So I’d like to take Beaker Jr out for a night of wild camping. Take a tent, cook over a stove and sleep out. Next morning wake up, cook breakfast and back home. It needs to be an easy introduction. I’m not sure about the legalities and where in the south west is suitable? I’m on the edge of Salisbury Plain but doubt the MoD would be too chuffed with kipping there. Any thoughts?

You can’t, legally, wild camp in England. However, is you’re suitably out of the way, arrive late, leave early and leave no trace, there’s not really a lot anyone can or will do.

You can camp on most of Dartmoor.

I suspected it was illegal to wild camp. Dartmoor may have merit, I was oping there was something a bit closer.

A good opportunity to teach the young one that your own moral compasse and common sense can override what is technically illegal. Just do it and leave no trace. Homosexuality was illegal but now that is considered to have been wrong so just find somewhere that you want to camp that’s out of the way and head over in the evening and leave early.

How bizarre, to use a homosexuality analogy to describe wild camping 😆

It’s camping, not cottaging

Wild camping on Dartmoor whilst technically illegal is positively encouraged, it’s even got a map of where you can and cant wild camp on the official website Dartmoot Camping Map. They’re even cool with you staying a couple of nights so there’s no need to feel you need to set up at dusk and be gone at the crack of dawn. It’s a bizarrely sensible approach.

The nice thing about going a little bit further from home is that it might feel even more of an adventure for your lad.

How can it be illegal and encouraged on a .govt site???

Anyways I highly recommend Dartmoor – some great spots near the road – happy to share them.

It’s mostly not illegal any more than cycling on a footpath.

lots of suitable locations around wessex which are suitable – lots of places accessable from the Ox droves, wessex ridgeway, bentley wood. email in profile if you want…