Is "wild camping" a safe practise? What if you get run over by a tractor? What if you wake up with a farmer's gun in your face?! What if you get attacked by badgers? They can be dangerous creatures.
I've never bothered with wild camping, but it seems like something you would have to do if you didn't make it to a campsite by their last check-in time (i.e. if you've overestimated your own speed on a hilly route, when going by bike).
How can you be sure if the land is private or not? What are the fines involved if it is private land?
I have a friend who goes out in her canoe with her son and just pitches where she lands as such! She has never had any problems, but she has a tiny tent and is up & away early. Wouldn't fancy it myself - but she loves the freedom!
we have only camped locally at the Rutland C&C site in Greetham nr. Rutland Water. It is a flat site with great toilet/shower facilities. As a campsite it is pretty uninteresting, no landscaping etc, but it is a nice cycle ride to Rutland water down quiet country lanes. We go every year just o check the tent etc in the spring.
Keep meaning to goto Bosworth Water Trust as a friend reccomended it. Other than that we tend to go to Norfolk for quick weekends, Cornwall for loing summer hols, Wales when visiting my mum and I want more freedom than her house. & we did an excellent 3 weeker on the french/spanish border in basque countryside, apparently near an ETA arms hideaway, but it was fantastic!
If you come accross any good local ones let me know as am a bit fed up with Greetham now!
------------- [кαяєи™]
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...as kasbo says, pitch late, pack up early, leave no mess & be discreet - If you cant be seen or heard then no-one will bother you.
..that's best advice for wild campers. The family and I LOVE wild camping - far better than going to sites. The kids are 8 and 10 yo but we have a 1 year old baby so no camping last year (except for the odd fishing trip)and it'll be sites this summer.
Camping wild is great, especially in the middle of nowhere. Our favourite spot is at Loch Etive near Oban. A fair bit of walking to get there but the deer, seals, otters, eagles, tranquility, stunning landscape, breathtaking stars on a clear spring night (I could go on forever) are all worth it.
Go wild!
------------- Fudged
- who hasn't had a chance to set up any fancy or witty signature yet
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What if you get attacked by badgers? They can be dangerous creatures.
I can't say much about wild camping but I can about badgers. They are not dangerous and although I do not want to say you will never get attacked by one it is very highly unlikely. I have heard of only one person being attacked by a badger and she said it was her own fault, she made mistakes. A wild badger will run away from people. If there are badgers in the area where you are camping it would be wise to put all food in the car or out or reach in a tree suspended from a branch. The myth about badgers being viscous comes from the fact that if you touch one as far as it, and most wild animals are concerned you have made an aggressive move and it will protect itself. Sorry if I am preaching but I adore badgers and hate to see or hear them tarred with the wrong brush.
Re:fudged & camping in Oban - I really envy you that experience!
But the point I want to raise, and it may need checking out, but I am sure that in Scotland you have the "right to roam", and there is no such thing as public footpaths that are signed and you must keep to them or get shot at by an angry farmer.
So you might be safer wild camping in Scotland, especially if you do the whole up, and away discreet, respectful thing.
Good point Kazbo,I just hope the recent 'Land Reform Act' doesn't mess things up, large landowners are beginning to use it as an excuse to exclude people from their land, which is the opposite of what it was supposed to acheive
But there's good news for my Southern friends (the missus is from Derbyshire, btw)in the shape of the recent 'Open Access' legislation covering England and Wales. Read all about it at the Countryside Access web site. The mapping portal is V useful for finding accessible sites.
Of course, this covers ACCESS to the land - not setting up a temporary home on it! The same old trusted notion of mutual respect applies.
In general, though, I find camping wild is far easier and more relaxing if you're going somewhere remote. If you don't mind a bit of a walk from wherever you park the car, you can be out of everyone's way in less than an hour. Then all that tranquility is yours to enjoy
------------- Fudged
- who hasn't had a chance to set up any fancy or witty signature yet
All this sounds really lovely and I'd love to give it a go, but I can't function without a morning shower. I know you'd have bottled water to clean your teeth, but what about *toilet facilities*!!! I could stretch to peeing behind a bush but nowt else.
If you truly are "In the Wild", how d'you manage without a local village's toilet/washroom facilities? I've never even been in tent on a proper site! (I was a deprived child )
------------- Karen
www.utilityzoo.co.uk
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The shower could be a problem Karen, it's true (unless you camp near a waterfall!). I think roughing it is part of the attraction - especially for the kids.
I always camp near a fresh water supply (mountain burns provide perfectly clean and very tasty water - which you can always boil if you're not sure), given that most of my camping's done in the North West of Scotland I try to camp near a patch of bog myrtle if I can - helps (a little) to keep the midges at bay. So there's water there for a brew-up, for cooking and for washing.
I suppose there are different approaches to wild camping. If I go to a remote sea loch with the kids for a couple of days fishing (actually, in my case, it's more like 'worm drowning' - the fishing's just my excuse for staying still and quiet and soaking up the landscape and everything that goes with it) we're certainly all in need of a good bath when we get home again.
If the whole family heads off to the wild it's usually only for a couple of days at a time. If we're away any longer (touring) then we'll have a 'break' at a camp site with full facilities to keep us socially acceptable. This gives us the best of both worlds - all the stuff I was on about in my first post, but also the comfort and social benefits of a site (once we've cleaned up and a 10yrd exclusion zone isn't needed).
Staying environmentally acceptable, though, is the main consideration when camping wild.
There's lots of information and guidance about camping and access to land at the Mountaineering Scotland web site.
Wild camping doesn't suit everyone, but there's no better way to immerse yourself in nature.
------------- Fudged
- who hasn't had a chance to set up any fancy or witty signature yet
Did it in the 60s alone around the Derby shire Dales as lots used to do it then, never had any trouble. Pitch behind walls just as it was getting dark, up and gone early light Don't think id like to do it these days. Those days we carried cash as there was no such things as muggers ,but now very risky
------------- Corpogreen esq
dead horse
and
donkey buyer
the rule is you need premission to camp every where but people turn a blind eye if you out of the way and you pitch the tent late and leave early iv wild camped hundreds of times
i've wild camped once and will be wild camping again with gold D of E. in my opinion you're perfectly safe to wild camp if you try and keep to popular wild camping parts. great moss in the lake district is HIGHLY recommended!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Is Wild Camping safe?
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