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Wild Camping with Children in the UK: Family Guide

Wild Camping with Children in the UK: The Complete Family Guide

Spending a night under a dark sky with your children, waking to the sound of a burn or birdsong rather than an alarm clock, and cooking breakfast on a small stove whilst mist lifts off a Scottish loch — this is the kind of experience that stays with a family for years. Wild camping with kids in the UK is absolutely achievable, genuinely safe when approached sensibly, and one of the most rewarding outdoor adventures you can plan. But it does require preparation, an understanding of the law, and the right gear for small humans who have short legs, big appetites, and questionable enthusiasm for carrying their own rucksack.

This guide covers everything: the legal landscape across Scotland, England, and Wales; how to choose the right location for families; what to pack; how to keep children warm, safe, and engaged; and the best routes and areas to consider for your first family wild camp.

Understanding Wild Camping Law in the UK

The legal position on wild camping in the UK is not uniform, and getting it wrong can sour an otherwise brilliant trip. Here is a clear breakdown by nation.

Scotland: The Best Place to Start

Scotland is the only part of the UK where wild camping is a statutory right. Under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, everyone has the right to be on most land in Scotland for recreational purposes, including overnight camping, as long as they act responsibly. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code, published by NatureScot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage), sets out what responsible behaviour looks like in practice.

Key points under the Scottish Access Code for campers include:

  • Leave no trace — take all litter with you and bury human waste at least 30 metres from open water, using a trowel to dig a small hole.
  • Do not camp in the same spot for more than two or three nights.
  • Use a stove rather than an open fire where possible; if you do light a fire, keep it small, use only fallen wood, and restore the ground afterwards.
  • Respect privacy and do not camp immediately adjacent to a private dwelling.
  • Avoid camping in enclosed fields of crops or farm animals.

There are a small number of local byelaws around popular areas such as Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, where a permit system applies between March and September in certain zones. Check the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority website before visiting, as the permit zones are clearly mapped and easy to understand. Outside those zones, Scotland’s hills, glens, and coastline are largely open to families wanting a wild night out.

England and Wales: Permission Required, But Options Exist

In England and Wales, there is no general right to wild camp. The land access legislation — primarily the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW Act) — grants a right of access to open land for walking and certain other activities, but not for overnight camping. Technically, camping without the landowner’s permission is trespass, which is a civil rather than criminal matter in most cases, but it is still worth understanding the landscape.

That said, there are several ways families can wild camp legally in England and Wales:

  • Dartmoor National Park in Devon is the only place in England with a specific right to wild camp, enshrined in the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985. A legal challenge in 2023 temporarily removed this right before the Court of Appeal reinstated it, but always check the current position on the Dartmoor National Park Authority website before visiting. Camping is permitted on open moorland away from enclosed land, roads, and buildings.
  • Permission camping — contacting farmers and landowners directly is often surprisingly successful. Many farmers in the Lake District, Brecon Beacons, and Peak District are happy for responsible families to camp on their land for a night, sometimes for a small fee.
  • Forestry England manages large areas of woodland and permits wild camping in certain forests, notably Kielder Forest in Northumberland. Check their website for designated areas.
  • Some National Trust properties allow wild camping through organised programmes — check their website or contact individual estates directly.

Wales

Wales follows the same legal framework as England, with no general right to wild camp. However, Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons National Park), the Cambrian Mountains, and Snowdonia (Eryri) National Park all have large areas of open moorland and mountain terrain where landowners have historically tolerated responsible wild camping. The Eryri National Park Authority provides guidance on where camping is and is not appropriate within the park boundary. As in England, asking permission and leaving no trace go a long way.

Choosing the Right Location for Families

Not every wild camping spot suits a family. The considerations that matter most when children are involved are very different from those of a solo backpacker.

1. Distance from the Car Park

Young children tire quickly under load. For a first wild camp with children under 10, aim for a walk-in of no more than 3–5 kilometres, ideally on a good path with modest ascent. As children gain experience and fitness, you can increase the distance. Teenagers can typically manage 8–12 kilometres with a well-fitted pack.

2. Fresh Water Access

Wild camping with children means higher water consumption — for drinking, cooking, teeth cleaning, and general hand-washing. Choose a site near a running stream or lochan. In Scotland and upland Wales and England, stream water is generally clean, but always filter or treat it using a Sawyer Squeeze, a LifeStraw, or purification tablets such as Aquatabs. Do not rely on visual clarity alone.

3. Flat Ground for Sleeping

Children sleep fitfully on slopes. Spend time finding genuinely flat ground. Grassy platforms beside streams, sheltered hollows on moorland, and the shores of hill lochs often provide the flattest and most sheltered pitches. Avoid pitching directly on saturated ground, and always check for ant nests before setting up a tent on grass.

4. Natural Interest for Children

A good family wild camp site has things for children to do and explore. Burn-side spots with safe paddling sections, open hillsides with views, beaches on the west coast of Scotland, and woodland edges all provide natural entertainment. This reduces the chance of children declaring themselves bored before the tent is even up.

5. Safety Considerations

Avoid pitching close to steep drops, fast rivers, or cliff edges when camping with young children. Check that there is phone signal or that you have a personal locator beacon (PLB) such as a Garmin inReach Mini or a SPOT Gen4. Register your PLB with HMCG (His Majesty’s Coastguard) if camping near the coast, or with Mountain Rescue England and Wales or Mountain Rescue Scotland in upland areas. Leaving a route plan with someone at home is sound practice for any family heading into the hills.

The Best Areas in the UK for Family Wild Camping

Scotland

The Cairngorms National Park

The UK’s largest national park offers a vast range of terrain from gentle glens to high plateaux. For families, the Glen Feshie area south of Aviemore offers straightforward valley walking with excellent riverside camping spots. The Lairig Ghru is too serious for young children, but the lower approaches from Rothiemurchus are ideal for an introductory overnighter. Red squirrels, ospreys at Loch Garten, and reindeer on the plateau make the Cairngorms particularly compelling for children.

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs (Outside Permit Zones)

The western shores of Loch Lomond and the hills around The Trossachs are accessible from central Scotland and excellent for families. Ben A’an in the Trossachs is a short but dramatic ascent suitable for older children, and the area around Loch Katrine offers flatter ground for less experienced families. Always check the current permit zones before planning a pitch near the loch itself.

Knoydart Peninsula

More ambitious, but unforgettable. Knoydart is accessible only by boat from Mallaig or by a long hill walk, making it one of the most remote mainland areas in Britain. Families with confident older children (12+) will find some of the most spectacular wild camping in the UK here. The community at Inverie provides a warm welcome and basic supplies.

Galloway Forest Park

Often overlooked in favour of the Highlands, Galloway Forest Park in Dumfries and Galloway is Scotland’s largest forest park and a designated Dark Sky Park — one of the best in Europe. The combination of accessible trails, low hills, and extraordinarily dark skies makes it ideal for families interested in stargazing. The Merrick, at 843 metres, is Southern Scotland’s highest peak and manageable for fit children aged 8 and upwards.

Moving Forward

Once you have the fundamentals in place, the possibilities open up considerably. The UK offers fantastic opportunities for anyone interested in this hobby, and with the right foundation you will be well placed to make the most of them.