild camping" - then it can be closely controlled & monitored for damage and have to sign in so you can be traced, but still be out in the wild.

[synaesthesia]

Reluctant to sign that, as much as I like the idea of camping (haven't been for years) doing so in uncontrolled areas may cause more problems than it's worth. Plus I have little doubt it could be very well abused by certain groups of people.

[Chris_]

I don't think it would lead to considerably more damage to the wildlife and countryside. The youths go out 'wild' camping, lighting fires in the woods, leaving empty cans and rubbish behind at the minute. The people that want to legally be able to wild camp are the ones that would tidy up after themselves and leave no mess behind. Edited August 28, 2014 by Chris_

[featured_spectre]

So what would a law look like that didn't require the permission of the landowner? What problems might arise from that? A discussion which addressed the actual issues would be much better than the blanket "laws only inconvenience the law abiding". When that argument is pulled out of the hat, I'm suspicious that there is very little merit in a proposal - although (I like to think) I'm happy to be shown I'm wrong.

 

It is not a case of breaking trespassing laws. What it is, is opening up land like Ashridge park, or other publicly owned or funded land (excluding wildlife trust land etc) for wild camping. If I went camping in a farmers field, I fully expect to get prosecuted for trespassing. IF I currently go camping at Ashridge or other public owned/funded land, I can be prosecuted for trespassing, along with a whole host of wildlife endangerment charges when no danger presents itself. I am a responsible camper, I practice bushcraft frequently, I tidy and clean after myself when I camp, and leave very little trace that I was actually on site.

[pcstru]

It is not a case of breaking trespassing laws. What it is, is opening up land like Ashridge park, or other publicly owned or funded land (excluding wildlife trust land etc) for wild camping. If I went camping in a farmers field, I fully expect to get prosecuted for trespassing. IF I currently go camping at Ashridge or other public owned/funded land, I can be prosecuted for trespassing, along with a whole host of wildlife endangerment charges when no danger presents itself. I am a responsible camper, I practice bushcraft frequently, I tidy and clean after myself when I camp, and leave very little trace that I was actually on site.

So rather than requiring a change in law, isn't it just a case of persuading the owners of the land to open up at least some of the space to allow 'wild camping' such as the National Parks have done with Dartmoor?

[featured_spectre]

No, because it would still be illegal. Dartmoor have restrictions, stating you cannot stay for more than a day in the same location and you have to be in certain locations to do it. I would like it to be so that I could go to a woodland, pick a nice spot, and camp for a little while.

 

Obviously there would be zones restricted, but woodlands, or open land like Dartmoor it should be allowed. It isn't an issue across Europe (looking further, the UK are the only set of countries in the EU to have outlawed wild camping).

[Chris_]

It is not a case of breaking trespassing laws. What it is, is opening up land like Ashridge park, or other publicly owned or funded land (excluding wildlife trust land etc) for wild camping. If I went camping in a farmers field, I fully expect to get prosecuted for trespassing. IF I currently go camping at Ashridge or other public owned/funded land, I can be prosecuted for trespassing, along with a whole host of wildlife endangerment charges when no danger presents itself. I am a responsible camper, I practice bushcraft frequently, I tidy and clean after myself when I camp, and leave very little trace that I was actually on site.

 

IIRC trespass is a civil matter and you can't be prosecuted solely for trespass.

[elsiegee40]

Trespass is a civil issue and you can only be sued. I know a lot about this as my father spent most of the 1970s and 80s negotiating access rights for canoeists on rivers... the two are interlinked.

 

The problem is that most "wild land" is actually in private ownership. Even in National Parks, the land is rarely owned by public bodies, but by individual land owners; some own a lot and some are just small farmers. The National Trust owns lots of land, but it is a charity and not publicly funded. It restricts access due to conservation ... its land holdings are carefully managed to protect wildlife.

 

There were the mass tresspasses came in the 1930s to force land owners to allow people to roam on the land they own. As a result, the high ground land owners, who wanted to keep people off their grouse moors, were forced to allow access on public footpaths in England.

 

I understand people wanting to camp anywhere they please, but we have relatively little land here in the UK compared with other countries... and very little of what we have is truly wild. Incidentally the law regarding access is different in Scotland to England... so people need to be clear what they are asking for.

 

Personally, I won't be voting.

Edited August 28, 2014 by elsiegee40

[laserblazer]

If you join the Camping and Caravanning Club, they have dispensation to use certified locations. Might be worth considering Certificated Sites - smaller sites, exclusive to members - The Camping and Caravanning Club

[Gibbo]

I won't be signing. Wild camping is fine as it is. There's a good community of campers who know how to do it properly so it needs to be kept off the radar as much as possible.

 

Traditional camping has been ruined by people who don't know the basics and make loads of row after midnight, slamming car doors, talking in their tents like they're in their houses at home, along with uncaring site owners who just want £££££££££££ and don't want the hassle of confronting anyone.

 

It was the same with urban exploration - a great underground hobby. Then it became mainstream and got spoilt by people wrecking, stealing and having sites locked down or having extra security, along with heavy handedness from the police.

 

Its not illegal in Scotland, so lets keep it that way and keep the plebs on the official sites.

Edited August 29, 2014 by Gibbo

[Dos_Box]

OK, this is an 11 year thread resurrection, but those of you who like wild camping may like to see this news:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/may/21/wild-camping-on-dartmoor-is-legal-supreme-court-rules

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c24995gjdy0o

 

 

 

 

[southhamster]

I'll get me tent, and coat...😁

[PotNoodleTech]

Let me report this thread necro to the Admin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh wait!!!