01/08/2023
An update on the battle for ‘wild camping’ on Dartmoor.
The court of appeal has ruled FOR wild camping on Dartmoor’s commons.
This is amazing news and it’s great that it has shown that, in this case, a hedge fund manager from London who uses conservation and farming as a cover to keep people off his land to sell game shoots and expensive holiday lets, can not degrade the Dartmoor commons act and stop people enjoying the land which they are entitled to enjoy.
There is always a but and this is my personal view point, I feel that this ruling has now passed the responsibility of protecting and conserving the national park on to the user of the park.
The DNPA and it’s limited number of rangers, both full time and volunteer, is to small an organisation to be able to ensure that wild camping etiquette is followed by all participants. Leave no trace (LTN) is extremely important when wild camping and following the guidance set out by LNT and other organisations such as the DNPA is important to protect our rights so they can not be challenged in future and to also protect what we have now, forever.
I feel it is now imperative for all of us to learn, understand and follow the LTN etiquette and ensure that the common land that has been fought for remains in (and is ever regenerated to) a condition which allows many, many future generations to enjoy our free and open common land.
If you haven’t already, take a look at the news of the court of appeals ruling here,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/31/wild-camping-dartmoor-court-appeal
and take a look at the DNPA guidance for wild camping, including the wild camping map here,
https://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/enjoy-dartmoor/outdoor-activities/camping