Wild camping in the UK: where it is actually legal
One UK, four answers. Wild camping is a statutory right across most of Scotland, a court-confirmed right on the Dartmoor commons, and a matter of the landowner's permission everywhere else. Here is the law, the exceptions, and how to do it well.
The short version
| Nation | Can you wild camp? | The position |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | Yes | Lawful under the statutory access right, exercised responsibly. Exception: seasonal permit zones in parts of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs. |
| England | Conditional | Landowner's permission needed — except on the Dartmoor commons, where the Supreme Court has confirmed a right to backpack camp. |
| Wales | Permission needed | No Dartmoor equivalent: permission is needed everywhere. High-level camping is tolerated in places but has no legal basis. |
| Northern Ireland | Permission needed | Access is permissive, so camping needs the landowner's consent everywhere. Ask first or use official sites. |
Scotland: a right, with responsibilities
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 gives everyone a right of responsible access to most land and inland water, and lightweight, short-stay wild camping is explicitly part of that right. There is no permission to seek and no one to notify — but the right is conditional on exercising it responsibly, as set out in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. In practice that means:
- Keep it small and short — one or two tents, no more than two or three nights in any one spot.
- Keep your distance — camp well away from buildings, roads and historic structures, and stay out of enclosed fields of crops or livestock.
- No fires in dry spells — never light an open fire during prolonged dry periods or on peaty ground; a stove is the safe default.
- Leave no trace — carry out every scrap of litter, bury human waste well away from open water (the Code suggests at least 30 metres), and leave the pitch as you found it.
In defined Camping Management Zones (roughly 1 March – 30 September) camping requires a permit or use of a designated site, despite the general Scottish access right. Zones cover parts of east Loch Lomond, Trossachs lochshores and other honeypot areas. Byelaws like these are exactly the kind of local rule that overrides the general right — check the park's camping pages before an overnight trip in the area.
Dartmoor: the exception that went to the Supreme Court
Section 10(1) of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 gives the public a right of access to the Dartmoor commons "on foot and on horseback for the purpose of open-air recreation". For decades that was understood to include backpack camping, and Dartmoor was treated as the one corner of England where you could pitch a tent as of right.
In 2022 a landowning couple on southern Dartmoor, the Darwalls, challenged that reading. The High Court agreed with them in January 2023, holding that camping was not covered — briefly extinguishing the practice. The Court of Appeal reversed that decision in July 2023, and the landowners appealed again. On 21 May 2025, in Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2025] UKSC 20, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal: camping is a form of open-air recreation, and s.10(1) confers a public right to backpack camp on the commons. The case papers are on the Supreme Court site.
The right applies to the Dartmoor commons, not the whole National Park, and it is a right to lightweight backpack camping — not car camping, campervans or large groups. The park authority publishes a backpack-camping map and code showing where camping is appropriate; follow both.
Everywhere else in England, the general rule in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 framework still applies: open access land gives a right to walk, not to camp overnight.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland: asking permission
Outside the Dartmoor commons, wild camping anywhere in England, Wales or Northern Ireland needs the landowner's permission. Camping without it is trespass — a civil matter, not usually a crime, but the landowner can ask you to leave and you should go. Wales has no equivalent of the Dartmoor right; in Northern Ireland almost all countryside access is permissive to begin with, so consent is the starting point for everything.
Getting permission is more achievable than most walkers assume, especially for a single quiet night. It helps to:
- Find the right person — the farm nearest the hill, an estate office, or a national park ranger service can usually tell you who owns the ground.
- Be specific — one night, one or two tents, the date, roughly where you would pitch, no fires.
- Offer to be invisible — out of sight of houses and roads, gone early, nothing left behind.
- Accept a no — land may hold stock, shoots or simply an owner who has had bad experiences; there is always another hill.
Some upland areas — high Lakeland fells, parts of Eryri, the Mournes — have long traditions of tolerated high-level camping. Tolerance is not a right: it depends on campers being unobtrusive and leaving no trace, and it can be withdrawn wherever it is abused.
"Arrive late, leave early" — convention, not law
The wild camper's convention is simple: pitch at dusk, strike soon after dawn, stay one night, stay high and out of sight, and leave the ground exactly as you found it. It is good practice everywhere — in Scotland it is essentially what the Outdoor Access Code asks of you, and elsewhere it is the reason tolerated camping stays tolerated.
But be clear about what it is not: a legal defence. Outside Scotland and the Dartmoor commons, arriving late and leaving early does not turn camping without permission into something lawful — it just makes the trespass discreet. Knowing the difference is what separates an informed camper from a hopeful one.
This guide states the general legal position as of August 2026. Local byelaws, seasonal restrictions and closures can override it, and an overnight camp in the hills carries its own risks — weather, cold and navigation in the dark among them. Plan accordingly and read our safety notes.