hey! i fancy a bit of a woodland trek and wanna do some camping there! does anyone know ANYWHERE that will let you do it, everywheres all "insurance wont let you" i know people say to jus go do it and you'll never get spotted but id prefer not to so any ideas??
Woodland Camping
- Thread starter Backyard Bushcraft
- Start date
If like me you want to get into the really wild areas you may find you are left with no option other than to just go ahead . I have found that at this time of year if you can keep the campfire to a minimum until the sun goes down you wont gather much interest . Also if you keep an eye on the wind direction when you set up and keep the smoke away from potential problem areas all should be well.
IS there any places in the midlands to go ahead and do this? Some land where people do not cross?
As I understand it, in England (unsure of NI) you have to have persmission to camp on land. Although if your a 'gypsie' you appear to be given the 'right' to flount the law to a degree.
In Scotland, you have many more options due to a fairly recent law providing access to most land and waterways.
In Scotland, you have many more options due to a fairly recent law providing access to most land and waterways.
On common land I have had good results with the "Turn up, make camp in a quiet place as the lights fading and break camp shortly after dawn" method.
What are they going to do to you anyway, ask you to move on?
Shucks, that's a hardship
When doing this by motorcycle/car it can be combined with the "cracking open a beer then saying sorry but I can't ride in this condition" method.
Jeez we own the bloody countryside in a roundabout way, stop being so British about it.
This only applies to common land though blah blah blah usual disclaimers.
What are they going to do to you anyway, ask you to move on?
Shucks, that's a hardship
When doing this by motorcycle/car it can be combined with the "cracking open a beer then saying sorry but I can't ride in this condition" method.
Jeez we own the bloody countryside in a roundabout way, stop being so British about it.
This only applies to common land though blah blah blah usual disclaimers.
demographic said:On common land I have had good results with the "Turn up, make camp in a quiet place as the lights fading and break camp shortly after dawn" method.
What are they going to do to you anyway, ask you to move on?
Shucks, that's a hardship
When doing this by motorcycle/car it can be combined with the "cracking open a beer then saying sorry but I can't ride in this condition" method.
Jeez we own the bloody countryside in a roundabout way, stop being so British about it.
This only applies to common land though blah blah blah usual disclaimers.
Here Here
what we need is a long term plan...
what about a kind of 'fund' between us all, we effectively buy up land and use it. there must be several ways to do it, its something i've thought about in several ways for years...and i know there would be issues if we all did it (whose turn etc) but if we're all grown ups about it i reckon it could be just what we all really want.
A BCUK full time camp!! it could be awesome, what does everyone think?
there are so many reasons why it would be good (guest instructor weekend courses etc).
maybe its been discussed many times before, but its definately possible... up to us really!!?
few donations, fundraisers etc, we'd soon have a good bit to get us started - someone here must know about buying land etc?
what about a kind of 'fund' between us all, we effectively buy up land and use it. there must be several ways to do it, its something i've thought about in several ways for years...and i know there would be issues if we all did it (whose turn etc) but if we're all grown ups about it i reckon it could be just what we all really want.
A BCUK full time camp!! it could be awesome, what does everyone think?
there are so many reasons why it would be good (guest instructor weekend courses etc).
maybe its been discussed many times before, but its definately possible... up to us really!!?
few donations, fundraisers etc, we'd soon have a good bit to get us started - someone here must know about buying land etc?
Buying the land sounds very good. the only setback is the high cost of woodland in the UK. You're talking about 10-20K for a couple of acres. You're much more likely to get a friendly land-owner to part with a small bit of woodland for cash - you'll get a lot more for the money this way.
I also think there are rules about camping in woodland - e.g. you can't have someone there for more than 8 days a year or something silly like this.. It effectively (sp) stops you sharing it out to all your mates to come and camp there.
I also think there are rules about camping in woodland - e.g. you can't have someone there for more than 8 days a year or something silly like this.. It effectively (sp) stops you sharing it out to all your mates to come and camp there.
you can always trust the law to p!ss on your chips eh?...
its something that i intend on doing for my own (and any possible little hammock monkey's) sake in the future...means saving super-hard, but it'll be worth it.
then i'll be inviting bcuk over for a brew!
its something that i intend on doing for my own (and any possible little hammock monkey's) sake in the future...means saving super-hard, but it'll be worth it.
then i'll be inviting bcuk over for a brew!
If several of you get together and open a school for Bushcrafting on land that you purchase together would you then have a legitimate purpose in leaving up a permanent camp and having regular classes for the students?
How do the other schools handle this?
How do the other schools handle this?
if we buy some land that has nobody really strolling thru and it just silently changes hands i guess we'd get away with it. I'm of the 'just do it an see what happens' school of thought, (hence the scars!) and if anyone notices that you're camping on the land often...then how do they know and what are they doing on you're land anyway!?... the tables are turned at last!!if all the school scan get away with it, maybe it needs to be run almost as a campsite / business... easy enough! in time it could even pay for the aquisition of new land for the same purpose!
ok - I'm in then
All we need I suppose is 20-30 acres of ground at a nice cheap price - then divvy it up with people `sponsoring` it in a trust or something.
I just wonder if this will get past the `really nice to have` part to the `wow - we're here now` bit !
All we need I suppose is 20-30 acres of ground at a nice cheap price - then divvy it up with people `sponsoring` it in a trust or something.
I just wonder if this will get past the `really nice to have` part to the `wow - we're here now` bit !
If you're really serious about this look up the Bushcraft Educational Society - something that came out of discussions on BCUK last year. http://www.bushcraft-educational-society.co.uk/
Folks, the schools don't get away with it. You tend to find that schools spend a great deal of time acquiring the trust of a landowner, then once they have that trust they hire the land for periods of time.
A lot of the time the ability to wild camp can be found in local byelaws, on Dartmoor you are allowed to spend a night in one location and then move on the next day, there are of course restrictions on fire to be taken into account.
BCUK cannot condone the illegal use of land, so would you please try and keep things up and above board.
It is also worhty of note that some of the major landowners in the UK, the Forestry Comission, for instance do look in on BCUK every now and again. The idea that members will just go out and use land doesn't give them a good impression either of BCUK or thier members and makes harbouring good relations with them difficult. This in turn has a negative effect on both BCUK and BCUK's membership.
I would suggest getting in touch with the major landowners in your area, having checked local byelaws first, so that you give a positive impression to them as a responsible person. If they have projects underway they may require help, by giving help bushcraft may be incorporated into the activity with thier permission.
A lot of the time the ability to wild camp can be found in local byelaws, on Dartmoor you are allowed to spend a night in one location and then move on the next day, there are of course restrictions on fire to be taken into account.
BCUK cannot condone the illegal use of land, so would you please try and keep things up and above board.
It is also worhty of note that some of the major landowners in the UK, the Forestry Comission, for instance do look in on BCUK every now and again. The idea that members will just go out and use land doesn't give them a good impression either of BCUK or thier members and makes harbouring good relations with them difficult. This in turn has a negative effect on both BCUK and BCUK's membership.
I would suggest getting in touch with the major landowners in your area, having checked local byelaws first, so that you give a positive impression to them as a responsible person. If they have projects underway they may require help, by giving help bushcraft may be incorporated into the activity with thier permission.
These people seem to have a lot of woodland - and they are trying to preserve it and convert it back into original `old style` woodland...
http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/findoutmore/index.htm
Mabey we can approach them and ask?
http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/findoutmore/index.htm
Mabey we can approach them and ask?
very good point - taken!
i saw in a book called Cool Camping, one site leant towards a wild camp ethos. surely thats perfectly ok wrt the law? seems just like any other campsite, looks beautiful actually if you get a chance to take a look. taking it one step further cant be too hard.
i think the whole idea of 'take only photo's leave footprints etc' is the fundamental thing.... easier said than done tho in reality.
how many members of bcuk? if we somehow had our own it'd be very affordable.
i'm undoubtably over-simplifying, but the good intention is there!
i saw in a book called Cool Camping, one site leant towards a wild camp ethos. surely thats perfectly ok wrt the law? seems just like any other campsite, looks beautiful actually if you get a chance to take a look. taking it one step further cant be too hard.
i think the whole idea of 'take only photo's leave footprints etc' is the fundamental thing.... easier said than done tho in reality.
how many members of bcuk? if we somehow had our own it'd be very affordable.
i'm undoubtably over-simplifying, but the good intention is there!
There are similar schemes in Scotland to return areas to "Caledon Forest" status. I would hazard a guess that these folk would be the least likely to allow bushcrafting activities on their land.dave k said:
Fires require fuel - dead wood forms an important part in the ecology and live wood is of course off-limits.
Even something as seemingly innocent as cutting hazel is frowned on as coppices have no place in a natural hazel grove.
Better to aim for getting use of a working wood, somewhere that minor cuttings will go unnoticed in the long term. Even better would be a derelict working wood where management actualy needs to be performed.
