Dartmoor camping campaigners urge nationwide wild-camps to protest lack of nature-access rights

Organisers of last month’s historic land-rights protest on Dartmoor are urging supporters to
dedicate one night of the upcoming half-term holidays to winter wild-camping in English and
Welsh national parks in order to protest centuries of erosion of nature-access in the UK and to
fight for a change in the law.

The Stars are for Everyone and Right to Roam, which planned last month’s Dartmoor landmark
uprising, are calling on members of the public to back their new Starry Starry Fortnight
campaign: wild-camping responsibly and leaving no trace.

The campaign asks the public between 12–26 February to:

★ take to their tents in any of England and Wales’ 13 national parks, sharing photos,
stories and experiences on social media using the hashtag #TheStarsAreForEveryone
★ if camping isn’t possible or desirable, to instead wake early to witness the early-bird
dawn chorus; go for a night walk; or to take to the hills or the greenbelt to watch the
first stars emerge.
★ write to their MP to ask for a new right to roam act using the template found here.
★ contribute to Dartmoor Preservation Association’s fundraiser to support the National
Park Authority’s attempt to appeal the High Court ruling.
★ campaigners are also encouraging people to form affiliate local pressure groups up and
down the country to campaign for access to local national parks and green belts near
them

The campaign is timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Land Reform Act, the
legislation that bestowed the right to roam across all of Scotland’s common land. It will
demonstrate public determination for the equivalent right to not just be defended on
Dartmoor but extended to all 12 other parks in England and Wales where it is currently treated
as trespass.

Annie Dare, campaigner for The Stars are for Everyone, said. “The High Court ruling of 13
January that overturned the right to wild-camp on Dartmoor was the first time that millions of
us woke up to the cataclysmic decimation of our rights to access nature in this country.
“Outrage at this iniquity of access prompted 3,500 people to descend on Dartmoor last
month, where they participated in the largest land-justice protest this country has seen in close
to a century.

“While that uprising was vital in emboldening the Dartmoor national park to appeal the
despicable High Court ruling, it is completely unacceptable for Dartmoor to be the only place
where wild-camping is allowed in England and Wales.

We urge the public to join this peaceful nationwide festival of dissent and direct action under
the stars, to build on this moment and show politicians across the political spectrum and up
and down the country that they must enshrine this right in primary legislation that applies to all
our parks.

If people feel able to camp then they can brave the cold, but if they don’t want to do this then
simply watching the first stars appear for a little while or getting up to hear the dawn chorus
would be equally wonderful. A symbolic act to show that people really care”.

Right to Roam campaigner Lewis Winks said: “The loss of our last remaining right to wild camp
on Dartmoor has catalysed a new right to roam movement in England, and placed within reach
the legislative change which we need to safeguard and extend access to nature for future
generations.
While we’ve seen our rights on Dartmoor stripped from us by wealthy landowners, we are
using this moment in history to extend and cement our access so that many more people are
able to enjoy the transcendental beauty of nights spent under starry skies in our most treasured
landscapes – to have experiences which transform and shape lives.
For this reason, alongside sharing experiences of responsible wild camping, we need as many
people as possible to write to their MP and demand greater access to nature through a new
right to roam act.”

For More Information and to arrange an interview please contact:

• Right to Roam: righttoroam2020@gmail.com
• The Stars Are for Everyone: annie.dare@gmail.com
• Photos and quotes are available on request. Email: defendwildcamping@gmail.com

Notes:
Instagram: @thestarsareours.uk

Twitter: @EveryonesStars
★ Dartmoor was the only national park where a right to wild camp existed in England up
until the 13th of January 2023 when the High Court ruled that no such right existed.
★ Public are encouraged to donate to the Dartmoor National Park’s Appeal via Dartmoor
Preservation Association: https://www.dartmoorpreservation.co.uk/

★ Scotland has enjoyed wide ranging access rights including the right to camp in open
land since the Land Reform Act came into place in 2003:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2003/2/contents
★ Notes on responsible wild camping and ‘leave no trace’ principles can be found on the
BMC website: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/respect-the-wild-camping-vanning