Wild Camping in the Peak District: What Is and Is Not Allowed

The Peak District draws more than 13 million visitors every year, making it one of the busiest national parks in the world. For many of those visitors, the appeal goes beyond a day walk. Sleeping under the stars on Kinder Scout, waking to mist rolling across the Dark Peak moorland, or spending a night on the gritstone edges of the Eastern Moors — these experiences represent wild camping at its most compelling. But unlike Scotland, where the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 enshrines a legal right to camp on most unenclosed land, the legal position in England and the Peak District specifically is considerably more complicated. Getting it wrong is not merely an inconvenience; it can result in a fine, ejection from the land, and damage to a landscape that is already under significant conservation pressure.

This guide sets out the legal framework clearly, explains what responsible wild camping looks like in practice, covers the gear you need, and points you towards areas and approaches that will keep you on the right side of both the law and the landowners who manage the Peak District’s terrain.

The Legal Position: Wild Camping in England Is Not a Right

The single most important thing to understand is that there is no general right to wild camp in England, including within the Peak District National Park. Camping on land without the permission of the landowner is technically trespass. Trespass in English civil law is not, in itself, a criminal offence — landowners cannot have you arrested simply for pitching a tent without permission — but they can ask you to leave, and if you refuse, they can seek an injunction through the courts or, in some circumstances, remove you using reasonable force.

In 2000, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW Act) gave walkers in England and Wales the right to access open country — defined as mountain, moor, heath, and down — on foot. However, the Act explicitly does not grant the right to camp, light fires, or cycle. Section 2 of the CRoW Act lists the activities that are permitted under the access rights it confers, and camping is absent from that list. The Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) manages approximately 555 square miles of land spanning parts of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, and South Yorkshire, and the majority of that land is either privately owned, managed by Natural England, the National Trust, or overseen by water utility companies such as Severn Trent Water. None of these landowners have granted blanket permission for wild camping.

The Role of the Peak District National Park Authority

The PDNPA does not own the majority of the land within the national park boundary, which surprises many visitors. It is a planning and management authority rather than a direct landowner in most cases. The Authority has, at various points, explored the question of designating specific areas where wild camping might be formally permitted under a management scheme, but as of 2024, no such scheme is in place in the Peak District in the way that Dartmoor National Park Authority had one — more on Dartmoor below. The PDNPA’s official guidance encourages those who wish to camp overnight to use one of the many campsites within or near the park boundary.

The Dartmoor Precedent and What It Means for Peak District Campers

In January 2023, a High Court ruling in the case of Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority sent a shock wave through the wild camping community across England and Wales. The ruling initially found that the CRoW Act did not permit wild camping on Dartmoor, removing what had been England’s only de facto legal right to wild camp. The Court of Appeal subsequently reversed that decision in July 2023, restoring Dartmoor’s unique status. Dartmoor remains the only place in England and Wales where there is a statutory right to wild camp, derived from the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 rather than common law or the CRoW Act.

The Dartmoor case has no direct legal effect on the Peak District. It did, however, sharpen public debate about whether England needs reform similar to Scotland’s Land Reform Act, and organisations including the Ramblers Association and the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) have used the controversy to call for a broader right to roam that would include camping. That legislative change had not arrived as of mid-2025, and Peak District campers should operate on the assumption that they need landowner permission.

Where Wild Camping Is Tolerated in the Peak District

Toleration is not the same as legal permission, but it is the realistic operational context for most wild camping in the Peak District. A significant proportion of the moorland in the Dark Peak — including Kinder Scout, Bleaklow, and Black Hill — is access land under the CRoW Act. Landowners and managers of this land, including the National Trust (which owns around a third of the Peak District), have historically adopted a position of informal tolerance towards lightweight, single-night camping that causes no damage and leaves no trace.

The National Trust’s own guidance acknowledges that wild camping takes place on its landholdings and that it seeks to manage rather than prohibit this activity in remote areas. However, the Trust is clear that this is not a formal right, that groups should be small, that fires are not permitted, and that anyone camping on National Trust land does so without formal permission and could be asked to leave at any time.

Dark Peak Moorlands: Kinder Scout, Bleaklow, and Black Hill

The Dark Peak is where most experienced wild campers in the Peak District focus their attention, and with good reason. Kinder Scout — the highest point in the Peak District at 636 metres — offers remote, exposed camping on the plateau that is some distance from any road or settlement. Bleaklow, at 633 metres, is even more remote and sees considerably fewer visitors. Black Hill in the northern Dark Peak sits on the South Pennine watershed and offers similarly isolated terrain. These areas are characterised by blanket bog, peat hags, and groughs (the deep drainage channels cut into the peat), which provide natural screening for a tent but also pose navigation challenges in poor visibility.

Camping here is tolerated provided you follow the informal but well-understood etiquette: arrive late in the day, pitch well away from paths and other people, use a small low-profile shelter such as a bivvy bag or a single-skin tent, leave at first light, take all rubbish with you, and never light a fire. These moors are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and any damage to the vegetation — including scorched ground from fires — is a serious environmental offence that can lead to prosecution by Natural England.

Eastern Moors and Gritstone Edges

The Eastern Moors — a stretch of moorland running from Curbar and Froggatt Edge southward to Ramsley Moor — are managed jointly by the PDNPA and the RSPB. The Eastern Moors Estate covers approximately 1,900 hectares and is open access land. Wild camping here is technically in the same position as elsewhere: no formal right, but limited enforcement activity against respectful lightweight camping in remote spots. The gritstone edges themselves, including Stanage Edge, are popular with climbers and attract significant footfall; camping immediately adjacent to these well-used crags is not advisable and is far more likely to attract the attention of wardens.

White Peak: A Different Situation

The White Peak — the limestone plateau south of the Hope Valley, covering areas around Buxton, Bakewell, and Matlock — presents a more difficult picture for wild campers. The landscape is characterised by enclosed fields, stone walls, drystone boundary features, and farmland that has been in agricultural use for centuries. Access land under the CRoW Act is far more limited here, and the pastoral nature of the terrain means that camping on farmland without permission is both more visible and less acceptable to landowners. The White Peak is not suitable for wild camping without prior landowner consent, and obtaining that consent is rarely straightforward.

What Is Specifically Not Allowed

Fires

Lighting an open fire in the Peak District is, in almost every circumstance, either illegal, prohibited by the landowner, or both. The moorland landscape is particularly vulnerable to fire damage. Peat fires can burn underground for weeks or months, causing catastrophic and long-lasting damage to the ecosystem. The fires on Saddleworth Moor in 2018 — which burned for more than three weeks, affected approximately 700 hectares, and required intervention from the Ministry of Defence — are a vivid illustration of what open fires can cause in this landscape. The PDNPA operates a fire restriction policy across much of its upland access land, and Natural England has equivalent powers to restrict access in the event of fire risk. Lighting a fire on a SSSI can result in prosecution under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

In practical terms: if you need hot food or a warm drink, bring a small backpacking stove such as a Jetboil or MSR system. Use it on a hard surface away from vegetation. Never use a wood-burning stove on open moorland.

Vehicle-Based and Group Camping

What might loosely be called “wild camping” using a van, campervan, or a group of multiple tents is treated very differently by landowners, the PDNPA, and the police than solo or small-group backpacking. The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and local planning regulations both give local authorities powers to deal with unauthorised camping, particularly where it involves vehicles or large groups. The PDNPA has, in the past, issued direction orders that allow police to move on unauthorised campers within specific areas. These powers are used with considerably more frequency against vehicle-based campers and large groups than against individual backpackers with a lightweight tent.

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.