Can I camp or sleep rough on The Malvern Hills?

Q. Hi I'm planning to hike across The Malvern Hills for my own sponsored hike for a Children's Charity.

I understand that Wild Camping in the Malvern Hills has already been answered and that Camping is not allowed on The Malverns. But can anyone tell me if I could simply sleep rough for one or two nights in order to carry on with my hike and not to take me off my route in order to find a camp site??

My hope is to hike over the full length of The Malverns and back again hoping to cover as many miles as I possibly can.

I am Ex-forces so would show a lot of respect to the landscape and wildlife.

Any help would be great

Joseph Conlon, Birmingham


A. Wild Camping and The Law in England, Scotland and Wales.

Tents cannot be pitched just anywhere because every piece of Britain is owned by some individual or some organisation and according to the strict letter of the law permission must be obtained prior to pitching tent and camping.

In practice however, this is often impractical and wild camping is usually tolerated in the more remote areas - typically, more than half a day's walk from an official campsite or other accommodation providing you:

In Scotland, the current access legislation (which came into effect in early 2005) is explicit about your right to wild camp on hill land. However, there are exceptions. Since March 2011 you are not permitted to wild camp between Dryman and Rowardennan on the shore of Loch Lomond. See Loch Lomond Wild Camping Ban for more information.

There appears to be an exception to this with respect to camping in Dartmoor National Park where the right to wild camping is actually enshrined in the National Parks & Access to the Countryside Act, 1949 amendment Dartmoor Commons Act, 1985 - see Wild Camping in the UK for more details.

For the definitive answer with respect to wild camping in Scotland see the answer supplied by the Scottish Natural Heritage

For a few (tongue in cheek) tips on wild camping see Some Wild Camping Tips.

NB. go4awalk.com cannot offer any advice on suitable locations for wild camping - but click here for walks from exisiting campsites.

Hope this helps

Mike (Editor)


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