Wild Camping Etiquette: Leave No Trace in National Parks

Why Leave No Trace Matters in UK National Parks

Wild camping in UK national parks is a privilege, not a right. In the Lake District, Snowdonia, the Cairngorms and Dartmoor, it’s either restricted or tolerated only where it causes no harm. Pitch a tent and you’re a guest in a fragile home for adders, ring ouzels and rare mosses. Leave No Trace isn’t fussy – it keeps these places wild for the next person. The rules are simple: pitch late, leave early, bury waste properly, avoid fragile ground. Get them right and you’ll barely know you were there.

Pitch Late, Leave Early: The Invisible Campsite

Arriving late and leaving early limits the time your tent squashes vegetation, reduces disturbance to wildlife, and keeps you out of sight. Pitch no earlier than an hour before sunset; strike camp by 8am, earlier in summer. Use a red-filter headtorch. Never camp in the same spot for more than one night. If someone’s already there, move on. Keep quiet – no music, no loud voices. Sound travels far in still valley air.

Choose bare ground: gravel, sand, rock or a well-used patch. Avoid heather, bilberry, moss and wildflower meadows. These take years to recover from a single night’s compression. In bogs, move on – your tent leaves a lasting dent.

Toilet Matters: Burying Waste the Right Way

Human waste is the biggest giveaway. Done badly, it contaminates streams and spreads disease. Done properly, it vanishes. Here’s how:

• Walk at least 30 metres from water, paths and campsites – about 40 adult paces.
• Dig a hole 15–20 cm deep with a trowel. Don’t use your boot.
• Bury it completely, then disguise the spot with leaf litter or stones.
• Carry out all toilet paper in a sealed bag. Baby wipes and sanitary items too. They don’t decompose in UK uplands.
• In fragile or hard ground, use a waste bag and pack it out. Not pleasant, but right.

Near wild swimming spots, be extra careful. Never wash or go to the toilet within 30 metres of a tarn, river or lake. A pee bottle at night saves disturbing the peace.

Choosing Ground That Can Take It

UK national parks contain some of Europe’s most fragile habitats. Upland heath, blanket bog, limestone pavement and arctic-alpine plants can be damaged by a single footprint. Avoid:

• Sphagnum moss and boggy hollows – they compact and drain poorly.
• Heather and bilberry – slow-growing and easily broken.
• Lichen-covered rocks – lichens are ancient and slow to recover.
• Nesting bird areas – between March and July, keep away from cliffs, scree and open moorland edges.

Best pitches: hard, stony ground, sand, or existing bare patches. When wild swimming, don’t trample reed beds or bank vegetation. Use a rock or sandy beach.

Campfires, Cooking and Keeping Quiet

Many national parks ban open fires. A single spark can destroy a bog or nesting site. Even where allowed, scars last for years. Use a camping stove instead. If you must have a fire, use an existing ring, keep it small, burn only dead wood from the ground, and never leave it. Drown ashes, then scatter widely. A flask of tea and a stove is all you need.

Noise is litter too. Keep voices low after dark. No music, no drones. Let others hear the curlew and the wind. In a group, split up and pitch well apart – it spreads the impact and keeps the wild feeling wild.

Wild Swimming and Washing: Sharing the Water

Wild swimming is a joy, but it comes with responsibilities. Never use soap, shampoo, washing-up liquid or toothpaste in a lake, river or tarn – even biodegradable ones harm aquatic life. Wash yourself and dishes at least 30 metres from water. Rinse with clean water from a bottle. Change well away from the bank, and use a towel or changing robe. Don’t dry kit on bushes – it damages them. Pick up litter, even if it isn’t yours.

Leave every place as you found it – or better. That’s the wild camper’s golden rule. Pitch late, leave early, bury waste properly, tread lightly on fragile ground. Do that and the national parks stay wild for everyone – the adders, the mosses, and the next tired walker seeking a quiet night under the stars.