The Supreme Court is set to consider the right to wild camp on Dartmoor as two landowners continue their long-running legal challenge against it on Tuesday.
Alexander and Diana Darwall are challenging a Court of Appeal ruling which said that members of the public have the right to wild camp in the national park in Devon.
The couple keep cattle on Stall Moor, which forms part of their more than 3,450-acre estate in the southern part of Dartmoor, and claim that some campers cause problems to livestock and the environment.
Their appeal to the UK’s highest court is opposed by the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA), which previously said that it would seek “to defend the public’s right to access the national park for open-air recreation” while continuing work to “protect Dartmoor’s unique characteristics”.
Dartmoor National Park, designated in 1951, covers a 368-square mile area that features “commons” – areas of unenclosed privately owned moorland where locals can put livestock.
The case has already been through two lower courts, with High Court judge Sir Julian Flaux ruling in January last year that a nearly 40-year-old piece of legislation did not give people the right to pitch tents overnight on the Dartmoor Commons without landowners’ permission.
Campaigners argued that Sir Julian’s earlier ruling “went too far” and could affect bird-watching, fishing and other activities, and labelled the judgment a “huge step backward” which could affect a “long-established precedent” of wild camping in the national park.
The DNPA later asked appeal judges to overturn the High Court’s decision, arguing Sir Julian had the wrong interpretation of a 1985 law over rights of access to the Dartmoor Commons.
In July 2023, the Court of Appeal ruled in the DNPA’s favour, finding that the law “confers on members of the public the right to rest or sleep on the Dartmoor Commons, whether by day or night and whether in a tent or otherwise” as long as byelaws are followed.
Sir Geoffrey Vos, who heard the appeal with Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Newey, said the “critical question” was whether wild camping could be considered a form of “open-air recreation”, finding it was.
But in January this year, Mr and Mrs Darwall were given the green light to take the case to the Supreme Court.
Ahead of the hearing, Mr Darwall, a hedge fund manager, said: “As someone born in Devon, I am very fortunate and proud to have become the custodian of part of this beautiful but fragile landscape.
“No-one is suggesting restricting public access to walk or ride in the national park. But the extent of recreational activity is an important issue if we want to preserve the open moor for the long term.
“Sadly, many campers do not observe the ‘leave no trace’ principle. Campfires on dry ground are dangerous. They also involve habitat destruction, as people break or saw branches from trees and burn them.
“In addition, campers often leave litter and human excrement, which land managers are forced to clear up after them.
“Dartmoor is not in good condition, as the 2023 Fursdon Review acknowledged.
“The Dartmoor National Park Authority does not have sufficient resources to police public activity across the national park.
“A campfire on a windy summer night does devastating damage if it spreads across dry peat moorland.
“Dartmoor’s fragile landscape takes years to regenerate after wildfires. It is vital that land managers have the power to ask irresponsible and anti-social campers to move.”
Lord Reed, Lord Sales, Lord Stephens, Lady Rose and Lady Simler will hear the case on Tuesday, with the hearing – due to last one day – scheduled to begin at 10:30am.
A judgment is expected at a later date.
