£20 to wild camp?

Rmr

Section Hiker
I would like to know who is going to be covering the countryside looking for wild campers and checking permits, perhaps they will use drones. I can't see how this would be enforceable, why would another wild camper even suggest this.
 

aqfnhoiaqh

Summit Camper
You couldn’t do that without every land owner signing up. All land is owned, the requirement (Law for England and Wales) is to have the land owners permission - not the national park.

The reason why it works for Dartmoor National Park is because the ‘commons’ are all owned by one land owner (Duchy of Cornwall). Further to that, there is the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 providing open air recreation as well as commoners rights to grazing. This is then supported through a byelaw which lays down how wild camping shall take place i.e on the commons, not within 100m of a road, no fires and not for more that two consecutive nights on the same place. Trailers / caravans / Motorhome s etc are not permitted to stop in the car parks overnight.

True, but by the same token in theory you should have permission from landowners (obviously no one seeks this). If this thing was really going to be regulated then I’m sure landowners wouldn’t mind signing up to the scheme whether via a small levy or similar and the permit covering those lands. In that sense permission is granted.

Let me be straight. I’d much rather we have a similar situation to the Land Reform Act in Scotland that legalises it almost totally and for free. But IF this was to be regulated I’d rather contribute towards something that is beneficial to what we like doing.

Also, of course it won’t be policed - even by drones. But my suggestion isn’t a preference, I don’t want this to happen. Just saying that if regulation were to happen I’d prefer it to be along this route.
 

Patrick

Ultralighter
But why should it be wild campers paying for the upkeep of the paths, MRTs etc? And, as you say, the money raised wouldn't be very significant anyway, especially once you'd taken the costs of administering the scheme, let alone the cost of patrols to enforce it (realistic? I suspect not). It's not, anyway, the bodies that do mountain rescue and work on on the paths that object to wild campers in any case, it's the landowners. I can't see any reason for England and Wales not to have the same unfettered access to at least upland areas that Scotland and the Scandinavian countries have throughout. Introducing ideas of licensing and fees seems wholly unnecessary.
 

Fossil Bluff

Thru Hiker
....I can't see any reason for England and Wales not to have the same unfettered access to at least upland areas...

Let’s not confuse access with wild camping. :) We do have access through the CROW Act, the same piece of legislation also stipulates that there is no right to camp (or paraglide).

In respect of footpaths, technically they are highways. The local authority (sometimes delegated to the national park) has a responsibility to assess and maintain them.
 

Michael_x

Section Hiker
This popped up on my insta...
https://nearlywildcamping.org/

A quote from their about page: "At the same time Nearly Wild Camping is a collection of location owners supporting each other towards a common purpose of making more of their living from the land and sharing its magic with others."

Call me a cynic but this strikes me as yet another wizard wheeze the prime objective of which is to make money.

Nothing wrong with that unless it becomes what economists term "rent seeking".

{Hugely biased American libertarian definition of rent seeking : https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rentseeking.asp }
 

snow

Trail Blazer
This popped up on my insta...
https://nearlywildcamping.org/

Interesting! Unfortunately I think they are shooting themselves in the foot by not having a list of locations (even approximate) that I can see, and requiring £20 membership + the actual fee per night. Very expensive to try it out (maybe if the £20 membership included £10 towards your first camp or similar...). I guess if you are coming from the other direction (non-wild camping) it might be worth it, but for most on here it would be more of a one-off for purposes such as the one Baldy points out above.
 
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Enzo

Thru Hiker
A quote from their about page: "

Nothing wrong with that unless it becomes what economists term "rent seeking".

{Hugely biased American libertarian definition of rent seeking : https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rentseeking.asp }

Good example of rent seeking is when some random guys stood at the entrance of a NT car park and charged for parking lol.

Before the trust started doing that themselves...which isn't rs as they are providing a service.
 

dovidola

Thru Hiker
I see there is the prospect of "Pottery" at some of the 'Nearly Wild Camping' sites. Oh goody! How did we ever manage without this essential ingredient of wild camp craft?

With a bit of luck this scheme will crash and burn just like the other one.

Why can't people just leave things alone? (Yes I know, money to be made...)
 

snow

Trail Blazer
I see there is the prospect of "Pottery" at some of the 'Nearly Wild Camping' sites. Oh goody! How did we ever manage without this essential ingredient of wild camp craft?

With a bit of luck this scheme will crash and burn just like the other one.

Why can't people just leave things alone? (Yes I know, money to be made...)

Think you are being a bit harsh, this one seems much better than the other - more basic campsite than “enhanced” wild camp. Many people don’t want to poop in a cathole but would like to camp more than 20cm away from the next tent I would think.

Whether they manage to get anyone to cough up £20 with no idea of where or what that will get them is another matter... seems to have been running for a while so maybe they do!
 

Enzo

Thru Hiker
I like a bit of pottery.
But I also like lobster and chocolate, but not at the same time lol!
 

Fossil Bluff

Thru Hiker
I see there is the prospect of "Pottery" at some of the 'Nearly Wild Camping' sites. Oh goody! How did we ever manage without this essential ingredient of wild camp craft?

With a bit of luck this scheme will crash and burn just like the other one.

Why can't people just leave things alone? (Yes I know, money to be made...)

Out of bed on the wrong side? :rolleyes:

:)

How did we ever manage without wild essential camp craft components like... titanium, silnylon, kerlon, cuben fibre, lycra and all the other base components of plastics.

The Beaker Folk did very well 4000 years ago... going around, making beakers, out of pottery.

Peace and love :kiss:
 

oreocereus

Thru Hiker
If I wanted something a bit more organised, a cheap minimalist campsite with pottery might be quite appealing. Certainly sounds nicer and more interesting than most of the campsites I might check into halfway through/at the end of the trip to get a proper shower etc.
 

Fossil Bluff

Thru Hiker
If I wanted something a bit more organised, a cheap minimalist campsite with pottery might be quite appealing. Certainly sounds nicer and more interesting than most of the campsites I might check into halfway through/at the end of the trip to get a proper shower etc.

A cream tea wouldn’t go amiss either :)

#Creamfirst
 

dovidola

Thru Hiker
Out of bed on the wrong side?

Yes, probably. I'm feeling really much happier about pottery now.

I not sure the Beaker People managed that well though - I've only ever heard of dead ones.

On reflection @snow is right of course. This isn't quite like that other scheme and it hardly 'competes' with wild camping.

Admittedly I avail myself liberally of the benefits of technology, but I like wild camping because I can kid myself I'm escaping from regulatory, commercial, digital and other civilised forces. I find that feeling of liberation quite intoxicating. So when it looks like anything might threaten that little idyll, I'm inclined to get defensive.
 

Bmblbzzz

Thru Hiker
Had a brief look at the Nearly Wild Camping scheme. On one hand, £20 a year and presumably then a fee per site is not wild camping. On the other, it doesn't really claim to be wild camping, it's small sites with a small feel but some convenience. Perhaps a bit like AirBnb compared to resort hotels... And £20 a year is half the price of the Camping and Caravan Club (or do I mean the Camping and Campervan Club, or whatever, I get those two mixed up).
 
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