Backpacking camping. Photo: Andrew Bowden CC-BY-SA 2.0

Supreme Court judges have unanimously backed Dartmoor National Park Authority in its case to allow backpacking camping on commons in the area.

The judges dismissed an appeal by Alexander and Diana Darwall, the owners of Stall Moor common on south-west Dartmoor, who sought to declare the practice unlawful on their land.

The national park authority welcomed the ruling that ‘open air recreation’ includes responsible lightweight camping under the Dartmoor Commons Act. It said the judgement meant rights should be defined to include activities like picnicking, birdwatching, sketching the landscape and, the focus of this case, backpack camping.

Chief executive Dr Kevin Bishop,, said: “We are delighted and relieved with the Supreme Court’s ruling. This is a landmark judgment not just for Dartmoor national park but for people who have long campaigned for access rights.

“We are enormously grateful to the Open Spaces Society which joined us in our legal action, and Dartmoor Preservation Association for launching a fundraiser to offset legal costs. We thank them, and their many supporters, for standing with us. We would also like to thank our legal team: Richard Honey KC and Vivienne Sedgley.

“The judgment reaffirms our long-held belief for the public’s right to backpack camp on certain commons and, importantly, our role in regulating and managing that access. It is important to note that it is not a blanket right to camp wherever, or do whatever, you want. With the right comes a responsibility to make sure that you tread lightly and leave no trace.

“We have been robust in defending the right to backpack camp, we will be equally robust in ensuring that people exercise that right responsibly and with respect to landowners and farmers. If you are thinking of backpack camping on Dartmoor it is important to follow the guidance on our website.

“Now is the time to look forward and to work together for the good of Dartmoor. We will continue to work with commoners, all landowners, communities and partners to protect Dartmoor’s nature, beauty and history while ensuring fair access for all and respect for the natural environment.

“While in opposition, Labour were publicly supportive of our action to defend the right to backpack camp. Now they are in government, we hope that they will work with us to ensure that we have the tools and resources to manage responsible access and to look at lessons that can be learnt from the Dartmoor case before they publish the forthcoming green paper on access to nature and the countryside.”

Kate Ashbrook: 'a tremendous outcome'. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

The Open Spaces Society, which was an intervener in the case, called on the government to extend the same rights nationwide. General secretary Kate Ashbrook said: “If Darwall v Dartmoor is to be a truly landmark decision, the government must act to ensure a right to sleep under the stars applies to all national parks and wild country.

“This is a tremendous outcome, confirming what we have believed all along, namely that there has always been a right for the public to camp on the nearly all the 359 square kilometres of Dartmoor commons.

“We were therefore delighted to intervene in support of the DNPA and are deeply grateful to our counsel from Frances Taylor Building Chambers who acted pro bono, and to our solicitors Richard Buxton.

“We trawled through the legislation from the nineteenth century relating to common land and access, which showed that much of it expressly excluded camping from the right of access. It followed that camping must fall within the broad definition of open-air recreation; there would otherwise have been no reason expressly to exclude it. The judges agreed.

“Dartmoor remains one of only a handful of places in England where there is a right to backpack camping without the landowner’s permission. We want to see that right extended, so that people can enjoy a night under the stars on all open country in England and Wales. We shall campaign with other organisations to achieve this. The government is dragging its feet on the issue of improved public access.

“The supreme court’s decision is generously and robustly argued. We must now stimulate ministers to legislate in the same spirit across our countryside.”

Counsel for the Darwalls argued that the words of section 10 of the Dartmoor Commons Act, that ‘the public shall have a right of access to the commons on foot and on horseback for the purpose of open-air recreation’, did not include a right to camp, and that ‘open-air recreation’ was restricted to things which could be done while on foot or in the saddle, such as bird-watching.

However, the judges said that: “In our view, as a matter of ordinary language, camping is a form of open-air recreation’. Therefore, the provision confers a right for members of the public to have a right of access to the commons, provided that it is exercised by going onto the commons on foot or on horseback, for the purpose of camping there.”

The right to responsibly wild camp already exists in Scotland under the provision of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.