Camping in Dartmoor is legal, Supreme Court Rules | Dartmoor

It is wrong to rule that a millionaire landlord ban it on his land and will allow camping in Dartmoor.

Dartmoor is - until legal action - in England the only place to camp without the permission of the landowner is legal. This right has been enjoyed in Scotland since 2003.

For two years, multimillionaire hedge fund manager Alexander Darwall has been bringing the matter through court against the Dartmoor National Park Service (DNPA) because he does not want to camp on his land without his permission.

Darwall, the sixth largest landowner of Dartmoor, purchased 1,619 hectares (4,000 acres) of Brahford estate on Southern Dartmoor in 2013.

He argued that under the law he could not evacuate campers from his land and said that this affected his conservation efforts and could put his cattle at risk.

The DNPA wants to retain the right to camp on Dartmoor and says it is "ridiculous" to suggest that camping creates environmental problems.

Darwall won the High Court in 2023 after land rights activists and campers across the country, but then the Court of Appeal ruled that the law does say there is camping rights there. He then brought the case to the Supreme Court.

The case depends on the meaning of "open-air leisure" in the Dartmoor Commons Act of 1985. Davall's lawyers gave a very narrow explanation of this, believing that walking and horse riding are the only activities allowed. Darwall's lawyers called it a strange event in some incidents, and told the Supreme Court last year that a picnic wasn't counted as an open air entertainment and therefore trespassing.

Experts, including the Open Space Society, warned the court that Daval's interpretation of the law on how people enjoy Dartmoor may ban activities, including bathing, sketching, rock climbing, bird watching and fishing.

Since the case was filed, thousands of protesters have flocked to Dartmoor to camp and claim for their rights to continue doing so.

After the verdict, campaigners urged Labor to resume plans to legalize the right to roam across England. This was promised in the opposition, but the party wrote the manifesto last year due to pressure from rural groups.

Guy Hlubsole said from roaming rights to roaming activities: “The verdict is a relief – but Dartmoor remains the only publicly owned camping rights in England and Wales and can legally experience the magic of sleeping under the stars.

“The fact that a wealthy landowner, Alexander Darwall, was able to temporarily remove rights belonging to everyone is a testament to how the access system in England was completely destroyed.

"The Labour government must now pass a new roaming right to defend and extend the public's right to nature in England. Ministers must urgently change the law - not only to protect Dartmore's camping rights from future challenges, but to expand the public's responsibility for the wider countryside."

Members of Congress called for labor to allow camping across the country. South Devon MP Caroline Voaden, whose constituency includes Dartmoor, said: "I'm very excited about this ruling. It's a well-known defense for a period of time we all know: the stars are for everyone, and this natural opportunity is not a good thing, but for a happy, healthy life it's a good camping.

"It's a shame that this has to be tested again in court. It's over now and I hope we can start working to expand our camping rights outside of Dartmoor. Opposition, Labour talks about the right to expand the UK field camps. I hope they can make those words and expand access to tourists and campers throughout the countryside."

The Supreme Court ruled that camping is a form of open air recreation and the Dartmoor Commons Act gives the public the right to obtain the purpose of Dartmoor Commons in order to camp there, provided it is exercised by walking or horseback.

Contrary to the argument of Davall's lawyers, the court held that the law does not require the exercise of the right of those who exercise or horseback riding the right to always ride or ride when they are in public - these are just those who must use to access the House of Commons, and in these means there is an "open air entertainment" through these means, and there is another remote activity within the scope, and this is an increasingly stage. For example, rock climbing.