How to plan a (legal) wild camping trip?

[ateallthepies]

I am trying to plan a couple of nights away and do some hiking and wild camping. At the moment it will be just me on my own and so far have come up with a trip to either the Lakes or Dartmoor.

I have just been looking at train fares and to be honest I'm gob smacked at the prices-about £90 return from Watford to the Lakes, not looked at fares to Dartmoor as I still have to scrape my jaw off the floor! Driving is no better what with the fuel prices, distance and leaving my van somewhere.

I really know nothing about either of these areas, I have enough sense to get to the general area but where to start a hike I have no idea? Take the Lakes, the station I could alight from is Oxenholme. Would I then hike straight from the station to the hills or do I need to travel to a certain area then hike?

If anyone could give me some pointers I could then refine my internet research to something other than 'getting from London to the lake district'!! What I would like to know is what to do after I get to the station and where to start a hike that is not too challenging as I'm pretty green.

I just need to get out and do this wild camping thing but am a little overwhelmed as to where to go. I almost have my gear sorted and will do a kit review soon for others to critique.

Ta for any advice,

Steve.

 

[bearbait]

I'm just back from a week's trip day-hiking on Dartmoor. AFAIK you can camp almost anywhere on Dartmoor (but not in the military areas when they're live-firing!) as long as you can't be seen from the road. See this National Park link for the full info. You can hike in the military areas as long as they're not live-firing; they also do exercises and attacks and so on using blanks: you are allowed in their bit of the moor during those exercises.

As far as trails go...just because there is a public right-of-way shown on your map (would recommend the 1:25k OL28) doesn't necessarily mean there is an actual trail visible on the ground. Found this from experience (one bridleway tried to lead me straight into a bog with no obvious path out the other side!) and also from talking to a moor resident. Other trails and tracks on your map will generally be there on the ground. There are a lot more trails on the ground than are shown on the map. Generally I found that there are trails from one peak/tor to nearby peaks/tors - even if not shown on the map - so you can generally work out a circular hike for the day.

I had a car so could drive to whatever trailhead I wished each day. If you're on the train suggest you buy yourself a copy of the map before you leave and do some planning on that before you decide on your jump-off point into the moor. I believe public transport around the moor is pretty reasonable. There are some links for buses from this page.

Keep a good handle on your nav as it can be easy to take an unplanned detour: the trip sharpened up my casualness a treat!

I was recording my hikes with my GPS for subsequent upload to OpenStreetMap and later editing into the map. If you have a decent GPS, are in to maps and cartography, and want to contribute to the cartographic equivalent of Wikipedia, take a look at OSM. It adds an extra dimension to a day's hike - at least it does for me!

Hope you get your trip sorted and have a goody!

 

[ateallthepies]

Cheers for the advice bearbait, yes I was hoping for a place where the trail is evident so as I can brush up on my navigation while not getting too lost! A nice circular walk would be the way to go I think and I will have to do some research to find a good starting point?

As this will be my first wild camp/hike attempt I don't need to stray too far as it will probably be a big learning experience and maybe one or two nights will be fine?

Steve.

 

[Shewie]

How long are you planning to be out Steve? Most of the paths in the Lakes are pretty easy to follow and nothing you can't handle with basic map and compass skills.

Not sure if you've already come across this site before but there's some good circular routes you could copy, especially the LD ones.

As far as wild camping is concerned I've never once been moved on once by a land owner or ranger, as long as you get out of the way from the main paths and keep your head down then nobody will bother you. Even in some of the busier areas you just have to wait until the day walkers have all left and you usually have the place to yourself. Getting up high for a camp is the best in the Lakes though, the views are some of the best in the country, especially over on the NW.

Official NP camping guidelines here - They used to give a figure of higher than 400m but I think they've adopted this new wording now.

If you don't find anything on the VG website give us a shout and I can give you some suggestions.

 

[ateallthepies]

Probably a couple of nights to start Rich. Just had a quick look at the VG site and it looks like a great read, fantastic photos and is the type of scenery I'm after.

It's just a case of knowing where to go from whatever train station I arrive at? I really can't face the 5 hour drive up especially if I'm on me todd but I suppose most of these places have car parks near the start of the trails which would make things easier but with the worry of the vehicle getting broken into?

Will have a good look at the VG site and if still stuck will ask for some other suggestions, thanks.

Steve.