Wild Camping Leave No Trace Principles Explained

Why Leave No Trace Matters More Here Than Almost Anywhere

Britain's uplands look rugged, but they are remarkably fragile. Centuries of grazing, drainage and acid deposition have left thin soils and slow-growing vegetation, and many of our high places recover from disturbance at a glacial pace. A flattened patch of moss on a Lakeland fell, a scar of burnt peat in the Cairngorms or a scatter of orange peel beside a Snowdonia path can outlast your visit by years. Leave No Trace is not about being precious. It is about keeping these places wild enough for the wildlife that depends on them, and for the walkers who come after you.

The good news is that the habits involved are simple, and most of them make for a better night's sleep anyway.

Pitch on Durable Ground

Where you put your tent matters more than anything else you do. Durable ground takes weight without lasting damage: bare rock, gravel, sand, dry earth and already-worn pitches are all fair game. Fragile ground does not: moss, lichen, cushion plants, dwarf willow, heather seedlings and the soft, springy turf of bogs will still show your tent's outline next spring.

• Choose an established pitch if there is one, even if it is not quite as pretty. Concentrating impact in one place is far kinder than spreading it across a dozen pristine spots.
• Stay at least 30 metres from lochs, tarns, streams and springs, and well away from eroded path edges where a tent peg can start a gully.
• Never dig drainage trenches around your tent, shift boulders to build a windbreak or cut turf to level a pitch. If the ground does not suit your tent, move.
• Check overhead for dead branches and below for ant nests, bird nests and animal burrows before you commit.
• On popular ground, shift your pitch each night or two so the vegetation gets a chance to spring back.

Camp Legally, and Quietly

Access and camping rules differ across the UK, and knowing them is part of leaving no trace. In Scotland, wild camping is a right under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, but it does not cover vehicles, and byelaws in places such as the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs area restrict where and when you can camp. In England and Wales, wild camping is generally not a right outside a few areas where permit schemes operate, so ask the landowner first or use a small campsite as your base.

Wherever you are, keep groups small, pitch out of sight of houses, roads and bothies, arrive late and leave early, and never camp in a field with livestock or on a growing crop. Close every gate you pass through, even if you found it open.

Human Waste: Bury It Properly, or Carry It Out

This is the part people get wrong most often. On low ground with deep, living soil, burying waste properly is acceptable. On high, thin, peaty or frozen ground, it is not: the organisms that break waste down are scarce or dormant, and the result will still be there, and still obvious, in two years' time.

• Carry a small trowel. Dig a hole 15–20 centimetres deep, well away from water, paths and pitches.
• Do your business in the hole, not beside it, and keep the excavated turf intact so you can replace it.
• Use plain, unscented toilet paper, then bag it and carry it out. Burning paper is a fire risk and rarely works.
• On high plateaus, in winter, in snow or in any heavily used area, use a sealed bag or waste tube and carry everything out with you.
• Wash-up and washing water should be carried at least 30 metres from any stream or loch and scattered, not poured into the water. Use the minimum of soap, ideally none.

Fires: The Honest Answer Is Usually No

An open fire in the hills is rarely a good idea. Peat and tree roots can smoulder underground for days, deadwood is valuable habitat, and wood is genuinely scarce on most upland ground. Fire scars on peat can persist for decades, and stone fire rings are permanent litter. Many areas ban open fires outright, and restrictions tighten in dry spells.

Bring a stove instead: gas, meths or solid fuel are light, quick and leave nothing behind. Check local bylaws and any seasonal fire warnings before you travel. If you are somewhere fires are permitted and safe, keep them small, use only fallen deadwood from well below the treeline, never leave them unattended, and scatter the ashes and cold stones afterwards. Never cut standing trees, living branches or fence posts.

Small Habits That Add Up

Pack out everything you brought, including apple cores, teabags, nut shells and fruit peel, which are not "natural" in an upland setting and take years to break down while drawing wildlife towards paths. Food left out or buried teaches animals to associate people with an easy meal.

Keep noise low, especially at dawn and dusk when wildlife is most active. Wash and dry your kit away from water sources. Before you leave, sweep your pitch on hands and knees for tent pegs, hair bands, crumbs and stray bits of tape. If you find litter that is not yours, and you can carry it, do. That is the whole idea: leave a place so it looks as though you were never there, and you will have earned the right to come back.