Wild Camping Law in the UK: Where You Can (and Can't) Camp
"Can I wild camp here?" is one of the most-asked questions in British hillwalking and camping circles, and the honest answer is: it depends entirely on which country you're standing in. The UK doesn't have one wild camping law — it has several, and they're genuinely different in substance, not just in the small print. This guide sets out what's actually allowed in each nation, including the 2025 Supreme Court ruling that changed the picture on Dartmoor, and how to camp responsibly wherever you pitch up.
Scotland: a general right of access
Scotland is the exception, not the rule. Under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, everyone has a statutory right of responsible access to most land and inland water in Scotland, and this explicitly covers wild camping. You don't need the landowner's permission to pitch a small tent on open, unenclosed ground, provided you camp responsibly: in small numbers, for a night or two in one spot, well away from buildings and roads, and leaving no trace.
There are exceptions. The right of access doesn't apply to gardens, or to land where crops are growing, and certain areas are covered by local byelaws that override the general right. The best-known example is Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, where seasonal Camping Management Zones require a paid permit for camping between 1 March and 30 September along specific stretches of loch shore — outside that season, or outside those zones, the normal Access Code rules apply. The park byelaws date from 2017 and were due a ten-year review; a public consultation on their future ran through 2026, so it's worth checking the National Park's own site for the current zones and any changes before you go.
England & Wales: no general right, permission needed
Outside Dartmoor (see below), there is no general legal right to wild camp anywhere in England or Wales. Nearly all land is owned by someone — a farmer, an estate, a water company, the National Trust, the Forestry Commission — and pitching a tent without asking is technically a civil matter of trespass against that landowner.
In practice, this is usually not the criminal offence people assume it is. Simple trespass in England and Wales is a civil wrong, not a crime: a landowner (or their representative, such as a gamekeeper or ranger) can ask you to leave, and if you refuse to move on you could be asked to pay for any damage caused, but you won't typically be arrested just for pitching a tent on someone's field overnight. This is the legal reality behind the "arrive late, leave early, leave no trace" approach some backpackers use in the hills — often called stealth camping — which sits in a genuine grey area: not authorised, but rarely prosecuted if it's done discreetly, briefly, and without causing damage. That said, it's not a right, it can go wrong if you're camped somewhere sensitive (nature reserves, sites of special scientific interest, or land with byelaws that do carry criminal penalties), and the safest and most respectful approach anywhere in England and Wales is still to get permission — many farmers and landowners will say yes if you simply ask.
A small number of upland areas have informal, long-standing tolerance of high-level wild camping by hillwalkers — parts of the Lake District and Snowdonia/Eryri are often cited — but this is landowner goodwill and local custom, not a legal right, and it can be withdrawn. Always check current guidance from the relevant National Park Authority before assuming it applies to a specific spot.
Dartmoor: a real right, confirmed by the Supreme Court
Dartmoor has long been treated as England's one exception, and as of 2025 that's now settled law rather than folklore. The Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 gives the public a right of access to the Dartmoor Commons for "open-air recreation." Landowners Alexander and Diana Darwall argued in court that this right didn't extend to wild camping, and after the case worked through the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and finally the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the Darwalls' appeal on 21 May 2025, confirming that section 10(1) of the Act does include the right to pitch a tent and camp on the Commons.
The practical effect: wild camping on Dartmoor Commons is a genuine public right, not something dependent on individual landowner permission — the only place in England where that's currently true. It's still subject to the Dartmoor National Park Authority's own conditions (camp lightweight, away from farm stock and archaeology, move on after a night or two, and check locally for any excluded areas), and some private, non-common land within the national park boundary is unaffected, so it's still worth checking a Commons map before you pitch.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has no equivalent right-to-roam legislation and very few public rights of way over open land, so wild camping there depends on landowner permission — formal or, in practice, tacit — in the same way as most of England and Wales, but without even Dartmoor's exception. Forest Service sites sometimes offer camping permits, and access to hill country is often only possible thanks to landowner tolerance rather than any statutory right. If you're planning a trip there, it's worth contacting landowners or Forest Service NI directly rather than assuming access.
Leave no trace, wherever you camp
Wherever wild camping is permitted or tolerated, the same responsible-access principles apply, and they're what keeps informal access working for everyone:
- Arrive late, leave early. Pitch in the evening, strike camp early the next morning — this reduces your visible impact and is part of what makes wild camping acceptable in areas where it's tolerated rather than an explicit right.
- Camp in small numbers, away from buildings, roads and other people. A single small tent or two is very different, in impact and in how it's perceived, from a group with vehicles.
- Leave the ground as you found it. Take all litter home, don't dig drainage trenches, and avoid camping on the same spot for more than a night or two so vegetation can recover.
- Deal with waste properly. Bury human waste well away from water sources and paths, or better, carry it out; never leave toilet paper or wet wipes behind.
- Be careful with fire. Many wild camping problems and access restrictions trace back to fire damage — use a stove rather than an open fire, and if you must have a fire, keep it small, controlled, and off vegetation.
- Respect livestock and wildlife. Keep dogs under control, don't camp in fields with grazing animals or during lambing season, and give ground-nesting birds a wide berth in spring.
The bottom line
Scotland gives you a genuine statutory right to camp responsibly on most unenclosed land. Dartmoor now gives you the same thing, confirmed by the UK's highest court in 2025. Everywhere else in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, wild camping without permission remains, legally, trespass — usually a civil matter rather than a criminal one, and often tolerated in the hills if done discreetly and briefly, but never a right you can rely on. When in doubt, ask the landowner, check the local National Park Authority's current guidance, or head somewhere the right is actually written into law.