The recent case of Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority has confirmed that wild campers do indeed have the right to camp in Dartmoor National Park. The Supreme Court ruled on this landmark case brought by Alexander Darwall, a landowner who argued that while the public could access Dartmoor National Park, they could not camp there.
The landowners challenged the Dartmoor National Park Authority's interpretation of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985, which had been understood to allow wild camping as a form of open-air recreation. Lord Sales and Lord Stephens unanimously dismissed the landowners' appeal, ruling that, "In our view, as a matter of ordinary language, camping is a form of 'open-air recreation'".
Members of the public have a right of access to the commons on foot and on horseback for the purpose of open-air recreation. The landowners contended that this precluded the right to camp. However, the judges clearly articulated why wild camping is indeed open-air recreation. They posed a series of thought experiments: Can a walker lie down for a rest on Dartmoor? Yes. Is he present for the purpose of open-air recreation? He must be. What if our walker sleeps not on the grassy moor, but on a plastic sheet? Surely. What if he sleeps in a sleeping bag? Or under a tarpaulin? Or in a tent?
Shutting the tent flaps "cannot convert the wild camping from being an open-air recreation into not being one," ruled the Court.
This is a great judgment for the public and those who wish to roam Dartmoor. The case underscores the complexities of land use rights in England and the importance of clear legal frameworks to support both conservation efforts and public enjoyment of natural landscapes. As the conversation around access to nature evolves, the Dartmoor case serves as a pivotal moment in the ongoing dialogue about public rights and private land ownership in the UK.