Wild Camping Tips - South West Coast Path - Where, How
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- Опубліковано 24 чер 2022
- Just my thoughts on my experience wild camping the South West Coast Path in May-22
Note: There is no adjustment to or photo-shopping of any image or video. All videos are shot and all pictures captured on my iPhone12 without the use of tripods, drones or other tools; before compiling using iMovie (also on my iPhone12)
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Hi there. I was hiking 3 days last summer from St. Ives to Penzance and I love it. This year in August I'm planning start from right starting point in Minehead and walk to Barnstaple. Can't wait to walk there again. I prefer wild camping with my tent and didn't have any issues. I think if you use your mind, on right times and don't mess all round all should go easy through. Greetings from Kent. Tom
You had some fantastic camping spots on your trip. Your common sense approach is exactly what`s needed when wild camping. I feel that after the first few nights many apprehensions diminish. The points you cover about cat holes away from the path and carrying out rubbish are the main things that upset local people along with remnants of unnecessary camp fires and unclosed gates. Cheers.
Thanks. I live in a village. I drive at 30mph through other villages as I’d like others to do so through mine. It’s the same logic to me as to why you ‘leave no trace’ and respect where you camp and walk.
I agree I had some amazing camp spots!
so inspirational! live in south west and still have so much coastline yet to see. great video
Thank you…..of course you can watch the other videos 😂
Really enjoyed your video, thank you. I'm doing the SW coast path (in reverse) over the course of many weekends, using my roof tent to sleep in, so I've yet to actually wild camp on the trail. It's reassuring that you've had no issues, and I'm really looking forward to getting the right weather to be able to do this! Thanks again!
Answered all my questions - many thanks.
Appreciated your knowledge!👍
Great video and great advice.
I'm just about finished getting all the good ultralight gear together for future adventures.
This video is most helpful as this part of long distance hiking makes me quite (unnecessarily) nervous.
You have eased my concerns considerably and you make excellent and sensible points, THANK YOU!
Glad to help. I’m not sure I’ll ever loose that ‘fear’ of being found; but as long as your sensible….most nights you’re too knackered 😂
I'm strarting the trek next week, thank you so much for that video, this is a big help!
Je suis content que ça ait été utile
Bon voyage !
How did it go?
Thank you so much for this video, I found it very helpful as I begin learning about wild camping. I did have a few more questions after watching (I do not live near the path and have no idea what it's like):
- You mention there being proper toilets around the path so you could avoid digging cat holes. Are these toilets out of the way in villages or are they directly along the path?
- When you are wild camping, do you brush your teeth and do you rinse your mouth in the brush, or what do you recommend?
- How far off the actual path do you typically look before setting up camp or choosing to move on?
Thanks again for your willingness to share about your experiences!
Thanks for your comments. My first real experience of the path was the day I started. I had visited some places in Dorset before, but not Cornwall or North Devon
Toilets - in the sense the path actually goes through coastal villages, the toilets are in those villages. I didn’t walk that far (100’s yds) off trail to get to them. I found an easy to use toilet at least once a day
Teeth - I tended to either clean them in toilets or I spat into trash bags if on trail
Camps - all were very close to the path. Some literally beside it (Rumps as an example), but all within 50yds
Great and useful vid - thanks! Two quick questions: 1. Did you have problems with the rain pitching inner first? 2. Did you ever regret pitching in those beautiful but exposed places because the wind picked up in the middle of the night?
Thanks for the comment. I had one night where I pitched in the rain but it’s quick and not that much rain got on my inner. There was one very windy night where the tent rocked a lot so I took off the fly and it was more stable. The weird thing there was it was in a dip and was completely calm as I pitched whilst above the dip was windy
Well that's a pretty good result. Thanks!
Thank you for the videos, I have really enjoyed them. If you had to choose a 10 day section that you felt was the most beautiful, which section would that be?
Thank you for your kind comment
Choosing a section is a bit like choosing your favourite child!. I am intending to re-visit North Devon/Cornwall as I have been to other sections before
Walked a couple of sections around Tintagel this May
I only saw 4 people in total
Loads of places i wished i could camp
Collected rubbish along the way - happy to say wasn't much
Days well spen5
Excellent. It’s a stunning part of the trail
Great bits of advice there... What a journey.. I'm going for it next year.. just a question.. I have a durston trekking pole tent.. would you recommend a free standing .. was thinking beach camps are trickier with a trekking pole tent.. but I noticed you stayed off the beaches... Just wondered what's your thoughts were..
I never camped on a beach, but where people can’t use pegs on the AT they use rocks
Great series of videos.
How did you get on for water for your camps?
I'm used to camping in the highlands where I'm happy to use water from streams.
I wouldn't be so sure in England though.
Presumably I will need a filter for some parts
Hi Mark. Thank you. There are enough taps, toilet blocks, campsites, deli’s, etc in the villages and towns you go through on the SWCP to not have to use streams. More taps for dogs than you realise!. My thought process was we are at the end of a stream and there is a lot of livestock farming so it will have all the crap in it, so I’d 100% filter anything I’d pick up. I did twice. Aah, now the highlands….in my plans!
I can highly recommend the Scottish National trail.
A fabulous walk
I did it from Lindisfarne to Cape Wrath.
Various reports on the walkhighlands website.
Including one from me
Amazing video! Super helpful. I’m planning on walking in the path in May of this year. For the few campsites you stayed on did you have to pre book anything? Or were they happy with you just rocking up? Sorry if this is a silly question!
In addition what was the price range for the campsites you stayed on? I’m aware you only stayed on a couple of site but if you do have an average cost I’d love to know.
Enjoy it!. I had two b&b type rooms and three campsites, otherwise all wild. For the campsites, I rocked up every time.
For sites that are really caravan sites, they don’t really do tents and it can be expensive (£30). For ‘campsites’ it was more £15. To be fair all I’m after is charging and a shower
One site I arrived at 6:30, but the office closed at 4:30pm, so I just pitched!. I was away by 7:30am, but the office didn’t open until 8:00…..so a cheeky freebie
@@EnglishmanJustWalking thanks for your response!! Super helpful thanks so much!!
Every time you wild camp you trespass unless you have permission, finding a quiet spot in a farmers field is really no different. I've tucked away in a discreet corner many times.
I agree….but who is there to enforce it?. Who is the landlord. In the end it’s a civil offence. It’s a virtually unenforceable event in under 24hrs as Councils know with travellers, etc.
If I was asked; I’d move. I’ve never been asked in 20yrs. I leave no trace bar squashed grass
@@EnglishmanJustWalking I can beat your 20 years by quite a few. I was merely making the point that a corner of a recently mowed meadow is no more legal or illegal than national trust clifftop, though granted it may be taken more personally if confronted.
But as you know, discretion and common sense make the legality point pretty moot. The nearest I have come to being moved on is when a coast guard guy pointed out that national trust don't really want me camping there.
I could have stood my ground but no need, plenty of places just a few minutes up the coast. Incidentally, I have met a national trust warden when setting up an early camp, he never said a word other than a passing friendly chat.
@mikebreen2890 Haha!. Yeah most people are just intrigued
I had a green keeper on a public golf course direct me to a spot behind a tee on the course (Cotswold Way), rather than the place I picked
I did a little of the swcp this year i camped about quarter mile away from the smuggler's inn
What three words location
ounce.butterfly.dressy
Just camp where ya want to 👍
Hey; that’s a good idea. I’ll record my ‘three words’ on each wild camp. Thanks
@@EnglishmanJustWalking it's a good way of saving a record and sharing your location.........just incase like 🤷 ya never know when someone might need to look for you
It's good practice not to give specifics about exactly where you camp (ie what3words, grid ref, etc) as it encourages others to camp in the same spot, which obviously puts pressure on the environment, habitat, etc. And if people keep camping in the same spot it's going to draw attention (negative), attact people that 'fly camp' and so on. Wild camping is very much in the news thanks to the Darwall case on Dartmoor and the sooner we have the right to responsible access in England (and Wales), like there is in Scotland, the better! Thanks for reading, I don't mean to be negative - I totally love wild camping, it's the most freeing thing in the world (and I'm incredibly lucky to have the SWCP on my doorstep). 😊#righttoroam