Good place in devon/cornwall for bushcraft camping

[wozza]

hi guys and galls my first post here , im looking for someware in the devon cornwall area that i can go to and do some rabbit traping set up camp make a fire and just get away from stuff for a couple of days.

Is there anyware around here for that kinda stuff?

Cheers james

 

[Geoffrey_Bubbles]

I've stayed at southpenquite farm a couple of times and that is a nice site. It feels very remote, has virtually no light pollution (except on the distant horizons), allows real fires and the owners are friendly. They have a lot of space too and there is some nice ground to cover nearby. Not sure about the rabbit hunting, but I guess there would be no harm in asking the owner if it was well away from the actual site itself, most farmers are only too happy to be rid of the little buggers.

That said, this site is popular with scouting groups, etc, so you would want to ask what weekends were looking quiet or go slightly out of season (which is when I've been and had the place to ourselves one weekend).

Check out http://www.southpenquite.co.uk/

There are loads of nice campsites down that way though, but 'campsites' more often than not are more geared towards families and the casual camper, and very few allow real fires.

I'm sure others will have some suggestions for you...

Geoff

 

[Nightwalker]

Firstly a warm welcome to the community here wozza. Im sure you will find this community to be a useful resource.

Regards camping locations; I have a location for you its been a holly grail to me in the past Lucky Tor, Dartmoor.

As far as I am aware from what I have read from the Dartmoor National Park Authority's website you are aloud to camp and have a fire on dartmoor as long as you meet certain criteria. I cant recall the criteria now because currently their website is down, but it had a number of basic stuff in like it cannot be within 300m of a road or a wall, other stuff like that. If I've got it wrong please inform me folk!

Anyways about Lucky Tor; it has beautiful scenery, a big river to fish (if legal - check the legality of it first!) and walks too. I first visited this spot as a younger teenager a good number of years ago, our teacher recommended the place to us and a group of us young teenagers went off on our first week long camping adventure!

You can see photos of that visit here:
http://www.ashleycawley.co.uk/luckytor/
(Yes I was the one who fell in the mud! )

In 2004 me and my girlfriend visited Lucky Tor for the first time in the winter, as you can see the gallery is some what different as the previous:
http://www.ashleycawley.co.uk/luckytor2/

And then just recently (few weeks ago) me and my girlfriend visited again, this was my first camp with my new tarp, bivi-bag & sleeping bag, I greatly enjoyed it.
http://www.ashleycawley.co.uk/Lucky-Tor-2007/

As for getting there, you first drive to a carpark at Dartmeet on Dartmoor. You can find that here. Then its roughly a 2 mile walk I believe, over rocky/rough terran yet beautiful at the same time as it follows the large river chopping through a valley of woods either side. I've pulled the coordinates off my GPS and put them through Google maps for you, here is the spot.

Hope you enjoy your future adventures! Take care and be safe.

My friend Jack Bailey beside the river on our hike to Lucky Tor.​

 

[Nightwalker]

ps. Where abouts in Cornwall are you. Im in Newquay me

 

[wozza]

im in devon, good old bideford.

 

[wozza]

that place in dartmoor looks ideal, can u snair for rabbits there?
i realy want to try and get my own food other than carrying it with me, if i can fish that would rock as im a keen fisherman.

 

[benp1]

can anyone provide more info on legality of having open fires when there? if you can then it sounds damn good to me, and closer than the highlands!

 

[Nightwalker]

can anyone provide more info on legality of having open fires when there? if you can then it sounds damn good to me, and closer than the highlands!

What at Lucky Tor? Yeah, im pretty dam sure your fine. I've had camp fires numerous times there and have seen others do so. I remember reading on the Dartmoor National Park Authorities website (http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/) about camping and fires, im sure you had to meet a few requirements and then it was ok to have a fire, however having a quick search on their website now I cannot find that info, they provide a free booklet you can download about Wild Camping on Dartmoor, and worryingly it says; "do not light fires." - and no real further information

I dont know about trapping animals; but an educated guess would say that would be a no. Im guessing that to do some trapping you would need the landowners full permission and you would only be able to trap certain species, so I would say thats a no on Dartmoor.

Also I know the river there is protected regards fishing. How far that protection goes im not sure, you might be able to apply for fishing rights, research on their website, read & ask them questions if required.

I go there and treat the land with respect, I have a campfire, when I leave my camp I leave the land with no trace of me being there, I would suggest others do the same. If you dont want to have an open fire there is always the option of a little cooker, I recently just got this pocket cooker which burns natural fuel and packs very small. Hope some of that helps.

 

[marcusleftthesite]

As far as I understand it,you are not allowed to have an open fire anywhere on Dartmoor.The above website that Ashley has put up says under "backpacking and wild camping" No Fires.I just stick my primus on top of a flat bit of rock.

 

[leon-1]

As far as I understand it,you are not allowed to have an open fire anywhere on Dartmoor.The above website that Ashley has put up says under "backpacking and wild camping" No Fires.I just stick my primus on top of a flat bit of rock.

Yep 100% correct. No open fires on Dartmoor, most of the legislation is local and there are a number of byelaws that deal with open fires. The fines for open fires on Dartmoor are heavy.

There are camp sites like the Cockingford site that allow open fires in specific places, but as far as the open moor is concerned, it shouldn't happen.

You can use camping cookers and strangely enough BBQ's be they the little foil ones or the larger car portable ones. A suggestion would be some form of hobo stove with a fire tray as this blurs the lines as being fed by local fuel but it's contained and not directly on the ground.

 

[Nightwalker]

interesting, thanks for the info leon. Could you elabourate on the "heavy" fine? You know exactly how much? Also where does the info come from?

That news about the open-fire legislation is a bit disappointing to hear, its got me confused I swear a few years ago I read information direct from them that you were able to have a open-fire if you abided by a number of criterea. Im not doubting what your saying, im just wondering it had changed in the past few years (2-3)? Thanks.

 

[leon-1]

interesting, thanks for the info leon. Could you elabourate on the "heavy" fine? You know exactly how much? Also where does the info come from?

That news about the open-fire legislation is a bit disappointing to hear, its got me confused I swear a few years ago I read information direct from them that you were able to have a open-fire if you abided by a number of criterea. Im not doubting what your saying, im just wondering it had changed in the past few years (2-3)? Thanks.

I cannot be 100%, but IIRC it was in the three zeros mark, ie; up to the £1,000 or £2,000 mark. They brought it in at the same time that they started controlling swailing heavily if I am not mistaken, it's a few years back. I did a lot of research into it at the time and it was disconcerting to say the least.

Things may have changed, but I would suggest checking the byelaws for Dartmoor first, there were also laws to do with who you had to inform and time periods (mainly it was aimed at farmers, but it encompasses everyone using the moor as well).

My suggestion is check before hand, we all wish to stay within the boundaries of the law and protect the environment that we use. I wish you a fun time on the moor when you get a chance,

Leon.

 

[wozza]

well i email the dartmoor people asking them if i was allowed to camp have a open fire and trap for rabbits on dartmoor this is the email i got back.

James, You are allowed to wild camp on the open moor provided you
comply with certain regulations. These can be found on our website
www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk under Moor Care - Activities - Camping. One of
the main restrictions is that you must be out of sight of road or
habitation. Camping is not allowed in The Lucky Tor area. Fires are not
allowed on the moor & barbeques must be off the ground. You are not
allowed to fish in the rivers without a permit, and the setting of traps
or snares is also not allowed,
Jim Tappy DNPA

 

[Nightwalker]

Check out http://www.southpenquite.co.uk/

Too much moor and not enough woods for me. We tried, unfortunatly it was a wet, windy day and was a little disappointed with the lack of woodland for a small group of us. It did have a nice river with mossy banks and oaks, reminded me of the river Dart. In the end we headed for Woodland Valley at Ladock.

 

[Tengu]

I went to Mount Folly Farm, Bigbury by sea.

Cheap, and allow open fires, bring own wood.

 

[myotis]

We were at southpenquite farm at the bank holiday weekend just past. it was moderately busy, but all but a couple of tents packed up on the Monday (as we did).

No problems with fires, but its still a proper campsite albeit a rather nice one with good open views. We would go back to it.

Lots of rabbits around, so I might be tempted to email the owners and ask about trapping.

When we were there the camp site cat (the big ginger one) made a daily inspection of all the tents and on our last day he brought us a rabbit. It was laid down at my feet and the cat then alternated between nudging the rabbit towards me and rubbing himself against my legs.

Obviously frustrated at my lack of interest in his rabbit he eventually sat down at the tent door and ate it. The rabbit that is, not the tent door.

Graham