Open Spaces Society to intervene in supreme court in Dartmoor backpack-camping case
We are delighted to have been granted permission to intervene in the Dartmoor backpack-camping case. The society intervened in support of the Dartmoor National Park Authority in the Court of Appeal and was relieved when the court ruled that the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 gave the public the right to camp on nearly all the Dartmoor…
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Right to backpack camp on Dartmoor’s commons confirmed by appeal court
We are delighted that three judges in the court of appeal have unanimously overturned the high court ruling and resolved that there is a right to backpack (wild) camp on Dartmoor’s common land. The full judgment can be read here. The society intervened in the court of appeal to support the Dartmoor National Park Authority…
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An update on the Dartmoor backpack-camping appeal
The court of appeal hearing of Dartmoor National Park Authority and Open Spaces Society v Darwall was on 18 July, and can be watched here. Our aim was to overturn the ruling of Sir Julian Flaux in the high court in January that the term ‘open-air recreation’ in section 10 of the Dartmoor Commons Act…
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Dartmoor backpack camping: we join case in court of appeal
Update July 2023: the appeal was heard on July 18 2023. A summary and link to watch can be found here. Update June 2023: the society has submitted to the court a witness statement, made by case officer Hugh Craddock, and the society’s skeleton argument, courtesy of Richard Honey KC, Ned Westaway and Esther Drabkin-Reiter,…
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Backpack camping: Dartmoor National Park Authority to appeal
We are delighted that the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) members have unanimously agreed to appeal against the high court judgment on the Dartmoor backpack camping case. The owners of Stall Moor common. Alexander and Diana Darwall, challenged the DNPA’s argument that the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985, in giving the public the right to walk…
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No backtrack on backpack camping on Dartmoor commons
We are delighted that the Dartmoor National Park Authority has agreed unanimously to seek leave to appeal against the High Court judgment of 13 January; this ruled that there is no right to wild (backpack) camping on the Dartmoor commons. Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘We have always understood that the Dartmoor Commons Act…
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Wild camping on Dartmoor—the need to appeal
Update: An agreement is being reached between Dartmoor National Park Authority and the landowners to enable people to keep wild camping in Dartmoor National Park without landowners’ permission. While the agreement is welcome and we are pleased the landowners have stepped up, it goes nowhere far enough to meet wild campers’ needs. It is essential…
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Threat to our age-old freedom on Dartmoor
A high court case, which opens today, could determine the future enjoyment of wild camping in the Dartmoor National Park. Alexander Darwall, the owner of Stall Moor common on Dartmoor, claims that the right of access under the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 does not include the right to wild camp. People have enjoyed this activity…
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