Any Dartmoor campers?

[Ystranc]

This is what has brought all of this about, it’s a local newspaper headline from 2020 from when the National Parks Authority was forced to ban wild camping.​

Wild camping banned on Dartmoor as illegal campers leave human waste and dump belongings​

• 
  WEST COUNTRY
• 
  ENVIRONMENT
• 
  DARTMOOR
• 
  DEVON
• 
  Wednesday 5 August 2020 at 12:15pm

People have been dumping their belongings after illegally camping on Dartmoor.Credit: ITV West Country
Wild camping has been temporarily banned on Dartmoor following a dramatic rise in antisocial behaviour with people dumping litter, tents and human waste on the land.
In the weeks since the easing of lockdown rangers have collected more dumped rubbish than they usually would in a year, according to Forestry England.
Now Dartmoor National Park Authority has used emergency powers to introduce a ban, which hopes to stop large groups of people fly-camping at Bellever (Riddon Ridge).
It will come into force on Friday 7 August for 27 days.

People in large groups with tents and other belongings should not be wild camping on the land.Credit: ITV West Country
National Park marshals have been hired with funding from the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner to help enforce the rule.
It comes after a significant increase in the number of people camping overnight on parts of Dartmoor in tents, motorhomes and camper vans - many breaking the law.

• Anger over piles of rubbish and furniture dumped on Dartmoor

At Bellever the National Park Authority described the situation as "unsustainable" with "littering, human waste and fires causing damage to habitats and animals.
On one night in July, around 70 tents were spotted at Bellever.
50 firepits were counted along a 500m stretch of riverbank.
Rangers have reported finding broken bottles, plastic bags, disposable barbecues, wet wipes and used toilet paper among the mess left behind by campers.
This, they say, is harmful to wildlife on the moor and threatens the ancient monuments at Bellever - including Bronze Age hut circles which are 3,000 years old. Human waste is another problem. The Authority says this is "wholly avoidable" and is a huge health hazard, particularly when the country is still in the midst of a global pandemic.
There is absolutely no excuse for this type of behaviour. We recognise the coronavirus pandemic has been a difficult time for us all and that people want to come to Dartmoor to enjoy the fresh air, get some exercise and connect with nature.
Kevin Bishop, Chief Executive of Dartmoor National Park Authority

Pictures have been shared in recent weeks of the litter left at the beauty spot.Credit: ITV West Country
Mr Bishop, of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, said the team are "appalled and concerned" at the actions of "the disrespectful few" who are "treating the countryside like a toilet or a rubbish dump." In previous weeks, ITV West Country has reported on the growing number of illegal campers staying on Dartmoor.
In July more than 100 people set up a camp in Holne Woods for more than two weeks, forcing the Authority to get a court order granted, install road blocks and even recruit help from the local police.

• Police could be brought in to evict an illegal gathering of 150 people on Dartmoor
• 150 Illegal campers leave damaged Dartmoor site

People camping with large tents or in large groups with lots of equipment must use designated campsites on Dartmoor.
Specific parts of the beauty spot allow for backpack camping. Visitors can stay for one or two nights if they carry a tent and other equipment in a rucksack, with zero impact on the environment.

 

[Paul N]

I do not subscribe to the 'right to roam' that some are calling for. However, there already exist in law some rights to roam and I would like to preserve these. Open Access: Areas clearly marked on OS maps where people can go where they please. Private farmland that either does or does not permit walkers: In some places, particularly around here, there is private land where you cannot just wander around willy-nilly, but there are public footpaths, often not obvious on the ground but they are clearly marked on OS maps, these are ancient rights of way and are protected by law. The landowner is committing an offence by trying to block, divert or render them unusable. There are also permissive pathways, paths that the landowner has allowed people to walk on within certain limitations. I would like to preserve the status quo.

Wild camping is legally defined, on Dartmoor and in Scotland, as camping for a maximum of three days (two nights) in one spot and with only what you can carry on your back in a rucksack - plus some other rules..

The right to wild camp on Dartmoor has been around for as long as I can remember. I grew up 100 metres from the National Park boundary, which makes me a 'local'. In my teens I completed 4 Ten Tors expeditions and we could camp anywhere on the moor (within open access and other limitations), going on afterwards, and briefly, to join the, then fledgling, Dartmoor Rescue Group. Then, and since then, I have wild camped on Dartmoor many, many times, most recently 2 years ago. I should add that once I had broken camp nobody could tell I had been there - I took only photographs and left only footprints. Dartmoor was the one place in England it was legal to do this.

I now live within spitting distance of the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District and the Lake District, they are mostly open access but none of these permit wild camping - though a blind eye is often turned to those who do it responsibly. So, because it was permitted to wild camp on Dartmoor but not locally, I travelled 220 miles with a couple of friends so that we could do what we love and stay legal. I don't want this right to be taken away from me. I would like the right to be expanded so that I don't have to travel so far. Open access land in local National Parks are the places I would like to see the right extended to.

Having a right comes with responsibilities, as Mike has pointed out. Totally agree, but also know that there are idiots who don't give a monkey's. So you have to decided if you grant/retain/deny a right to the majority of people, or restrict it, because of the minority who abuse it. The government of Scotland granted this right (within very strict parameters) but then, after some years, had to add extra by-laws for the Trossachs and Loch Lomond area, where the idiots were causing problems. For the rest of Scotland the right to roam, and wild camping is not causing too many issues. If it works in Scotland then why won't it work in England?

The bottom line is that whatever rules and laws you make, or freedoms that you give, there will always be some idiots who ignore, exploit or abuse them. Even if you ban wild camping on Dartmoor these same idiots will ignore this law just as much as they are ignoring the ones that exist now.

 

[Ystranc]

I do not subscribe to the 'right to roam' that some are calling for. However, there already exist in law some rights to roam and I would like to preserve these. Open Access: Areas clearly marked on OS maps where people can go where they please. Private farmland that either does or does not permit walkers: In some places, particularly around here, there is private land where you cannot just wander around willy-nilly, but there are public footpaths, often not obvious on the ground but they are clearly marked on OS maps, these are ancient rights of way and are protected by law. The landowner is committing an offence by trying to block, divert or render them unusable. There are also permissive pathways, paths that the landowner has allowed people to walk on within certain limitations. I would like to preserve the status quo.

Wild camping is legally defined, on Dartmoor and in Scotland, as camping for a maximum of three days (two nights) in one spot and with only what you can carry on your back in a rucksack - plus some other rules..

The right to wild camp on Dartmoor has been around for as long as I can remember. I grew up 100 metres from the National Park boundary, which makes me a 'local'. In my teens I completed 4 Ten Tors expeditions and we could camp anywhere on the moor (within open access and other limitations), going on afterwards, and briefly, to join the, then fledgling, Dartmoor Rescue Group. Then, and since then, I have wild camped on Dartmoor many, many times, most recently 2 years ago. I should add that once I had broken camp nobody could tell I had been there - I took only photographs and left only footprints. Dartmoor was the one place in England it was legal to do this.

I now live within spitting distance of the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District and the Lake District, they are mostly open access but none of these permit wild camping - though a blind eye is often turned to those who do it responsibly. So, because it was permitted to wild camp on Dartmoor but not locally, I travelled 220 miles with a couple of friends so that we could do what we love and stay legal. I don't want this right to be taken away from me. I would like the right to be expanded so that I don't have to travel so far. Open access land in local National Parks are the places I would like to see the right extended to.

Having a right comes with responsibilities, as Mike has pointed out. Totally agree, but also know that there are idiots who don't give a monkey's. So you have to decided if you grant/retain/deny a right to the majority of people, or restrict it, because of the minority who abuse it. The government of Scotland granted this right (within very strict parameters) but then, after some years, had to add extra by-laws for the Trossachs and Loch Lomond area, where the idiots were causing problems. For the rest of Scotland the right to roam, and wild camping is not causing too many issues. If it works in Scotland then why won't it work in England?

The bottom line is that whatever rules and laws you make, or freedoms that you give, there will always be some idiots who ignore, exploit or abuse them. Even if you ban wild camping on Dartmoor these same idiots will ignore this law just as much as they are ignoring the ones that exist now.

It all comes down to respect. Respecting each others point of view, respecting rights of access, respecting wildlife, respecting residents and the landowners and respecting the land. Unfortunately respect is a quality that is sadly lacking on either side of this debate. I agree Paul, there is actually plenty of space for those who undertake responsible wild camping but as happened with changes to the Trossachs byelaws, sometimes it is necessary to introduce measures to reduce the impact of people on the environment. Some areas need protection for the sake of rare species that aren’t immediately obvious like the Welsh Clearwing that need mature and standing dead birch (something that even some responsible bushcrafters would see as fair game for firewood)
Access rights are much too complicated to be absolutely cut and dried, land usage and pressures on the land change radically (just look at the increase in staycations during Covid) They change seasonally, certain times of year ground nesting wild birds need protection from disturbance…
….it’s just not that simple

 

[Big Red]

This is what has brought all of this about, it’s a local newspaper headline from 2020 from when the National Parks Authority was forced to ban wild camping.​

Wild camping banned on Dartmoor as illegal campers leave human waste and dump belongings​

• 
  WEST COUNTRY
• 
  ENVIRONMENT
• 
  DARTMOOR
• 
  DEVON
• 
  Wednesday 5 August 2020 at 12:15pm

People have been dumping their belongings after illegally camping on Dartmoor.Credit: ITV West Country
Wild camping has been temporarily banned on Dartmoor following a dramatic rise in antisocial behaviour with people dumping litter, tents and human waste on the land.
In the weeks since the easing of lockdown rangers have collected more dumped rubbish than they usually would in a year, according to Forestry England.
Now Dartmoor National Park Authority has used emergency powers to introduce a ban, which hopes to stop large groups of people fly-camping at Bellever (Riddon Ridge).
It will come into force on Friday 7 August for 27 days.

People in large groups with tents and other belongings should not be wild camping on the land.Credit: ITV West Country
National Park marshals have been hired with funding from the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner to help enforce the rule.
It comes after a significant increase in the number of people camping overnight on parts of Dartmoor in tents, motorhomes and camper vans - many breaking the law.

• Anger over piles of rubbish and furniture dumped on Dartmoor

At Bellever the National Park Authority described the situation as "unsustainable" with "littering, human waste and fires causing damage to habitats and animals.
On one night in July, around 70 tents were spotted at Bellever.
50 firepits were counted along a 500m stretch of riverbank.
Rangers have reported finding broken bottles, plastic bags, disposable barbecues, wet wipes and used toilet paper among the mess left behind by campers.
This, they say, is harmful to wildlife on the moor and threatens the ancient monuments at Bellever - including Bronze Age hut circles which are 3,000 years old. Human waste is another problem. The Authority says this is "wholly avoidable" and is a huge health hazard, particularly when the country is still in the midst of a global pandemic.
There is absolutely no excuse for this type of behaviour. We recognise the coronavirus pandemic has been a difficult time for us all and that people want to come to Dartmoor to enjoy the fresh air, get some exercise and connect with nature.
Kevin Bishop, Chief Executive of Dartmoor National Park Authority

Pictures have been shared in recent weeks of the litter left at the beauty spot.Credit: ITV West Country
Mr Bishop, of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, said the team are "appalled and concerned" at the actions of "the disrespectful few" who are "treating the countryside like a toilet or a rubbish dump." In previous weeks, ITV West Country has reported on the growing number of illegal campers staying on Dartmoor.
In July more than 100 people set up a camp in Holne Woods for more than two weeks, forcing the Authority to get a court order granted, install road blocks and even recruit help from the local police.

• Police could be brought in to evict an illegal gathering of 150 people on Dartmoor
• 150 Illegal campers leave damaged Dartmoor site

People camping with large tents or in large groups with lots of equipment must use designated campsites on Dartmoor.
Specific parts of the beauty spot allow for backpack camping. Visitors can stay for one or two nights if they carry a tent and other equipment in a rucksack, with zero impact on the environment.

That lot could have been removed with 24hrs, if there was a will……….and the locals were left to sort it out! They were just a bunch of low life wasters…..Sorry, but I live near there!

 

[Ark79]

Have to wonder? Hands up who would want complete strangers camping in their back garden tonight or any night for that matter I would guess none of the protesters would

Age old keek …. Those who don’t …..are punished because of those who do

 

[Big Red]

More restrictions. All DNP residents who are on the mailing list, got this today. Definitely be attending.

 

[1 shot willie]

......nothing to do with todays date Mike? .........you old scoundrel you