Right to wild camp on Dartmoor lost in court case

[Kim]

I can't find an existing thread for this...

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/13/dartmoor-estate-landowner-alexander-darwall-court-case-right-to-camp

 

[andrewc]

I mentioned it in the "Super Twat" thread earlier today.    Sounds like a mass trespass is required. 

[Cudzoziemiec]

Ownership is all.

[Canardly]

Doesn't the public own National Parks?

[Tim Hall]

Doesn't the public own National Parks?

No.  from The National Parks website (www.nationalparks.co.uk)

National Parks Authorities don’t actually own much of the land in National Parks. Most of it is privately owned and a great deal of it is particularly sensitive: either as a habitat or culturally.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The public (or the state) owning National Parks is a foreign thing. What you find in dangerously socialist places like Germany and the USA.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

The English don't want to annoy the land-owning gentry by actually taking national parks into public ownership or by restricting private control of land and allowing the oiks any right to enjoy the countryside.

[Sergeant Pluck]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/13/dartmoor-estate-landowner-alexander-darwall-court-case-right-to-camp

Arguing for the landowner, Timothy Morshead KC said the law did not mention camping and camping was not included, but Timothy Leader, arguing for the national park, said the law was purposely written to be as wide as possible to include all kinds of recreational activities. He added that there was a list of proscribed activities, such as killing animals or lighting fires, and camping was not on it.

Unless it is a pheasant, or any living thing - protected or not - that might reduce the number of pheasants available to be shot.

[sojournermike]

Personally I have a pretty strong view that a government of the commoners should return the commons to whom they belong. They were stolen by ‘the families’ in the past and so, as with the dodgy car you bought of Nick* the Crim, the land should be returned.

Meanwhile, a mass trespass, wherein participants slaughter pheasant and deer to barbecue before settling down to sleep is a cheering thought.



* characters in this message are fictional and are not intended to bear any resemblance to real people, living or dead.

[mzjo]

Personally I have a pretty strong view that a government of the commoners should return the commons to whom they belong. They were stolen by ‘the families’ in the past and so, as with the dodgy car you bought of Nick* the Crim, the land should be returned.

Meanwhile, a mass trespass, wherein participants slaughter pheasant and deer to barbecue before settling down to sleep is a cheering thought.



* characters in this message are fictional and are not intended to bear any resemblance to real people, living or dead.

Poor deer and pheasants! The pheasants will probably be tame ones with a pronounced taste for raisins soaked in brandy but just because they're not very streetwise doesn't make their lives any less valuable!

[morbihan]

In defence of the man, he does have a strong moral compass and has donated heavily to UKIP and Vote Leave.
He has clearly got the best interests of the ordinary folks at heart, and with his visionary, wizard like foresight the citizens of the UK are now so much better off due to the incredible hard working achievements of the aforementioned organisations.
Surely a knighthood is on the cards.

[Beardy]

I understand from those that no, that the National Trust as major landowners on Dartmoor are intending to appeal the decision, so it’s not over yet. As for the pheasant and grouse, most are imported from the continent as chicks and the bird flu restrictions are causing all sorts of issues. It was quite amusing* watching a tame gamekeeper trying to justify why pheasant should be exempt from bird flu restrictions on account of the jobs involved and the fact that game birds didn’t get bird flu.

*fcvo

[Canardly]

Interesting video concerning this topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmPIg7wY0Uk

[Beardy]

Hooray.

Some good news for a change

Dartmoor Wild Camping allowed again

[Cudzoziemiec]

Good!

[Cudzoziemiec]

The Royal Marines have lost a rifle on Dartmoor.

A rifle has been lost during a Royal Marines exercise on Dartmoor.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed an investigation had been launched, and said the rifle was unloaded.

The standard issue SA80 rifle was misplaced during a leadership course by the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in July.

The exercise was stopped and a large-scale search was made, but the rifle was not located.

A Royal Navy spokesperson said: "We are investigating an incident related to the loss of an unloaded rifle by the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines.

"The incident is under investigation, therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmmyr90v6elo

Clearly all rifles should be wearing hi-viz to prevent further occurrences.

[Beardy]

The Royal Marines have lost a rifle on Dartmoor.

Clearly all rifles should be wearing hi-viz to prevent further occurrences.

If it was on exercise and thus using blanks, then the gas stop on the end of the barrel will have been Hi Vis in an attempt to stop oiks from loading and attempting to fire live rounds while the gas stop is fitted.

I suspect that the former custodian of said rifle, has failed the leadership exercise.

[Kim]

The Royal Marines have lost a rifle on Dartmoor.

IRTA "The Royal Mail have lost a rifle on Dartmoor", and thought this was the wrong thread...

[Wowbagger]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/04/labour-would-extend-right-to-wild-camp-to-all-english-national-parks

Labour says it will extend the right to wild camp to all national parks.

Usual caveats apply.

[Cudzoziemiec]

A potentially useful move, but I'm wary of it being announced now, in that it means wild camping – and leading on from that, other sorts of camping, hiking, climbing, etc – are liable to become culture war pawns, such is the current state of UK politics and society.