4 of the UK's best wild camping spots

Want spectacular landscapes all to yourself? Try one of these wild camping adventures – perfect for the UK's lengthy summer evenings...

New book Wilderness Weekends offers expert advice on everything from finding little-known wild camping spots and bothies (remote, free cabins found across the UK), to packing the right kit and navigation. Written by Wanderlust editor Phoebe Smith, it also suggests 26 trips, with maps, that will enable you to wake up to a five-star wilderness view, all of your own. To celebrate the book’s release, we’ve picked four of our favourites...

Stay on a secluded beach

Sutherland, Scotland 
Sandwood Bay is one of the most secluded beaches in Britain, an arc of golden sand sheltered by imposing granite cliffs. 

“Anywhere else in the UK there would be a giant car park, deckchair kiosks and donkey rides,” says Phoebe. “But, because of its location, remote even for the far north of Scotland, Sandwood remains completely unspoilt. It lies 5km from the nearest road, along a track that skirts a chain of lochs before winding down to the shoreline. Once there, you can pitch your tent among the grassy dunes and take in the view. 

“Sandwood is part of a Special Area of Conservation, rich in animal and plant life. Keep your eyes peeled for deer, puffins, razorbills and guillemots, along with the eight different varieties of orchid that grow among the coastal grasses (machair). If local legends are to be believed, you might even spot the odd mermaid.” 


The Priest's Hole cave, Lake District (Photo: Phoebe Smith)

Camp in a mountain cave

Patterdale, Lake District 
For a night or two, you can live the life of Millican Dalton, a self-styled Professor of Adventure who left a respectable London job in the 1930s to become of one of Britain’s most famous cave-dwelling hermits. Millican made Borrowdale, on the lower slopes of Lakeland’s Castle Crag his home. 

“Caves tend to be at the bottom of hills, hidden underground or beneath boulders,” says Phoebe. “But find a cave up high, on the side of a mountain, and you’ve found somewhere special indeed. Priest’s Hole, a natural cavity located high up on Dove Crag is just that. On a clear day, the view is as breathtaking as the climb. It’s like having a penthouse view over the northern Lake District.”

Sleep among ancient stones

Erme Plains, Devon 
Dartmoor National Park has a double draw for wilderness explorers. “It’s the only place in England where you can legally pitch a tent for a wild camp (thanks to a local bylaw) and it’s also home to some the country’s most intriguing archaeology,” explains Phoebe. 

“Scattered among marsh land and weather-beaten granite tors you’ll find many ancient cairns, evidence of the tin mining that this area was once famous for, and the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains anywhere in the UK. 

“The Upper Erme Stone Row is one of the most spectacular of these prehistoric relics. Stretching for over 3km, with a stone circle made up of 26 monoliths at its southern end, it’s the longest stone row in the world and provides a fascinating insight into Dartmoor’s ancient past. Pitch your tent nearby and explore.” 

Visit an old Shepherd’s hut

Carneddau, Snowdonia 
“People often bemoan the lack of ‘true wilderness’ in Wales,” says Phoebe. “Many people tend to think of the Snowdon tourist trail, which deposits trainloads of visitors on the summit of Wales’s highest mountain with barely any of the required effort. But not far away are the Carneddau, an expanse of high land that is home to wild horses and few visitors. 

“The area also offers the rustic hospitality of a former shepherd’s hut, maintained by the excellent volunteer-run Mountain Bothies Association. A stay here is free for wilderness explorers as long as you follow bothy etiquette: only stay one or two nights; keep numbers to a minimum (no more than six without permission); make all visitors welcome; take out all your rubbish with you. 

"It’s the perfect base to explore the heatherclad peaks. Facilities are very basic – think stone tent rather than hostel – and you’ll have to take all your supplies in with you, but it’s a small price to pay to wake up in the wilds of Wales.” 

Source: https://www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/4-of-the-uks-best-wild-camping-spots/

Wild Camping Part One

One of the simplest, most accessible and most rewarding adventures we can have is Wild Camping.

Anyone, regardless of age and ability, can have a go at this and it needn't require great long hike into the remote wilds of the Scottish Highland.

First of the legal side of things. Wild camping is not permitted by law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (but is also classed as a civil not a criminal offence) unless participants have permission from the landowner (there will always be someone as all land in these countries is owned). However, practically a number of places tolerate wild camping as long as a code of ethics is adhered to. Good examples of these locations are Snowdonia and the Lake District National Parks. Both locations' official websites have pages dedicated to dealing with the issue of wild camping and his allowance along with details of the codes of practice one should stick to.

Lake District

Snowdonia. (Frequently Asked Question - currently the 5th questions down deals with wild camping)

Dartmoor: Dartmoor is exceptional in that wild camping is actually actively allowed as long as the group size is small (think one or two tents), you spend no more than two consecutive nights on the same spot and you camp more than 100m from public roads, enclosures or other restricted areas. A full map of the areas where you can wild camp under these conditions can be found at the following webpage:

One of my favourite places to wind camp is on beaches. Like the rest of England, NI and Wales it is not permitted unless you have the land-owner permission but these hidden spots are often more accessible than the hills for some people and young children.

Scotland is much more easy going than the rest of the UK and the right to roam applies almost anywhere. You can wild camp in any area of wild land as long as you follow the general code.

The official guide from Scotland's Tourist Department offers some advice:

and you can download the official guide to how you should conduct yourself here.

The only exception to all this is around Loch Lomond where camping is forbidden due to past campers leaving rubbish, damaging the area and generally getting drunk and upsetting the locals. Which goes to prove the freedom to wild camp is a privilege not a right and if we wish to continue to experience the joys it brings we must apply a bit of common sense and respect to our approach.

The most important parts of the general code of conduct are:

-Take all Litter away

-Leave the site as you found it -no holes, no fire damage, no litter, no damage to vegetation. And if you see any litter (even if it's not yours), pick it up and take it home...it's all good karma.

-Minimise disturbance to people and wildlife (camp out of site, minimise noise and light)

-Keep groups small

-Only stay for one night (in some places, e.g. Dartmoor and Scotland, you can stay for more)

-Any toilet duties should be carried out as discretely as possible and should be a minimum of 30m from any water course.

A simple guide of how one should conduct oneself whilst wild-camping can be summarised as:

"If, when you leave in the morning, there is no evidence of your visit and no-one will ever know you've been there then you've probably done things right"

Having dealt with the legal side of things next month I'll look at some of the essential, basic kit you'll need to have a safe and comfortable night out under the stars.

Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/andy-torbet/wild-camping_b_4954625.html