The appeal by Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) and the Open Spaces Society (OSS) aimed to overturn the high court’s January verdict, which came down in favour of a legal challenge launched by millionaire landowner Alexander Darwall and ruled wild camping was not permitted without landowner’s permission on Dartmoor.
Main image: sunset from a wild camp on Dartmoor | Photo: Hanna Lindon
Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, told The Great Outdoors after the hearing: “I feel quite optimistic. I think our team were brilliant and put the case really well in a very short time. I’m very pleased that we intervened. I do feel quite optimistic because I felt the Darwall’s case got weaker as the day went on.”
The judges will now consider the case, with a verdict not likely to arrive until at least October.
‘Harmless’
Speaking after the hearing, Kate Ashbrook said: “Backpack camping has always been accepted as part of open air recreation. It’s harmless, it’s quiet, it’s tranquil, it’s peaceful, it’s not something that causes any problem at all. It’s naturally accepted as being part of open air recreation. If there’s a right to walk and ride, there’s a right to wild camping.”
The January ruling hinged on the wording of the 1985 Dartmoor Commons Act, which permitted a right of ‘open air recreation’ when accessing commons land on Dartmoor by foot or horseback. Darwall’s lawyers had argued this did not included wild camping as it was not explicitly mentioned in the act.
Today, lawyers for DNPA and OSS challenged this. Barristers Richard Honey and Ned Westaway of law firm Francis Taylor Building, acting pro-bono for the OSS, cited laws passed in England before the 1985 act which related to open air recreation.
Wild camping was often included as a specific exemption, implying that it was tacitly understood to be encompassed within the broad definition of open air recreation.
‘Are you trespassing as soon as you fall asleep’?
During the hearing Darwall’s lawyer, Tim Moorshead, also appeared to concede that their side understood ‘wild camping’ to specifically mean camping with a tent, leading to questioning from the judges on whether camping without a tent – such as with a bivvy or hammock – should be included within the definition.
Moorhead argued that sleeping on the moor was not a form of outdoor recreation, leading to further questioning on whether simply lying down and sleeping on the moor during the day should be considered beyond the scope of the act and therefore illegal.
Kate Ashbrook said: “It did get get a bit ridiculous today. Darwall’s side admitted it was actually talking about camping with a tent. This hadn’t come up in the high court in January; that they were talking about a structure on the commons.
“Then there was this argument about whether it’s OK to, say, erect some pop-up inflatable goalposts, or whether an artist can unpack an easel to paint a scene. The judges really questioned that and I thought that Tim Moorshead representing Darwall struggled with it. He couldn’t draw the line between a structure that is allowed and a structure that isn’t allowed.
“You’re getting into something that’s a bit ridiculous really. A tent is just for overnight, it’s dark, it’s not going to cause any problem to anybody, so I see no reason why that shouldn’t be allowed.
“It seemed at one point they were arguing that if you were asleep it’s not open air recreation. Which is extraordinary. So if you go up there in the day for the purpose of having a hike, reading a book and having a snooze, that’s not open air recreation? Are you trespassing as soon as you fall asleep?”
Richard Honey and Tim Westaway
‘The genie is out of the bottle’
A rally outside the high court by the Right to Roam and The Stars Are For Everyone campaigns also saw around 100 people hear speeches from Caroline Lucas MP, author Guy Shrubshole, and campaigner and The Great Outdoors columnist Mary-Ann Ochota.
Caroline Lucas said: “We don’t accept that in England we have legal access to just 8% of land.
“We need to see a new right to roam act in England… it’s time to reset our relationship with nature, a reset that recognises we are part of nature, not separate from it.”
Mary-Ann Ochota said: “The botton line is that the genie is now out of the bottle and conversations about extending the right to roam including wild camping are now being had, not just among niche campaign groups, but publicly, among hillwalkers, climbers, hikers, whatever label you want to call yourself.
<em>Beca Trebilcock wild camping on Dartmoor. Photo: Beca Trebilcock</em>
“I would love to see a vision of the future where you can wild camp basically anywhere was long as you do it responsibly, and with sensible exceptions… like you can in Scotland.”
Dartmoor local Beca Trebilcock said: “Everyone should have the right to access open spaces, whether it’s hiking, wild camping and backpacking, going on your own independent journey.”
Lewis Winks of The Stars Are For Everyone said: “There’s been celebration and talk of the future. Whatever the result of the appeal, we’ve created such momentum and catalysed a moment in history.”
