Wild Camping in England: Where It Is and Is Not Allowed

There is a particular kind of freedom in waking up to the sound of a curlew calling across a moorland dawn, your sleeping bag damp with condensation, a flask of tea warming your hands as the light breaks over a ridge you climbed the evening before. Wild camping — sleeping out in the landscape without the infrastructure of a campsite — is one of the most honest ways to experience the British countryside. But in England, that freedom comes with complications that every aspiring wild camper needs to understand before they unroll a sleeping mat and call it home for the night.

Unlike Scotland, where a statutory right to wild camp exists under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and unlike Dartmoor, which until recently held its own unique legal status in England, the picture across most of England is considerably more nuanced. The rules are not uniform, they are not always clearly signposted, and the consequences of getting them wrong can range from an awkward conversation with a landowner to a formal trespass action. Understanding the landscape — legally as well as physically — is not optional. It is essential.

The Legal Position: England Is Not Scotland

Let us be direct about this from the outset. In England, there is no general right to wild camp on open land. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 — commonly known as the CRoW Act — opened up vast areas of mountain, moor, heath, and down to walkers under what is known as the “right to roam.” However, and this is a point that trips up a great many people, the right to roam is a right to walk and to be on that land during daylight hours. It is not a right to pitch a tent, light a fire, or sleep overnight.

The land designated as “open access” under the CRoW Act does not grant you camping rights. When you spread your sleeping bag on a Pennine hillside or pitch a bivvy bag on the Shropshire hills, you are technically trespassing unless you have the landowner’s permission. Trespass in England and Wales is a civil matter rather than a criminal one in most circumstances, which means that in practice you are unlikely to be arrested. However, a landowner does have the right to ask you to leave, and if you refuse, they may apply for a court order.

This legal grey area is where most wild camping in England actually exists — in the gap between what is technically lawful and what is practically tolerated. Most experienced wild campers in England operate on a basis of responsible, low-impact behaviour that makes them effectively invisible: arriving late in the evening, leaving early in the morning, taking absolutely nothing and leaving absolutely nothing, and choosing locations well away from houses, roads, and established footpaths. This approach is sometimes called “leave no trace” camping, a philosophy borrowed from outdoor cultures in the United States but entirely applicable here.

Dartmoor: England’s Only Statutory Right to Wild Camp

For many years, Dartmoor National Park in Devon was the one shining exception to England’s general prohibition on wild camping. Dartmoor was unique in having a bylaw that explicitly permitted camping on open moorland without the need for landowner consent — a right deeply embedded in the culture of the national park and cherished by everyone from Duke of Edinburgh Award participants to seasoned backpackers completing the Two Moors Way.

In January 2023, that right was very nearly extinguished. A landowner named Alexander Darwall brought a legal challenge arguing that the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 did not, in fact, grant a right to camp. In a judgement that sent shockwaves through the outdoor community, the Court of Appeal initially ruled in his favour, threatening to end wild camping on Dartmoor entirely. The reaction was swift and passionate. Campaigners gathered outside Parliament. Outdoor organisations including the British Mountaineering Council, the Ramblers, and the Open Spaces Society mobilised publicly. Members of Parliament raised the issue in the Commons.

Following an appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the earlier decision in July 2024, restoring the right to wild camp on Dartmoor Common land. The judgement confirmed that the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 does grant a right of open-air recreation, which includes camping. It was an enormous relief for walkers and wild campers across the country, not just those who use Dartmoor specifically, but for the broader principle that access rights matter and deserve protection.

Where You Can Camp on Dartmoor

The camping right on Dartmoor applies to the designated common land within the national park — this covers roughly a third of Dartmoor’s total area. You are permitted to camp on this land without a tent (or with a tent in many areas) provided you follow the Dartmoor National Park Authority’s guidelines. These include camping at least 100 metres from any road, not camping in any enclosed fields, not lighting open fires on the ground (you may use a raised fire pit or stove), and not leaving any litter or waste.

Specific areas around Postbridge, Bellever, and much of the high moor around Yes Tor and High Willhays are popular spots. The authority publishes maps showing where camping is and is not permitted, and it is well worth downloading these before you set out. The national park also designates certain areas as no-camping zones to protect sensitive habitats or because of repeated issues with littering and fire damage.

The Lake District: Tolerance Without Legal Right

If Dartmoor is the legal anomaly in England, the Lake District is the cultural one. There is no statutory right to wild camp in the Lake District, and yet it has one of the most established wild camping traditions in England. The high fells of Cumbria — the ground above the intake walls, above the last farm and the last sheep enclosure — have been slept on by generations of walkers, climbers, and backpackers who have simply understood that staying out of trouble means being sensible about where and how you camp.

The Lake District National Park Authority does not encourage wild camping, but it acknowledges its existence and provides guidance rather than enforcement. The key principle, repeated consistently, is that wild camping should be practised responsibly on open fellside and not on enclosed farmland. The traditional understanding is that high ground — the summit ridges, the cwms (or combes as they are called locally), the ground above the valley floor — is where camping is most likely to be tolerated.

Striding Edge, the approaches to Helvellyn, the ridgelines around Blencathra and Skiddaw, the fells above Buttermere — these are places where a quiet, well-managed camp has been practised for generations. You are unlikely to have a problem if you arrive late, pitch a small tent in a hollow or behind a ridge, and leave the following morning without trace. But you should always be prepared for the possibility that a landowner or warden may ask you to move on, and your response should be cooperative and courteous.

The Bothy Culture Connection

The Lake District, like much of upland England, also benefits from a network of bothies — simple, unlocked shelters maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA). Bothies are not wild camping in the conventional sense, but they occupy a similar cultural space and are used by similar people. The MBA operates around 100 bothies across Scotland, England, and Wales, all of them free to use and all of them dependent on users treating them with the same respect that the wider wild camping community brings to the hills. If you are not yet confident enough to camp entirely exposed on an English fell, a bothy night is an excellent stepping stone.

The Peak District: A More Complicated Picture

The Peak District was, in many respects, the birthplace of the English access movement. The 1932 Kinder Scout Mass Trespass — in which a group of mostly working-class walkers from Sheffield and Manchester deliberately walked onto private grouse moor to protest the exclusion of ordinary people from open land — is a pivotal moment in British social history. The five men who were arrested and jailed for that act of protest are remembered today as heroes of the access movement.

Despite that history, the Peak District does not have any formal wild camping rights. The vast majority of the national park is privately owned, including the moors that were the subject of the 1932 trespass. Much of this land is managed as grouse moor under the stewardship of shooting estates, and landowners are generally less sympathetic to wild camping than their counterparts in the Lake District or on Dartmoor.

That said, camping does take place on the high moorland — on Kinder Scout, on Bleaklow, on the edges above Edale and the Hope Valley. Those who do it successfully tend to be people who know the ground well, who camp in places that are genuinely difficult to reach by road, and who are scrupulous about leaving no evidence of their presence. The campsite at Upper Booth in the Edale valley is a useful base if you want a legal alternative before venturing further onto the moor.

The Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors

The Yorkshire Dales National Park covers some of the most dramatic limestone country in England — the great scars above Malham, the wide flats of Fountains Fell, the green dales running north towards Swaledale and Wensleydale. As with the Peak District and the Lake District, there is no statutory right to wild camp here, but the tradition of responsible camping on open fell is well established.

The Pennine Way, which passes through the Dales on its route from Edale to Kirk Yetholm, passes through sections of genuinely remote country where camping is practically necessary for thru-hikers who want to complete significant daily distances. Many Pennine Way walkers camp on the open moor rather than diverting to campsites or hostels, and this is generally tolerated provided the camping is done well. The national park authority’s guidance emphasises minimising impact and avoiding camping near roads, buildings, and water sources.

The North York Moors presents a broadly similar picture. The heather moorland above Goathland, the ridgelines of the Cleveland Hills, and the coastal section of the Cleveland Way all offer potential wild camping terrain for those who understand the conditions.

The South Downs, New Forest, and Southern England

Southern England is, in general terms, the most challenging environment for wild camping in England. The population density is higher, the land is more intensively farmed, and the tradition of accepting walkers sleeping on open land is far less established than it is in the northern uplands.

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.