I am happy to admit that having camped extensively as a girl guide in my youth, I have no plans to wild camp again in my twilight years, even though there genuinely is nothing to beat that enveloping, cossetting stillness and powerful sense of connection to the land to be felt beneath the star-studded velvet of a night sky. But, I am damned if my own predilection for a warm bed and hot running water is going to mean I cannot be bothered to stand up for the rights of others to backpack camp on the one patch of countryside in England where it remains legal to do so.
What bothers me – and I suspect (and hope) bothers you – is that we have been watching, powerless, as our rights and freedoms have been undermined and removed by the recent (and, hopefully, last) Conservative government. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act has curtailed our right to peaceful protest. The Borders and Nationalities Act makes it easier to strip someone of their nationality. The Elections Act enshrined voter suppression measures (photo ID) clearly designed to exclude those who, traditionally, have not voted Conservative. Every single one of the Tory leadership candidates is either open to or actively boasting of an intention to take us out of the European Convention on Human Rights. We’ve already been robbed of our freedom of movement throughout the EU thanks to the great Brexit con. I’m heartily sick of losing rights and especially angry to see our children and grandchildren denied rights we took for granted.
I am also sick of wealth being the prime determinant of access to almost everything that makes life liveable. You need a generous bank balance to access justice and you can be bullied by those for whom big fees or big fines are just a cost of doing business, of being in the game. And this is not about envy. It’s about the abuse of wealth, power and influence and the utter lack of any sort of social justice.
Despite the unanimous verdict of the High Court decision back in the summer, wealthy asset manager, Alexander Darwall, has elected to challenge that decision and ask the Supreme Court to make a final judgement as to whether the right to wild camp (leaving no trace) exists or not. In doing so, he and his wife blithely pitch their vast wealth against the public and a publicly-funded body, Dartmoor National Park. They are happily ramping up the stress and costs for everyone on the back of a laughably flimsy technicality. We need to get out there and show them that we won’t yield to bullies and we will fight for these vanishingly-small areas that can be accessed by the public and battle for more. Why can’t we have the same access rights as are enjoyed in Scotland. for example?
On 25 September, Ashburton Arts Centre hosted a panel event and film show and I would strongly recommend you watch the three films that were shown:
Our Land by John Harding: Access Land by the British Mountaineering Council; and Wild Service on the River Roding by Right to Roam.
I will not rehearse here all the very many benefits to physical and mental health afforded by access to nature, except to re-quote Caroline Lucas:
“The renewed threat to camp on Dartmoor reinforces the urgent need for new statutory rights of access. The physical and mental health benefits of reconnecting with nature are overwhelming and shouldn’t be blocked by the whim of wealthy landowners.“
If you feel the same way, you absolutely have to be there on Sunday. Please note that parking at Hound Tor is very limited. Why not join campaigners and supporters and walk over to Hound from Haytor? Eventbrite details below. Let them know you’re coming! NO MORE LOSS OF RIGHTS!
From the Stars are for Everyone: Join our rallies on Dartmoor on the 6 October and in London outside the Supreme Court on the 8th of October while the case is heard inside. Details of these rallies below.
✨DARTMOOR✨
🗓️ Sunday 6th October
📍 Hound Tor
⌚ 3pm
✨LONDON✨
🗓️ Tuesday 8th October
📍Outside the Supreme Court
⌚ 11am
These previous articles will give you some further insights:
And we all need to read the latest book from campaigner and environmentalist, Guy Shrubsole:
