Wild Camping Punishment

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Photo Winner
Location
Inside my skull
Quite a few campsites have a policy if not turning away those who arrive under their own effort.
 

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
A couple of things, if you aren't local it may be that he was unaware of the camp sites, secondly as well as assault, I'm sure that there's also an offence of throwing a noxious substance at a person, and if the slurry caused the LEJOG man to become ill in any way, there's a risk of being charged with actual bodily harm as well, so that's possibly 3 things he could be charged with, all recorded for posterity, as well as the breaking of agricultural regulations, for god's sake why not just ask the bloke to leave! I bet he wouldn't have been so brave with a couple of biker gang members kipping in the hedge bottom.
 
I suppose I should just be grateful I live in a country where it is still considered normal to camp pretty much where you like by just following basic advice.

What basic advice? Pitch late, leave early and avoid cropped fields by the road where you can be easily seen by any chance? :smile:

From what I've heard there was a campsite either side of the spot he pitched up at. I've yet to see a campsite without signs on the road pointing to the entrance to the campsite. I wonder if there was a chance he didn't see the campsites?

I hope the farm worker gets prosecuted. He deserves it for sure.

I hope too people doing challenge events with the intention of wildcamping they choose better sites. The more wildcampers act responsibly by being discrete, avoiding fields of crops whether cropped or not and in late but out early the better it is for others doing it. Irresponsible wildcamping is like Irresponsible cyclists, they do get noticed and that tars responsible wildcampers with the same negative brush in public opinions.

PS I do hope he guy didn't get hit by the stuff and didn't get ill. Quite possibly no bigger dose of nasties than swimming in windermere on a bankholiday weekend or on the Thames or around the English or Welsh coast!
 
OP
OP
Slick

Slick

Guru
What basic advice? Pitch late, leave early and avoid cropped fields by the road where you can be easily seen by any chance? :smile:

From what I've heard there was a campsite either side of the spot he pitched up at. I've yet to see a campsite without signs on the road pointing to the entrance to the campsite. I wonder if there was a chance he didn't see the campsites?

I hope the farm worker gets prosecuted. He deserves it for sure.

I hope too people doing challenge events with the intention of wildcamping they choose better sites. The more wildcampers act responsibly by being discrete, avoiding fields of crops whether cropped or not and in late but out early the better it is for others doing it. Irresponsible wildcamping is like Irresponsible cyclists, they do get noticed and that tars responsible wildcampers with the same negative brush in public opinions.

PS I do hope he guy didn't get hit by the stuff and didn't get ill. Quite possibly no bigger dose of nasties than swimming in windermere on a bankholiday weekend or on the Thames or around the English or Welsh coast!

This was a newly harvested field, so wouldn't be an issue up here.

The advice I'm aware of is, leave it as you find it, including gates etc, don't camp in cropped fields or one with animals, so cows sticking their head in your tent should be a no no and don't overstay your welcome. Fish and visitors tend to go off after 3 days. :okay: Other than that, its all good unless you find yourself in the national park.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
The "crop" was freshly cut grass,* silage possibly hay given the recent weather.
Normally cut leaving an uncut area around the edge of the field. Very few make the anticlockwise(return) cut these days. It's usually left for livestock to clear, but it'll remain untouched because of the slurry. Cows are fussy eaters.

*From the piece in the first post.
"Bellamy later told The Sun: “I went out in the morning because I had to get on. When I looked in the field I saw a tent on the freshly cut grass. There was someone camped right up against the hedge."
 
OP
OP
Slick

Slick

Guru
This was a newly harvested field, so wouldn't be an issue up here.

The advice I'm aware of is, leave it as you find it, including gates etc, don't camp in cropped fields or one with animals, so cows sticking their head in your tent should be a no no and don't overstay your welcome. Fish and visitors tend to go off after 3 days. :okay: Other than that, its all good unless you find yourself in the national park.

Oh, and don't set fires, use a stove.

My jet boil is ace. :okay:
 

blackrat

Active Member
I do find it interesting that this site seems to attract comments from those who are quick to condemn those who own land. All very socialistic.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
I do find it interesting that this site seems to attract comments from those who are quick to condemn those who own land. All very socialistic.
What we don't know is if he or his family rents the grass, or actually owns it. If they rent it, they may have lost it now. Bad publicity for the landowner.

I've family that farm, mostly land they do own, but a small amount is rented grassland.

I've gone from forking it off the back of a trailer, to "stirring the tanks" to make certain that the slurry tankers didn't block their intake hose when filling.
The modern day slurry can be lethal, killing at least two farm workers every year in the UK. It takes a fair bit to clear the smell, and nigh on impossible to remove any stains from clothing.

Farmer and/or landowner, the use of a vehicle to intimidate someone isn't acceptable. Spraying a known noxious substance in their direction, even less acceptable.
If not, it should be less acceptable.
 
Last edited:

blackrat

Active Member
I would hope that some, maybe not the 'sort' who post here, would have sympathy with the farmer instead of taking the usual 'anti-everything they don't have' tack: This from the referenced Sun article:

“There is a campsite 400 yards in one direction and 600 yards in the other but they just please themselves these people. We’ve had people from towns walking in the fields.

“There is 50,000 acres of Dartmoor nearby and he chose to camp in my field. They come up from the towns and think they can do what they want. We’ve had loads of trouble with dogs worrying the sheep.

“They wouldn’t like it if I went camping in their garden. They’ve got no knowledge of the countryside at all. They come up from the towns and think they can do what they want. They probably think food grows on a plant or something.”
 
OP
OP
Slick

Slick

Guru
I would hope that some, maybe not the 'sort' who post here, would have sympathy with the farmer instead of taking the usual 'anti-everything they don't have' tack: This from the referenced Sun article:

“There is a campsite 400 yards in one direction and 600 yards in the other but they just please themselves these people. We’ve had people from towns walking in the fields.

“There is 50,000 acres of Dartmoor nearby and he chose to camp in my field. They come up from the towns and think they can do what they want. We’ve had loads of trouble with dogs worrying the sheep.

“They wouldn’t like it if I went camping in their garden. They’ve got no knowledge of the countryside at all. They come up from the towns and think they can do what they want. They probably think food grows on a plant or something.”

You can't camp in Dartmoor either now.

I thought your point in your previous post was that the farmer was being unfairly treated on here and then made it political with the socialism remark.

This post seems to suggest you think the farm worker was ill-informed and therefore wrong.

Either way, I have loads of sympathies with farmers as touched on in the OP, just not this one.
 
Top Bottom