Overnight Car Parking in The Lake District

Q. Hello,

I'm hoping someone can help with this. I'm planning to drive down to the Lake District during May to do a few days wild camping, but was wondering if anyone can advise on car parking for 2-3 nights.

I was thinking of parking around the Keswick area, but contacted the Keswick Tourist Board and they said that all car parks in the area are a maximum of 24hours stay!

So i was wondering what everyone else does with their car when the go wild camping for a few days?

Thanks, Matt

Matthew Barber, Colchester

A. The only problem you encounter would be theft or damage to the car etc; Youth Hostels even in their secure car parks warn people of this; I've paid pubs and when possible campsites to leave cars secure.

Hope this is helpful

Glenn Speight, Selby N.yorks

A. From what I know most of the forestry commission car parks are free and there doesn't seem to be any limit on how long you can stay. I have often left the car in either of the two car parks near Ennerdale water. There's also a church in or near Rydal (close to Grasmere) that lets you park overnight if you put a contribution in the honesty box. There are also some car park in Honister pass (on the Buttermere side) that seem to be free to use. I think there are also similar parking spots in the Wasdale and Eskdale valleys. It is always best to leave a note clearly visible in the windscreen stating how long the car will be there for just in case someone thinks the car is abandoned or you've got into trouble.

Laura

A. Wild Camping and The Law in England, Scotland and Wales.

Tents cannot be pitched just anywhere because every piece of Britain is owned by some individual or some organisation and according to the strict letter of the law permission must be obtained prior to pitching tent and camping.

In practice however, this is often impractical and wild camping is usually tolerated in the more remote areas - typically, more than half a day's walk from an official campsite or other accommodation providing you:

Keep groups small
Camp as unobtrusively as possible
Leave camp as you found it
Remove all litter (even other people's)
Carry out everything you carried in
Carry out tampons and sanitary towels (burying them doesn't work as animals dig them up again)
Choose a dry pitch rather than digging drainage ditches around a tent or moving boulders
Toilet duties should be performed 30m (100ft) from water and the results buried using a trowel
At all time, help preserve the environment
And if you are in any doubt about what you're doing, find out more

In Scotland, the current access legislation (which came into effect in early 2005) is explicit about your right to wild camp on hill land. However, there are exceptions. Since March 2011 you are not permitted to wild camp between Dryman and Rowardennan on the shore of Loch Lomond. See Loch Lomond Wild Camping Ban for more information.

There appears to be an exception to this with respect to camping in Dartmoor National Park where the right to wild camping is actually enshrined in the National Parks & Access to the Countryside Act, 1949 amendment Dartmoor Commons Act, 1985 - see Wild Camping in the UK for more details.

For the definitive answer with respect to wild camping in Scotland see the answer supplied by the Scottish Natural Heritage

For a few (tongue in cheek) tips on wild camping see Some Wild Camping Tips.

NB. go4awalk.com cannot offer any advice on suitable locations for wild camping - but click here for walks from exisiting campsites.

Hope this helps

Mike (Editor)

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