Huge boost for wild camping as Brits CAN use one of UK's best-loved national parks in blow for millionaire nimbys

Scottish Sun

22-05-2025

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I HAVE wild camped on Dartmoor more times than I can count and the fact that this right was even debated in court seemed ludicrous to me.
Back in 2021, the battle for the right to wild camp on Dartmoor ensued.
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Wild camping access on Dartmoor was threatened thanks to local landowners
Credit: Alamy
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But now the Supreme Court has ruled it is allowed
Credit: Daniel Davy/Dartmoor Wild Camping Action Group
Following back-and-forth debates incourts, the Supreme Court has ruled that wild camping IS allowed in one of the UK's most-loved national parks.
I am not surprised with the decision and I welcome it with open arms.
As do the campaigners, that for the past four years have been fighting for something that should not have been questioned in the first place.
Landowners (and millionaires) Alexander and Diana Darwall started the battle, claiming that people should not be able to camp without permission from landowners.
The Darwalls created the argument as part of their 4,000-acre estate on Stall Moor near Cornwood, spilt into Dartmoor National Park.
As a result, the tradition of wild camping was in jeopardy.
And in January 2023, the High Court ruled that the Darwalls were allowed to remove campers from their site.
Their legal team claimed that the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985, which allows access for "open-air recreation", did not include overnight camping.
Outrage at the decision obviously arose and debates garnered national attention over the future of wild camping.
Then in July 2023, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court ruling in July 2023, restoring the right to wild camp.
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But the NIMBY's didn't stop there, as the Darwalls appealed to the Supreme Court - whose judges unanimously rejected their appeal yesterday.
Most weekends as a teenager, I would camp on the moors as part of training for Ten Tors - an annual hiking event for teenagers, hosted by the army.
I would be walking from the early hours of the morning, sometimes until midnight - carrying at least 10kg on my back and often fighting the harshest of conditions.
By the time it came to setting up camp in the dark, being able to pitch up my tent near enough anywhere, did not even cross my mind.
Myself and my team would pitch our two small tents, in the dark, with nothing but torches.
To date, the three events (35, 45 and 55 miles) that I participated in over three years were the biggest challenges of my life - mentally and physically.
For thousands of teenagers who participate each year, I can guarantee the same.
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I used to hike and camp on Dartmoor as a teenager
Credit: Cyann Fielding
If yesterday's decision swung the other way, I am unsure of the impact this would have on the event and the training thousands undertake each year.
All I know is it would not have been a positive impact.
Wild camping is nothing like camping at a camp site.
Often you are exposed to the elements - but you get to truly be in the wild, surrounded by rolling hills and tors, flourishing rivers and streams and the only pitch black sky with bright stars I have seen in my life.
Yesterday's ruling essentially means that people are legally allowed to camp in set areas of Dartmoor - they just need to follow a code of conduct.
This includes leaving "no trace", the park authority has said.
Tents and camping equipment must also fit in a carriable backpack, with no more than six people allowed to camp together.
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Campaigners have been fighting for the right to wild camp for years
Credit: Alamy
Following the decision, social media and forums have also been flooded with comments from the public.
One person commented: "A good ruling based on the common understanding of the words 'open-air recreation'.
"Absolutely mad that it had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to rule on something so blindingly obvious."
Another added: "Thanks to whoever updated the Wikipedia entry of Alexander Darwall, whose nimby campaign to ban wild camping on Dartmoor has just been upheld in the courts."
Darwall's Wikipedia page was updated to include "enemy of the people", but has since been removed.
When I watched the court hearing back in October, the argument boiled down to one sentence of the archaic Dartmoor Commons Act 1985.
Section 10(1) of the Act states: "[T]he public shall have a right of access to the commons on foot and on horseback for the purpose of open-air recreation."
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Campaign groups are now fighting for the right to wild camp across the UK
Credit: AFP
The court had to decide whether this section gave "the public a right to pitch tents or otherwise make camp overnight on the Dartmoor Commons".
The Supreme Court ruling said: "Within Dartmoor National Park, there are areas of moorland which are privately owned but on which other locals have the right to put their livestock.
"The clear wording of section 10(1) shows that it confers a right of public access which includes wild camping."
Commenting on the ruling, Dartmoor Preservation Association CEO, Tom Usher, said: "This is an historic victory for public access, the DPA are very proud to have played a central role in campaigning to keep backpack camping on Dartmoor as a right.
"This has been achieved through the work of many people and we salute the courage of the National Park Authority in fighting this case to the end."
Dr Kevin Bishop, chief executive of Dartmoor National Park Authority, added: "We are delighted and relieved with the Supreme Court's ruling.
"This is a landmark judgment not just for Dartmoor National Park but for people who have long campaigned for access rights.
"The judgment reaffirms our long-held belief for the public's right to backpack camp on certain commons and, importantly, our role in regulating and managing that access."
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Locals are now celebrating the ruling
Credit: Alamy
Daniel Davy, founder of Dartmoor Wild Camping Action Group, said: "So yesterday was an emotional one.
"We are so lucky to have the right to wild camp in Devon and the myriad of benefits it's brings, and it's about time that everyone had access to these wild spaces and experiences that shape so many lives.
"We are going to take this fight to other national parks so that everyone in the country can experience what we are so lucky too on Dartmoor.
"This could be the pebble that creates the splash, which turns into a wave that is access reform across the country."
The group will be hosting a gathering on Monday at Haytor on Dartmoor to celebrate the ruling.
Dartmoor on horseback is also the perfect way to enjoy the vast Devon moorland.
Plus, the best 'almost wild' holiday campsites in the UK for families this summer.