Court of appeal rules that wild camping is allowed on Dartmoor

Good news from the Guardian:

Wild camping is once again allowed on Dartmoor after the national park won a successful appeal against a ruling in a case brought by a wealthy landowner.

Camping had been assumed to be allowed under the Dartmoor Commons Act since 1985, until a judge ruled otherwise in January. It was the only place in England such an activity was allowed without requiring permission from a landowner.

The case hinged on whether wild camping counted as open-air recreation, leading to a long debate in the court of appeal.

That question gave rise to some top judging by Sir Geoffrey Vos:

He said a walker who lay down for a rest without pitching a tent would be present for the purpose of open-air recreation. It was the same if that walker fell asleep. It made no difference if the walker rested or slept on a plastic sheet to prevent the damp, or in a sleeping bag to protect from the cold, or under a tarpaulin or in an open tent or in a closed tent to protect from the rain. The fact that a tent was closed rather than open could not convert the wild camping from being an open-air recreation to not being one.

Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Honiton, was a strong supporter of this appeal by the Dartmoor National Park Authority and the Open Spaces Society.