Wild Camping in Scotland
The recent petition on legalising wild camping in England and Wales has helped focus attention on the definition of wild camping, even in Scotland where its legal status was formulated under the provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.
While Scotland’s access legislation means everyone can go camping, pretty much anywhere (with a few reasonable exceptions) as long as it is done responsibly, the issue has caused considerable concern for many land owners and local communities in rural areas and urban fringes throughout the country. Scottish Natural Heritage, the organisation charged with looking after Scotland’s countryside, is keen to focus attention on what constitutes “responsible” wild camping.
Backpackers and hillwalkers know that wild camping is all about being in a special place, getting away from it all to enjoy a refreshing and invigorating experience, but according to SNH the natural beauty of many of these special places is being seriously compromised. An increasing number of antisocial and careless behaviour cases are being reported at wild camp sites across Scotland. These incidents include vandalism, out-of-control fires, rubbish, abandoned equipment and pollution from unburied human waste.
Scottish Natural Heritage is now particularly keen to target casual and occasional campers who pitch beside accessible roads or lochs and help them understand their responsibilities.
While the majority of campers observe the “leave no trace” principles of wild camping some inexperienced or less thoughtful campers can be less considerate. Access rights depend on responsible behaviour, and it’s vital that people think about the effects of their actions on others and on the environment.
It’s worth remembering that Scottish access rights do not cover certain areas. Places exempt from the access code include: buildings, curtilage around buildings, and compounds; reasonable privacy and disturbance zone around houses; sports and recreation fields while in use; schools and the land they use; where you have paid for entry previously; building sites, demolition and engineering works; quarries and surface mineral workings; sown or growing crops including hay/silage fields at late stage of growth; golf courses, except to cross over them.
Everyone who goes backpacking should do so in a responsible manner anyway. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code suggests you should use a camping stove if possible. If you must have an open fire keep it small and under control and remove all traces before leaving. When disposing human waste, carry a trowel and bury it. When urinating outdoors, do so well away from open water, rivers and burns. Never leave litter lying around. Take it away with you and dispose of it responsibly. Glass bottles, cans and plastic bags don’t just look unsightly; they also cause seriously hazards to wildlife. When driving to a site, use a designated car park where possible and never block a road or lane, an entrance to a field or a building.
I think if I had my way roadside camping would be banned and I do have serious concerns that the irresponsible attitude of the few could affect those who go backpacking in a responsible manner.
www.outdooraccess-scotland.com
August 25th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Could not agree more with the sentiments expressed in this posting. Car camping is not wild camping and should be restricted.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Hi,
Whilst spending a week on Loch Awe in June we were surprised and disappointed to find a number of sites close to the road, but also on an island in the north of the loch with camps which had been left with rubbish including bottles, both intact and broken; broken camp chairs just left there. We even came across a smouldering fire. Most of the sites had evidence of those who had been fishing - presumably not true anglers!
However it is done these people need to be caught and fined. I am not convinced that education will help - I doubt they can read!
These inconsiderate people put the access at risk.
Bob Andrews
August 26th, 2008 at 7:34 am
When I walked the West Highland Way in May I was astounded at the detritus that was left along the easily accessible parts of Loch Lomond. The remains of camp fires I found particularly intrusive and these were invariably accompanied by empty alcohol containers. I was amazed at these, almost industrial, levels of waste.
However, when you come to the parts that are only accessible after walking a considerable way, the damage tails off significantly. It would be rash of me to draw any conclusions from this; but I obviously have and I’m sure other people will as well.
Just like many other aspects of modern life; the whole are judged by the most visible minority and the spotlight always focusses on the negative.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:31 am
When I walked the Chemin/Camino pilgrim’s way from Le Puy in France to Santiago in Spain late last year, I noticed the section through France (admittedly much less frequented) was more or less entirely litter-free, whereas the more popular Spanish part of the path was absolutely strewn with rubbish at the regular rest and relaxation areas along the route.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:55 am
I have to agree with Neil. It’s an anomaly that the access provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act are for pedestrians, or cyclists or horse riders and not for those in motorised transport, and yet it appears the wild camping aspect includes people who arrive in a car, camp overnight, then leave in a car. I think this is as aspect of the law in Scotland that urgently needs to be tightened up.
August 26th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
It has got to be something based on car culture. On my LEJOG last year the filthiest place I walked was the central lanes of Cornwall - these were not tourist routes but litter created by local people. The further you are from the road the less litter there is. One way of dealing with it would be to have car and van wndows that do no open so that thoughtless drivers couldn’t just chuck their rubbish out of the windows.
Another would be to provide cars with decent litter bins that people could empty when they got home. At the moment drivers either lob it in the passenger footwell or out of their windows.
I also very rarely see a car driver who is smiling, whereas I am grinning like an idiot as I am trudging along in the rain.
Is it me?
August 27th, 2008 at 8:39 am
I suspect it might well be you Alan!
Wish there were more like you.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:58 am
“Car camping is not wild camping and should be restricted” … it it a good option for me, with 3 young children.
or are the children a problem to for the true hardliners?
It seems to me that the general point of the LRA was to open up the countryside to all that want to use it not pander to the requirements of the few.
People can and will be disrespectful of their surroundings irrespective of how they arrived.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
The point of the Land Reform Act was to open up the countryside for those who want to use it for recreation - it it is quite clear such provisions are for those who walk, cycle or use a horse, not drive a car. If you want to unpack gear from the boot of a car and camp go to an official camp site - there are many of them, but what’s the problem with camping wild with 3 young children? I did it when my youngsters were small. We took one in a carrycot and another on my shoulders and trundled along forest tracks until we found a wild camping spot, well out of sight of roads and houses.
Don’t agree with your last paragraph, I’m afraid. Evidence clearly shows that litter, fires, etc are much more of a problem with car campers than with backpackers.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Alan’s comment struck home.
At the end of July my buddy Robert and I did a three day backpack in the Forest of Bowland. Pretty darned remote at times, and the hills are severely under-used. We saw just four other walkers and they came in pairs.
The only place we came across litter was on the remote road passes that cut through these hills. There can’t be more than a few dozen cars a day cross those passes yet they still make the effort to throw their litter out here.
On the actual hill we collected all the litter we came across and brought it off. In every instance - seven if I remember correctly - that litter was helium-filled balloons, one of which appeared to have come from a bowling alley in Keighley.
Another, which was still fairly well inflated, was in the shape of a female cartoon character from a kiddies’ programme. Robert assured me that he was taking it into his tent to deflate and dispose of it properly, out of the public’s gaze.
August 31st, 2008 at 4:03 pm
The columnist Matthew Parris ran a thoughtless piece in The Times earlier in the year claiming that the rubbish strewn in the hedges alongside country lanes near his home in Derbyshire was all the fault of…cyclists.
Parris went out with friends and collected the rubbish. By the sound of what was collected (bottles of pop mostly) it was most likely lobbed from cars. Littering from cars seems to be socially acceptable in the eyes of many. ‘Somebody else will pick this up, my car doesn’t deserve to be sullied.’
Incidendentally, I introduced my ten year old boy to wild camping this past weekend. We bike-bivvied on the open access moorland of the Kings Forest of Geltsdale, near Brampton in Cumbria. This was my birthday treat, and my son is now full of the joys of bivvying. It didn’t rain that night.
Naturally, we packed all our rubbish home and didn’t leave any sign of our passing, except some lightly compressed grass.
October 24th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
It sickens me to think that the kind of people who will vandalise, drop litter and show a general lack of respect for these places, go anywhere near the wilds. I thought the one place we could escape these idiots was out in the wilds!
March 21st, 2009 at 5:13 pm
“One can arrive by car, enjoy the surroundings and leave by car without causing the disruption you all talk about.”
I’m sure one can, but the evidence very clearly shows that many don’t. And I’d love to hear your definition of the “real world.”
April 14th, 2009 at 12:18 am
i love camping,,,fishing,,,hill walking,,,,weather we get there in a car or walk,,,or public transport its no difference,,,,theese ppl writing bowt folk who turn up in a car to go camping or kayaking,,,hillwalking or fishing,,,,there all snobs born wi silver spoons in there mouths,,,,i take a few cans camping with me,,,,i take the empties home,,,,doesnt mean im no wild camper,,,,get a grip,,,im as much a wild camper as use…….coz some ppl leave crap lying around dnt blame ppl that turn up in cars or ppl who are in groups,,,,,when i go i leave no mess,,,eat wot i catch,,,and go home happy,,its great and hopefully more ppl will do it,,,id love to see more ppl camping,,were not all born with silver spoons in our mouths ,,,to some ppl who turn up in cars,its a holliday for them,,,they enjoy it,,and they take litter home ,,,,,,they may have a drink aswell,,,so wot,,,,they have the same rights as yous,,,,,,,,,,bye am gawn campin wi a big cargo
April 26th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
HERE WE GO AGAIN!!! NO SOONER HAS A REASONABLE LAW BEEN PASSED THAN ALONG COMES SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO BAN SOMETHING!
The sort of behaviour you are describing was happening long before the Land Reform Act and is a National Problem, not one confined to Roadside Campers. That is part of the “Real World” Nor is it confined to Scotland. It was one of the subjects taken into consideration in the discussions which led to the passing of the Act. Freedom to roam in Scotland was a contentious subject for years prior to the formation of the Scottish Parliament and if it had not been for that element of devolution it would still be needing the same Petition as is happening in England And Wales.
As for Car Camping not being ‘Wild Camping’… Of course it’s not…. Its a way of getting out into the beautiful and wild countryside of Scotland in a civilised manner without hindrance or interference from the very people who CLEARED MOST OF THE POPULATION IN THE FIRST PLACE
May 12th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
On a recent 3 day hike in Ayrshire, I set up camp next to the River Ayr on a bank well away from any buildings, fields with crops, roads etc. The only way you could see my tent was if you happened to walk past on the adjacent track. A couple sauntered by and I exchanged pleasantries with them as I dipped my feet in the river. Upon seeing my tent, the guy got his mobile out and had a conversation with someone as he eyed up my tent.
I was convinced he had phoned the farmer of the field which backed onto the path. The farm buildings were at least 3 quarters of a mile away. Sure enough about 10 mins later a guy happened along and, once again, pleasantries were exchanged. He then asked me if I knew I was camping on Private land. (There were no private signs and no, no camping signs). I said no, and if I had known, I would have seeked permission before setting up camp.
To cut a long story short, he kept saying that he wasn’t happy about me camping there. I tried to reason with him that I was only looking to camp for the night, I was a responsible camper, would be away early and had no intentions of setting a fire, but he still kept repeating, ‘I’m not happy about this’.
Although, it was a pest to pack up and find another spot, I did just that, as I didn’t feel good about the landowner’s displeasure. What I was really wondering though was; although I had the right to camp there, should I have stayed, or was I right to move on? I’d be interested what people think about this for future reference. Cheers
May 13th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
According to the Outdoor Access Code if you were camping out of sight of a road or houses then what you were doing was perfectly legal, more so if you were on an actual backpacking trip.
I quote: “Access rights extend to wild camping. This type of camping is lightweight, done in small numbers and only for two or three nights in any one place. You can camp in this way wherever access rights apply but help to avoid causing problems for local people and land managers by not camping in enclosed fields of crops or farm animals and by keeping well away from buildings, roads or historic structures. Take extra care to avoid disturbing deer stalking or grouse shooting. If you wish to camp close to a house or building, seek the owner’s permission.”
Seems fairly straightforward to me - you were within your legal rights.
May 14th, 2009 at 7:47 am
I think the main problem (irresponsible fishing is a second close contender) is that the honneypot areas near large towns and cities get absolutley saturated on every weekend outwith the winter months. Loch Lomond and the Trossach are a good example of how a national park cannot even address the issues. I’ve been in correspondence with the FC over this and this was their response.
“Dear Gordon,
Thank you for your email and pictures referring to Loch Chon and the damage there from camping activities.
We are well aware of this issue throughout the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park and indeed the National Park area and do take steps to try and minimise this and also to try and manage the situation regarding litter and other fouling of the area. It is a difficult problem but not one that we are prepared to walk away from.
Initially the main problem area tended to be on the east side of Loch Lomond and we have spent many years collecting litter before, during and after weekends and also trying via different communication methods to educate those people on site in the correct way to behave in the countryside. In the main this was not working and the community and other organisations in the area became more and more aware that this was the case as the problem grew.
A local management group was set up to bring together all our efforts and this included the Police, National Park, National Trust and ourselves. A joint scheme lead by the Police known as Ironworks was set up - this involved joint patrols, a direct phoneline to report issues and a willingness by the Police to make arrests. Recently it has been reported to us that the Police have charged a person for cutting down a tree at Rowardennan and it is hoped that some form of penalty will be made.
One of the results from this initiative has been the movement of people camping at Loch Lomond to other locations and although Loch Chon was previously used for this form of activity it is apparent that the level of use has increased in the area recently. This has been noted and during 2009 the planned level of activity of the Ironworks team will be to increasingly visit Loch Chon and other loch sides in the area. We recognise that this will not solve the problem immediately and that there is still a long way to go but we have been happy with the success so far and believe that we can roll this out to other locations.
We also recognise that in the long term the best way to deal with this is through education of the potential user and their friends of how to camp properly and behave responsibly towards the environment. During 2009 the National Park are to employ a Policeman, part of whose role will be to meet with school groups and start the process of education at a young age.
I am disappointed at the reaction of our member of staff to your contact and I will discuss this with him to try and ensure that he is more proactive in future. As you indicate he does have other work to do but he should where possible help people like yourself and deal with obvious and dangerous areas of litter (such as prominent areas of glass). We have another person who concentrates solely on litter and i would hope that much of the problems you encountered in the Loch Chon area will be removed over a period of weeks.
Thanks for your contact and I hope you can agree that we are making efforts to manage the situation and can also accept that we will continue to do this.
Thank you also for taking such a proactive role in helping with litter.
All the best,
Stuart
Stuart Chalmers
District Forester Tourism and Communities
Forestry Commission Scotland
Aberfoyle
Stirling
FK8 3UX”
I personally think that people behaving irresponsibly in any area with huge fires and hacking down trees after watching Ray Mears on the telly, and leaving masses of litter etc, should be arrested and charged and made to either clean it up or pay compensation to the landowner at cost for the clean up. What about public information broadcasts on the telly? A combination of hard hitting and engendering a sense of pride and respect for our beautiful country? It’s Scotlands disgrace that many many people have a total disregard for our beautiful country. John Muir would turn in his grave.
Gordon
May 19th, 2009 at 8:21 am
I think the letter from the FC shows how difficult the situation can become and it’s not just in the usual ‘honeypot’ areas of Loch Lomond etc. I recently had a conversation with an estate factor who said they were having the same problems in the Braemar area. However, as Stuart Chalmers has indicated, there are ways and means of dealing with the problem by using existing legislation. However, as I’ve said before, my fear is that some ‘well-meaning’ MSP will want to try and change the Land Reform Act to ban wild camping, sweeping up all the hard-earned rights of genuine backpackers in the process. I’ve also had discussions about this with the Ramblers’ Dave Morris who appears to be pretty sanguine about the whole business, suggesting that the legislation is already there to deal with the percieved problems of roadside camping without having to resort to changes in the Land Reform Act.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
My partner and I come from Kent and were planning to visit scotland and Loch Lomond for wild camping this summer, but after reading about the problems there and the total disregard some people have for the environment we will sadly have to rethink our plans.
It sounds as though people are treating the idea of wild camping as an excuse not to pay campsite fees and spend the money they save on extra bottles of beer, whilst being able to completely do away with their personal dignity. Great!
This is such a shame for such a beautiful part of the country and I feel very sorry for the local residents and land owners in this area. Instead of attracting responsible and respectful tourists like ourselves, it seems that Loch Lomond will be given over to the yobs.
If only Britain could have the same attitude to outdoor activities and the environment as other countries, such as Canada and Slovenia then maybe we could have more Land Reform Acts that wouldn’t then have to be revoked. This country seriously needs to reform its me me me culture.
June 15th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I do not see the problem with car camping if it is done responsibly. The issue is with the individuals not where it is done. I regularly drive up from Manchester to the Highlands for a day or two walking, and arrive well after midnight. If I was not able to just stop and pitch for a few hours at one of the usual spots like Loch Lomond, Glen Etive, Bridge of Orchy, Morar Sands etc then the trips would be a lot more difficult. I cause no damage or problem for any land owners, and am usually gone by dawn next morning. Saying that i should only be able to pitch a tent in remote spots miles from a road is just elitism, in the same way that climbers can look down on walkers.
June 20th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
We live in the Lake District and are fully aware of the problems with litter in beauty spots! We are responsible walkers and Geocachers, often collecting other peoples litter as we go. However, we are planning a trip to Orkney (by car!) with two young children in tow and wanted to do some wild camping on our travels back down. We couldn’t feasibly do this trip without the car and we will not just ‘park and camp’ right by the roadside but try to find somewhere within the suggested guidelines. Surely we can’t all be tarred with the same brush as the irresponsible campers? I would sincerely hope that we wouldn’t get a hostile reception from other campers who haven’t ‘come by car’!
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:53 am
In the western isles the problem isn’t so much with ‘car camping’ as it seems to be termed but with motorhome owners who are now using the term ‘wild camping’ to refer to parking their vehicles somewhere with a nice view - in many cases on the machairs - agricultural land reknowned for its flora and fauna (they even have their own web forum titled wildcamping for motorhomes!). The thing I find I find frustrating with the access code is that issues such as this are difficult to deal with as the code is promoted amongst those to whom access rights apply rather than to those who it doesn’t so people just plead iggnorance. I’ve tried to raise it with the local access forum but keep being told it’s not an access issue.
September 12th, 2009 at 9:34 am
I wonder if this simply comes down to an issue of ‘contact’. Walkers and backpackers have a close relationship with their environment, they see more, they hear more, they feel more. A person in their car is separated, physically and mentally, no doubt roaring along with their stereo going full blast. No different from sitting in front of their TV, they treat their surroundings like their front room, before switching off again and leaving the room. It is to them simply another consumable product, use when they want it and then forget it was ever there.
I would like to comment on ‘isle gal’s’ statement regarding motorhomes, I am in total agreement of course regarding the machairs, which are a unique environment. But having lived in the western isles for almost 10 years, feel I should also raise the point that until the 1970’s locals were using those fantastic beaches up there for dumping their rubbish and while I was there would still dump rubbish and wrecked cars out on the peat moors. I also know that items such as cars and old solid fuel stoves were actually buried in the peat! Together with a local fish processing plant dumping bleach directly into the nearby water course, there are a lot of environmental issues up there that need to be addressed by the locals as well as the visitors.