Surge in Dartmoor ‘fly camping’ after wild camp ruling

Visitors are being asked to treat Devon’s Dartmoor National Park with respect after concern some campers are using it “like a festival site”.

Dartmoor National Park Authority said it had seen an increase in “fly camping”, including people bringing generators and mini fridges with them, since the Supreme Court upheld the legal right to wild camp on areas of private land in the park in May.

A code of conduct says tents and equipment must fit in a carriable backpack and no more than six people can camp together.

Richard Drysdale, of the authority, said: “We’ve seen an increase in people wanting to explore this incredible place but not appreciating the ethos of wild camping or backpack camping.”

There is no general right to wild camp on most private land in England, but Dartmoor National Park is a rare exception.

Mr Drysdale said: “This is a protected landscape, a national park. Treat it responsibly, come and enjoy it.”

Deputy head ranger Ella Briens added: “We have concerns about the increase in fly camping.

“We want to be really clear about what backpack or wild camping is and what’s fly camping.

“We can’t condone people pitching up roadside, leaving litter, having fires, big groups, in the wrong place.

“Wild camping is the ‘leave no trace’ approach.”

The authority said it had received reports of people leaving litter behind, pitching their tent by the roadside and lighting fires.

Ranger Sam Le Bailly said: “You can’t just pitch up a tent on the side of the road, have a fire with a beer cooler and a big tent and chairs.

“We’ve had generators on the moor, mini fridges, big tables, boom boxes, large speakers, eight-man tents.

“It’s really crazy what you see. It still surprises me.”

Richard Drysdale, director of conservation and communities at the authority, said park rangers were seeing more people “not following the code of conduct, not camping out of sight and parking by the roadside, which is something we discourage and is against the by-laws”.

“There has been a real rise in the number of people thinking that within this incredible area that they can treat it like a festival site,” he said.

Campers were being asked to check the Backpack Code and where camping is permitted on the moor before heading out.

The authority said wild camping was “everything that fits into a backpack”.

Felix Trevethick, a 22-year-old student who has been wild camping on Dartmoor several times, said it was a “a good way to get out and explore the outdoors”.

“Dartmoor is the only place in England where you can legally wild camp,” he said.

“The core principle is ‘leave no trace’.

“There’s a clear map of where you can and can’t camp. You see the rubbish that people have left. It’s irresponsible.”