£20 to wild camp?

gixer

Thru Hiker
Even IF everything else comes into place which i think is unlikely, how many people actually wild camp?

Even in the Lake district how many are camping up on the hills during a non bank holiday week night 10?

Spread out over the entire district how on earth are they going police that
Anyone that suggests "drones" has little or zero understanding of their operation

They can't fly in even moderately high winds
They can't be used in restricted visibility
Even heavy rain is a struggle
They must be flown only to within line of sight
They are only allowed to fly up to 122m above the ground, so they can't just be taken up high to survey a vast area
They are not allowed to fly within 50m of vehicles

Also need to add in the cost, commercial drones are hugely expensive, basic ones start at £2000 up to over £20,000
Then they need 2 trained and experienced operators

Another thing that needs to be considered is the RAF
Many areas where people "wild camp" are in remote areas that are regularly used by the armed forces for training, the Lakes, Wales specifically for low flying exercises
Low flying jets + drones = accident waiting to happen

So weather alone grounds drones for what 1/2 the year in the Lakes
Is it worth having a team driving, hiking over vast areas to police 10 wild campers?

Recon it's 100% BS meself
 
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Robin

Moderator
Staff member
Even IF everything else comes into place which i think is unlikely, how many people actually wild camp?

Even in the Lake district how many are camping up on the hills during a non bank holiday week night 10?

Spread out over the entire district how on earth are they going police that
Anyone that suggests "drones" has little or zero understanding of their operation

They can't fly in even moderately high winds
They can't be used in restricted visibility
Even heavy rain is a struggle
They most be flown only to within line if sight
They are only allowed to fly up to 122m above the ground, so they can't just be taken up high to survey a vast area
They are not allowed to fly within 50m of vehicles

Also need to add in the cost, commercial drones are hugely expensive, basic ones start at £2000 up to over £20,000
They need 2 trained and experienced operators

Another thing that needs to be considered is the RAF
Many areas where people "wild camp" are in remote areas that are regularly used by the armed forces for training, the Lakes, Wales specifically for low flying exercises
Low flying jets + drones = accident waiting to happen

So weather alone grounds drones for what 1/2 the year in the Lakes
Is it worth having a team driving, hiking over vast areas to police 10 wild campers?

Recon it's 100% BS meself

Good points. CIA spy satellites? Or maybe Chinese tracking Huawei phones :biggrin:
 

Fossil Bluff

Thru Hiker
At least its perfectly legal to 'rest' :whistling: in a bivi bag, by any public path or right of access.... For the time being anyway :writing:

I think you’ll find that you’re personal safety was under threat and you pulled your bivouac out as lifesaving measure.

“Oh my goodness, Mr Farmer, thank heavens you’re here! I feel so much safer after a nights rest and the reassurance of your watchful presence.”
 

Fossil Bluff

Thru Hiker
Even IF everything else comes into place which i think is unlikely, how many people actually wild camp?

Even in the Lake district how many are camping up on the hills during a non bank holiday week night 10?

Spread out over the entire district how on earth are they going police that
Anyone that suggests "drones" has little or zero understanding of their operation

They can't fly in even moderately high winds
They can't be used in restricted visibility
Even heavy rain is a struggle
They must be flown only to within line of sight
They are only allowed to fly up to 122m above the ground, so they can't just be taken up high to survey a vast area
They are not allowed to fly within 50m of vehicles

Also need to add in the cost, commercial drones are hugely expensive, basic ones start at £2000 up to over £20,000
Then they need 2 trained and experienced operators

Another thing that needs to be considered is the RAF
Many areas where people "wild camp" are in remote areas that are regularly used by the armed forces for training, the Lakes, Wales specifically for low flying exercises
Low flying jets + drones = accident waiting to happen

So weather alone grounds drones for what 1/2 the year in the Lakes
Is it worth having a team driving, hiking over vast areas to police 10 wild campers?

Recon it's 100% BS meself

It’s not about those who haven’t paid... it’s about those who are stoopid enough to pay. :)
 

HillBelly

Section Hiker
I'd understand it better if the site removed all guff relating to wildcamping and its legality etc, and just stick with what might be a half decent premise - to provide 'wildish places' on farmland and lowland private land, thus giving a nice outdoors feeling, without the formal campsite.

I once not so long ago did a camp near Windermere at some woodlands owned by the Scouts. It was wild'ish and had nice little spots in it, but with me being able to park my car not so far away. So technically a campsite - but very different. Someone organised it to run alongside accommodation at a meet up, So I'm not sure how they or the Scouts sorted out non scouty adults to be there.
 
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snow

Trail Blazer
I'd understand it better if the site removed all guff relating to wildcamping and its legality etc, and just stick with what might be a half decent premise - to provide 'wildish places' on farmland and lowland private land, thus giving a nice outdoors feeling, without the formal campsite.

Exactly... particularly on the South Downs (which is "coming soon"), while £20 is a lot to charge, I wouldn't have a problem paying for a wild-ish site, just for certainty.
 

Robin

Moderator
Staff member
A quote from the wild camping web site: “Wild camping is camping on the move. It’s the process of carrying what you need to endure a night out in the wild, and no more.“

Endure? I love every second of camping in the wild. What a dipstick :vomit:

“Rewilding with humans”. What copy writing jerk thought that up?

I’m wondering whether to write some letters of complaint to DEFRA and the NPAs.
 

Balagan

Thru Hiker
There is the basically the same thing in France: www.gamping.com but without the faux wild camping stuff. It's just a site for private land camping (they realistically call it garden camping), all easily accessible by road.

I think the wildcamping site is so ambiguous about its nature (a commercial site posing as some sort of national park offshoot) that it is outright dishonest, something not helped by that awful piece of tosh of an article which further muddies the waters.
 

dovidola

Thru Hiker
Well, I received a (limited) response to my enquiry of ukwildcamp.org from a Will Harris saying:

"It's a private company started by me with another business partner - what else can I help you with? - Will"

I've asked for details of the company name, listing etc, but no further reply has been forthcoming.

Coverage of the same 'story' in the Telegraph is slightly more sober: "A pilot platform...potentially transforming access". It also contains information which Will Harris didn't volunteer, namely that his business partner is a John Nichols, with whom he founded Waterloo Bridge Management Consulting (in October 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile). No company of this name is listed at Companies House.

There's a short website at https://www.thewaterloobridge.com, which consists of lots of impressive 'business-speak' and describes considerable achievements in the commercial world. It gives an address of "Somerset House, Strand, London". It's possible to find profiles of the aforementioned co-founders and their business colleagues in LinkedIn, which again lists outstanding business credentials and big-hitting track records.

Of course, I've no grounds to doubt the veracity of any of the above, and, that being the case, we could be looking at the beginnings of quite a serious scheme here. I'm interested to know what others think, because I find myself worrying just a bit about the possible impact on an activity I love. In the meantime, I'd repeat my advice about avoiding the purchase of tents in bright colours!
 
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Dave V

Moderator
Staff member
Well, I received a (limited) response to my enquiry of ukwildcamp.org from a Will Harris saying:

"It's a private company started by me with another business partner - what else can I help you with? - Will"

I've asked for details of the company name, listing etc, but no further reply has been forthcoming.

Coverage of the same 'story' in the Telegraph is slightly more sober: "A pilot platform...potentially transforming access". It also contains information which Will Harris didn't volunteer, namely that his business partner is a John Nichols, with whom he founded Waterloo Bridge Management Consulting (in October 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile). No company of this name is listed at Companies House.

There's a short website at https://www.thewaterloobridge.com, which consists of lots of impressive 'business-speak' and describes considerable achievements in the commercial world. It gives an address of "Somerset House, Strand, London". It's possible to find profiles of the aforementioned co-founders and their business colleagues in LinkedIn, which again lists outstanding business credentials and big-hitting track records.

Of course, I've no grounds to doubt the veracity of any of the above, and, that being the case, we could be looking at the beginnings of quite a serious scheme here. I'm interested to know what others think, because I find myself worrying just a bit about the possible impact on an activity I love. In the meantime, I'd repeat my advice about avoiding the purchase of tents in bright colours!

Funnily enough, I also looked into the background using DueDil and other tools I have access too. I could find no such companies or active directorships for him and have since searched his partner after reading your post, no records either. I wondered what kind of financial backing the company may have had or links to other businesses....
 

Balagan

Thru Hiker
Funnily enough, I also looked into the background using DueDil and other tools I have access too. I could find no such companies or active directorships for him and have since searched his partner after reading your post, no records either. I wondered what kind of financial backing the company may have had or links to other businesses....
Given the credentials, I'd wager £20 it's around 20 quid. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, they'll move on to to cut price holidays in the Caribbean soon.
 

Dave V

Moderator
Staff member
Given the credentials, I'd wager £20 it's around 20 quid. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, they'll move on to to cut price holidays in the Caribbean soon.
hah hah, I quite like the sound of the Caribbean :p
 

Enzo

Thru Hiker
Yeah tbh I think it's an odd venture for an actual high flyer.
I don't think by the time everyone's had their cut there would be anything more than beer money to be had. I suspect some artistic expression involved in their back story.
 

EM - paul

Thru Hiker
Funnily enough, I also looked into the background using DueDil and other tools I have access too. I could find no such companies or active directorships for him and have since searched his partner after reading your post, no records either. I wondered what kind of financial backing the company may have had or links to other businesses....

Likely its not a listed company. Shouldnt imagine it needs much in the way of capital. Some liability insurance, a deal with landowner and a few gap year students to preside over crapping in a hole tuition or drive them out when it gets windy & rainy.

@gixer should start a rival company, that would soon kill it :D
 

Robin

Moderator
Staff member
Likely its not a listed company. Shouldnt imagine it needs much in the way of capital. Some liability insurance, a deal with landowner and a few gap year students to preside over crapping in a hole tuition or drive them out when it gets windy & rainy.

@gixer should start a rival company, that would soon kill it :D

Might be worth a few twenty quids from Trek-Liters to @gixer to kill it off :p
 

Padstowe

Thru Hiker
And they say us northerners are paranoid :biggrin:
Its a business idea which may in the long run work more with groups at a cheaper rate, If it gets more people interested in the outdoors & learning to leave as little impact as possible then it's a good thing for life in general imo, but stuff like that takes time.
Never the less, am not paying £20 to sleep on the ground, paid for one campsite in me life 7yrs ago & still haven't gotten over it.
edit: Sorry the above is a lie :sorry:, paid for a campsite for the first ever international turkish juggling festival, & the third I believe around 12yrs ago.
 
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Padstowe

Thru Hiker
As am sure a lot of you wouldn't go to a unknown city without having somewhere to sleep there, this also applies to a lot of people wouldn't go to the outdoors without having somewhere to sleep there either.
It's a human fear, that you have or haven't imo. Most seem to feel safe in camping in remote areas cause of the unlikely hood of bumping into some nutter. If that's the case then the fear is still there it's only the location that gives the sense of safety.
So if we build from that, for some people with the sense of a registered/designated area it might help to take away the fear of the remote & let them build from there.
That's my thought's on it, could be wrong more likely am, but doesn't mean it don't make sense to me.
 
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