Wild Camping and the Countryside and Rights of Way Act: What Every UK Camper Needs to Know

Picture this: you’ve just crested the ridge above Borrowdale in the Lake District, the wind has dropped, and the last of the light is painting Scafell Pike a deep amber. Your pack is heavy, your legs are tired, and somewhere below you is the perfect flat patch of ground beside a burn. You want to pitch your tent, brew a coffee, and wake up to one of the finest views in England. But are you actually allowed to?

This is the question that stops thousands of would-be wild campers in their tracks every year. The law in the United Kingdom is not simple, it is not uniform across its four nations, and it is often misunderstood — both by people who think they can pitch anywhere and by landowners who think they can throw you off any ground they own. This article sets out exactly where you stand, what the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 actually says, how Scotland differs from England and Wales, and what practical steps you can take to camp responsibly and legally.

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000: What It Actually Does

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, commonly known as the CRoW Act, was a landmark piece of legislation that opened up significant areas of England and Wales to walkers for the first time. Before it came into force in 2005, access to mountains, moorlands, heathlands, and downs was largely a matter of goodwill or long-established local custom. The CRoW Act changed that, enshrining a legal right of access on foot to “open country” — defined in the Act as mountain, moor, heath, and down — as well as registered common land.

However, and this is the critical point that many campers miss: the right of access under the CRoW Act is a right to walk on that land. It is not a right to camp on it. The Act explicitly states that the right does not include the right to pitch a tent, light a fire, or engage in any activity other than walking. This is set out in Schedule 2 of the Act, which lists activities that are expressly excluded from the general right of access.

So in England, the CRoW Act gives you the right to walk across Dartmoor, the South Downs, the North York Moors, and the Pennines. It does not give you the right to spend the night there. That distinction is important, and it is what makes English wild camping law so frustrating for outdoor enthusiasts compared to what their counterparts enjoy north of the border.

What “Open Country” Means in Practice

Under the CRoW Act, Natural England has mapped and designated the areas to which the access right applies. You can view this on the Magic Map application on the Natural England website, or through the Ordnance Survey mapping apps which show CRoW Act access land shaded in yellow. Areas covered include large swathes of the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor, Dartmoor, the North Pennines, and many other upland areas.

Rights of Way — footpaths, bridleways, and byways — remain separately protected under the Highways Act 1980 and are distinct from the open access land provisions of the CRoW Act. When you walk along a public footpath through a farmer’s field in the Cotswolds, you are exercising a different right from when you walk across the open moorland of Kinder Scout in the Peak District. Neither right extends to camping.

England: The Legal Grey Area That Isn’t Really Grey

In England, wild camping without the landowner’s permission is technically a civil trespass in almost every location. Trespass in England and Wales is a civil matter, not a criminal one — so the police cannot arrest you simply for pitching a tent in a field or on a hillside. However, a landowner or their agent can ask you to leave, and if you refuse, they can apply to a court for an injunction or for removal. In persistent cases, trespass can escalate to criminal matters under other legislation.

In practice, wild camping in upland areas of England has long been tolerated through a combination of landowner goodwill, remoteness, and the simple fact that most people who wild camp do so discreetly and responsibly. The Lake District, for example, has a long tradition of wild camping on its fells, and the Lake District National Park Authority has historically taken a permissive approach provided campers follow a code of conduct — arriving after dark, leaving before daybreak (or at least leaving no trace by mid-morning), keeping groups small, not lighting fires on the ground, and not camping repeatedly in the same spot.

The Dark Peak and the Kinder plateau in the Peak District, parts of Dartmoor, sections of Exmoor, and many areas of the North Pennines are similarly used by wild campers who operate in this informal tolerance zone. But this is tolerance, not a right, and it can be withdrawn.

Dartmoor: England’s Only Wild Camping Right — and Its Fight to Survive

For many years, Dartmoor National Park in Devon stood as the single exception to England’s no-wild-camping rule. The Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 gave the public a right of access to the commons for air and exercise, and this had long been interpreted to include wild camping. The Dartmoor National Park Authority’s byelaws permitted camping on the open moor, away from roads and enclosed land, provided campers followed specific rules about distance from roads, duration of stay, and group size.

In January 2023, that right was suddenly thrown into doubt. Alexander Darwall, a landowner and hedge fund manager who owns the Blachford Estate on Dartmoor, successfully argued in the High Court that the right of access under the Dartmoor Commons Act did not extend to overnight camping. The ruling shocked the outdoor community, and within weeks a campaign had gathered enormous public momentum. After significant political pressure — including interventions from the Ramblers Association, the British Mountaineering Council, and high-profile public figures — the Court of Appeal reversed the High Court’s decision in July 2023. Wild camping on Dartmoor’s open moorland was restored.

The Dartmoor case was significant beyond just one national park. It shone a spotlight on the fragility of informal camping rights in England and reinvigorated calls for a broader right to roam that would include camping across all of England’s uplands.

Scotland: Where Wild Camping is a Right

Cross the border into Scotland and the legal landscape changes completely. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 established one of the most progressive access regimes in the world. Under Part 1 of the Act, everyone has the right to be on and cross most land and water in Scotland for recreational, educational, and certain other purposes, provided they act responsibly. This right specifically includes wild camping.

The Scottish Outdoor Access Code, published by NatureScot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage), provides detailed guidance on how to exercise these rights responsibly. It makes clear that camping is part of the access right, and that camping in the same spot for more than a few nights, camping in large groups on enclosed farmland, or leaving a mess is not consistent with responsible access.

In practical terms, this means that you can legally pitch your tent on the shores of Loch Lomond, high on the Cairngorm plateau, in Glen Coe, beside the River Spey, on the Rannoch Moor, or on any of Scotland’s thousands of miles of open hillside — and you are not trespassing. You are exercising a statutory right. That right comes with responsibilities, but it is a right nonetheless.

Popular Wild Camping Destinations in Scotland

Scotland’s wild camping options are staggering in their variety. The Cairngorms National Park — the UK’s largest national park at 4,528 square kilometres — offers everything from accessible spots near Aviemore to genuinely remote situations in the Lairig Ghru or on the high plateaux above Braemar. The West Highland Way, running 96 miles from Milngavie near Glasgow to Fort William, passes through some of the most dramatic scenery in the country and has designated camping areas alongside a general right to camp on the surrounding land.

The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park introduced camping management zones in 2017, requiring campers in designated areas around the loch shores to obtain a free camping permit between March and September. This was introduced in response to problems caused by large numbers of campers, particularly around Loch Lomond’s eastern shore. It is worth checking the national park’s website before planning a trip, as the permit zones are clearly mapped and enforcement has become more robust.

For a truly remote experience, the Knoydart peninsula — accessible only by boat or a long hill walk — offers wild camping in one of the most isolated corners of mainland Britain. The Northwest Highlands, Torridon, Assynt, and the Outer Hebrides are all exceptional locations where Scotland’s access laws allow you to camp in spectacular, uncrowded landscapes.

Wales: Somewhere Between Scotland and England

Wales operates under the same CRoW Act framework as England, meaning that there is no general right to wild camp on open access land. However, several areas in Wales have specific byelaws or permissive arrangements that allow camping, and the Welsh Government has shown more appetite than its English counterpart for expanding access rights.

Snowdonia National Park (Eryri) contains vast areas of CRoW Act access land — the mountains of the Glyderau, the Carneddau, the Moelwyns, and the Rhinogydd — where wild camping is widely practised and largely tolerated, particularly at altitude. The Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) similarly sees significant wild camping activity on its open moorland ridges. The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, being largely coastal, presents different challenges, but isolated beaches and headland areas are used by campers who take a discreet approach.

Coed Cymru and the Forestry Commission Wales manage some woodland areas where camping may be permitted under specific arrangements, so it is always worth checking directly with the relevant land manager before assuming access.

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.