Where to Go and Camp Out

[Green Dweller Beloved]

Hi,

I'm new to all this so bear with me.

Me and a couple of friends want to set off into the wilderness somewhere with enough food to last us three days. We want to walk maybe 5-10 miles per day and settle down at say 5:00pm to build a camp with a fire.

I'm a bit worried about getting into trouble with the law for either
A: camping where you're not allowed to camp or
B: Lighting fires where you're not allowed to light them.

We're thinking of somewhere remote like Bodmin moor for instance (we are from Surrey/Hants border).

What sort of places would you guys go to do this kind of thing?
Do you venture onto private land/estates? Do you get permission?
Or do you stick to public land where you're allowed to go?
Can you light a fire on public land? If not what is the penalty if you can't and get caught?

Cheers for any pointers here
Green Dweller Beloved

 

[Agile]

I'm new to all this so bear with me.....
and settle down at say 5:00pm to build a camp with a fire.

Sorry to pick you up on this, but it's getting dark at about 5:20pm at the moment, and if you are new to it all and want to build a fire the last thing you will want to be doing is cutting firewood in the dark.

Please from a safety point of view think about stopping a good deal earlier, at least until you get the hang of making camp.

Sorry to preach, it's just I'm a novice too and know that it takes a while to get everything in gear.

Agile

 

[Green Dweller Beloved]

We'll be going in April / May time.

 

[Goose]

What sort of experience do you already have? Can give lots of advice but until we know more about you it can't really be tailored to your needs.
Initially( you have two posts and asking pretty basic questions) my advice would be(A) to find a nearby meet, you learn loads with a beer round the fire about this sort of thing! and (B) go to Scotland!

Let us know a bit more about you and we will be able to give a lot more useful information.

And finally, Hellooo

 

[Shibari.surfer]

Have you thought about something smaller timewise? Bodmin Moor (i live just up the road) isnt really big enough for 3 nights out. We sneak the odd night out up there but 3 seems a bit much and you'd struggle to find enough fire wood. And like Agile says at best youd be settling down at say 6 till 6.30 ish the following morning thats 12hrs. Say for two nights -thats a lot of fire wood if you were to keep a fire going all night.
We do our wild camping on the beaches, a local farmers woods with his permission and, as i say, the odd sneaky night out leaving little or no trace. They play banjo's down here you know!

 

[Green Dweller Beloved]

With regards to experience, we have very little . I was in the army cadets about 15 years ago. We used to sleep out, by digging a shallow hole (less than a foot deep) , fill it with bracken, put our ground sheet down, then sleeping bag and then you'd have your poncho over that. Another guy we're going with sleeps out over night in freezing conditions when he's fishing and brags a lot about his Fox 30 Sleeping bag. The other guy has no experience.

If bodmin moor isn't a good location , then what is?
What beaches do you use?
How did you manage to get the famrers permission to use his land, did you know him, or did you just approach him.
Why did you suggest Scotland?
So what is/are the laws regarding fires?
I assume I can't just go into the woods and start one?

Cheers Guys!

 

[GlenM]

The other thing about bodmin moor is that a lot of it is farmed and you need permission to start a fire.I know the warden of the north west side, which i think is the best side and he's approachable on these matters. When you decide when you want to go, let me know and i'll speak to him for you. All you have to do then is respect his wishes and enjoy!

 

[andyn]

So what is/are the laws regarding fires?
I assume I can't just go into the woods and start one?

Cheers Guys!

Quite right! Except in a few places, where local byelaws state otherwise. Starting a fire in England without land owners permission is illegal.


Scotland has a different set of access laws to england, very different in fact, see here for more info: http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/


The south of England is a bit too crowded to cover 30 miles of walking over 3 days and wild camping (at permissable locations) each night imo.

Dartmoor does allow wild camping out on the moors, under these guidelines: http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/index/visiting/vi-enjoyingdartmoor/vi-wildcamping.htm (note though that open fires are not permitted out on the moor)

That said though - there are a few campsites down on Dartmoor that allow an open fire, perhaps this would be a better starting point for you all?

 

[Brocktor]

my advice is just do it, i camp in the dark alot because it is boring alone if u set up early. food will be heavy id take lots of potatoes some meat and some tinned meat. what i do is camp on farms where i ask for permission, but if not possible i just be quiet and stuff - maybe depend how many there are but personally i think its unlikely u will get caught and being fined i think is unlikey even if u do get caught. fires in darkness is fairly ok - if u strip the bark off and use dry wood it smokes less - wilderness is your nearest large national park

 

[Agile]

my advice is just do it, i camp in the dark alot because it is boring alone if u set up early. food will be heavy id take lots of potatoes some meat and some tinned meat. what i do is camp on farms where i ask for permission, but if not possible i just be quiet and stuff - maybe depend how many there are but personally i think its unlikely u will get caught and being fined i think is unlikey even if u do get caught. fires in darkness is fairly ok - if u strip the bark off and use dry wood it smokes less - wilderness is your nearest large national park

Feel free to ignore my opinion, but I would at least advise, based on your stated level of knowledge, that you don't try camping in the dark at least for the first night and until you know what you have got yourself in for.

As far as locations go, I believe there are some campsites which allow fires which are a good place to start. I for one am looking for a way in which to enjoy the countryside and light a fire away from six trailers, fifteen tents and two families of screaming children. The best way I have heard of is to ask the permission of the landowner, but that is going to be hard in advance if you are having to travel many miles to visit them.

Good luck either way, and have a blast mate - you should enjoy it!

Agile

 

[Green Dweller Beloved]

Cheers for all the advice so far guys.

So do those of you that get the landowners permission just go and knock on their door and say can I camp on your land and make a fire? Or do you know them from down the pub or something? Maybe you find the name of a farm on an OS map and ring them up? It sounds to me that the safest, most legal way is to ask the landowner, but how do you approach a subject like that? A lot of landowners have surely snobs, who would look down their noses at you maybe?

Dartmoor sounds quite good if you're allowed to 'wild camp', but like one of you said about Bodmin, there possible isn't a lot of firewood there, I don't actually know.

If I decided to break the law and light a fire where I shouldn't and I got caught and couldn't pursude whoever caught me that I was a respectable citizen who loved the countryside and I wasn't going to leave litter etc etc what kind of penalty are we talking about? I guess if someone saw smoke and panic'd and called the firebrigade who turned up and they found us cooking our tea it could be a heftly fine? If was going to take a calculated risk (not that that I would of course! ) I'd need to weigh up the likelyhood of getting caught against the penalty.

Thanks again!

 

[Green Dweller Beloved]

The other thing about bodmin moor is that a lot of it is farmed and you need permission to start a fire.I know the warden of the north west side, which i think is the best side and he's approachable on these matters. When you decide when you want to go, let me know and i'll speak to him for you. All you have to do then is respect his wishes and enjoy!

Thanks for that. Does he allow fires?
I may take you up on this if so.
Cheers

 

[andyn]

Mate, illegal camping is illegal - if you want to risk the possibility of being prosecuted then thats up to you - and you have been warned...But BCUK doesn't condone it, so personally i'd stop asking about it before one of the big bad mods come along and lock the thread/edit your posts.

There are many landowners out there who are willing to let people use their land...they aren't all snobs LOL...yeah just find out who they are and ask them. Maybe don't even mention fires (and don't have one) to start with. Wait till they trust you....and then broach the subject.

 

[BushTucker]

Thanks Andyn for putting up the Dartmoor link, I have just read it all and I think you may have saved me hrs of search time looking for somewhere to do wild camping.

I am quite an experienced camper be it a tent, basha or hammock, and I still dont pitch in the dark first night, its sound advice being given on here by experienced guys and gals.

Knowledge is power, listening is wise...


Don

 

[Gailainne]

Knowledge is power, listening is wise...

Excellent sentiment and should be heeded too.

 

[Geoffrey_Bubbles]

Just thoguth I'd mention this camp site :-

http://www.southpenquite.co.uk/camping.html

If your fairly new to it all and don't want to worry about laws and the like, mike be a good first camp. I camped there some years ago out of season and they allowed fires back then, not sure if they still do, haven't read up yet, but they were in a great remote spot with some lovel walking around and some stone circle remains nearby.

Just thought it was worth mentioning, but like I said, haven't been there for a few years now, but it was a good weekend when I was last there.

Geoff

 

[Goose]

Mate, illegal camping is illegal - if you want to risk the possibility of being prosecuted then thats up to you - and you have been warned...But BCUK doesn't condone it, so personally i'd stop asking about it before one of the big bad mods come along and lock the thread/edit your posts.

That is why I suggested going to a meet up, hypothetical activities can be discussed with more candour face to face.
The rules are a lot better in Scotland with right to roam, which we don't have in the rest of the UK.

 

[Green Dweller Beloved]

if you want to risk the possibility of being prosecuted then thats up to you - and you have been warned...

Cheers Andyn,
I'm trying to work out whether I want risk being prosecuted at the moment.
I'm quite aware that it is up to me, but thanks your warning though.

 

[Green Dweller Beloved]

That is why I suggested going to a meet up, hypothetical activities can be discussed with more candour face to face.
The rules are a lot better in Scotland with right to roam, which we don't have in the rest of the UK.

Cheers Goose, so where would I find a meet reasonably locally?

Ps were you in Top Gun?

 

[Toddy]

I think I'm the littlest of the Mods but I am going to publicly thank those who have offered good advice on this thread and tried to keep things above board, and BcUK safe :You_Rock_

I hope that Green Dweller Beloved is reading carefully, down your way any offence against a land owners rights seems to have a knock on effect on any one else trying to get permission to use land.

Oh, and welcome to BcUK, joining in the conversations is definitely the way to be part of the community.

Cheers,
Toddy