Jeremy Ashcroft

Trail’s mountaineering editor is also author of Britain’s Highest Mountain Walks, pb Collins. He knows the UK hills better than his own reflection.

Who should I report antisocial wild camping (litter, fires...) to? Jane Whitney, Cannock, Staffordshire

The status of wild camping in England and Wales varies from that of Scotland. In England and Wales you need the permission of the landowner; in Scotland you have the right to wild camp on open moor and mountain as long as you are away from residential sites, enclosed agricultural land and forestry, and do not breach any stalking restrictions. New by-laws in the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park have been introduced this year to restrict certain sections of land around Loch Lomond between 1 March and 30 September after incidents of antisocial behaviour. In England and Wales, although you need permission, wild camping is generally tolerated so long as you follow a few basic common-sense rules.

Pitch late/strike early. Camp outside of intake (fell) walls and well away from habitation and as unobtrusively as possible.

Leave no trace: pack all your rubbish out, don’t damage trees or remove stones and so forth. Stick to small groups and keep noise to a minimum. Don’t disturb wildlife: avoid camping near nesting sites or riverbanks and so on.

Toilet etiquette: don’t ‘go’ within 30m/100ft of watercourses, bury solids and pack out used sanitary products, loo paper and the suchlike. Don’t dig drainage channels. No open fires. If you do come across an incident of antisocial wild camping and you feel it appropriate to inform someone, then the first port of call would be to mention it to the landowner. After this, if it is in a National Park, you could also inform the park authority. Wild camping as such is essentially a civil matter and the police would only be involved if there was suspicion of criminal activity.