I have 'wild camped' on Dartmoor a number of times i.e. hiking across the moor and finding a spot to pitch as night falls or the rain falls or both! I have also stayed on two campsites and even that was pretty wild. On one I was so lashed by the wind and rain I wasn't sure if my tent would withstand it. On the other I was almost flooded when a nearby brook burst its banks. Backpacking on Dartmoor is tough but exhilarating. 

 So it was depressing to read that one of the landowners in the area has won a legal case to prevent wild camping on his estate and by implication the moor as a whole. Dartmoor has long been the only place in England where wild camping is legal- or was thought to be. Dartmoor is a National Park and even the National Parks Authority has taken the view that wild camping is permitted. It now has a disclaimer on its website saying that permission must be sought from the landowner.

 Presumably that won't be granted by the hedge fund manager who owns the 4.000 acre Blachford Estate. The majority of Dartmoor is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and I hope the King will take a more lenient view. Over the years many teenagers have hiked and camped on the moor undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Award. One hopes that Charles would approve of the kind of healthy, outdoor activity advocated by his father. Likewise the annual Ten Tors Challenge is a much respected fixture. I have on several occasions passed squaddies training on the moor- is anyone going to say "get orf my land" to the British Army?

 Anyway whether with royal approval or not I will wild camp on Dartmoor again. If some stockbroker wants to prevent that they will have to find me first! Perhaps we will have to invoke the spirit of the mass trespass on Kinder Scout and insist on the right to roam.