Wild Camping given the go ahead in the Lake District

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Mar 8, 2015
6
0
London, UK
Howdy! I had a brief search but couldn't spot that this had gone up.

I am an avid wild camper, living in London and utilising what space I have here is key.

Anyway, I was browsing through areas for an epic summer wild camp (actually looking at wild camping the coast to coast, but more on that another time) and I came across this on the Lake District website. http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/wheretostay/wildcamping Copied below for ease of reading...


"
The Lake District National Park has many campsites, often in fairly wild and very beautiful locations. You can see a list on our Camping and caravanning page.Camping away from an organised campsite is called wild camping. Legally wherever you camp you must have the permission of a landowner to camp on their land, though there is a tradition of wild camping in the Lake District.
In the past, camping has often been tolerated as long as people:

  • camp above the highest fell wall, well away from towns and villages
  • leave no litter - this includes not burying any litter and removing other people's
  • don't light any fires, even if there is evidence that fires might have been lit
  • stay for only one night
  • keep groups very small - only one or two tents
  • camp as unobtrusively as possible with inconspicuous tents which blend in
  • leave the campsite as you would want to find it
  • carry out everything you carried in
  • carry out tampons and sanitary towels. Burying them doesn't work as animals dig them up again
  • choose a dry pitch rather than digging drainage ditches around a tent or moving boulders
  • perform toilet duties at least 30 metres - 100 feet - from water and bury the results with a trowel
  • at all times, help protect the environment
Sometimes groups, such as young people on awards schemes, have arranged permission for camping in advance. However this does not mean these sites are open to everyone. Please check. Camping in car parks or on roadside verges is not allowed.
As the National Park Authority we do not have the power to allow camping on private land and we do not permit camping on the land that we own.
Wherever you pitch, please remember that the landowners or their representatives have the legal right to order you to break camp and move on.
"


I am gleefully astounded that they have taken such a realistic and sensible approach to this and hope that many more do so. Whilst not giving open permission for the world and his dog to rock up, they are effectively saying that as long as you are respectful about how you do it, following the guidelines given, that it is tolerated. As long as it is not on private land as well, of course.

There will likely be the odd few that violate these rules and ruin it for everyone, but I hope and feel that we are slowly coming around to being more respectful about how we wild camp. That is definitely the key to showing the gov/private land owners that its not such a terrible thing after all.
 
May 20, 2015
5
0
Berks
Hasn't it always been like that? I went hiking and camping there as a youth and we just pitched where we wanted and I don't remember having to be stealthy about it. Our orange Vango's were not unobtrusive
 

boatman

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 20, 2007
2,444
4
77
Cornwall
There once was a National Park campaign in the Lake District for people to use green tents rather than vividly coloured ones. Nothing in the announcements about NOT camping.
 

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