Column: What is wild camping and what are the issues?

OKAY, I feel I should apologise for this one up front.

Those of you expecting the usual guide to this month’s wildlife will be disappointed, I’m afraid.

Instead, what I’d like to do is to take a look at an issue facing many areas in East Lothian’s countryside.

As many of you will be aware, wild camping is a pastime that seems to be gaining popularity, perhaps as a result of people’s understandable need to get out and about after long months of lockdown.

Unfortunately, this can sometimes have a detrimental impact on the environment.

In Scotland, the right to wild camp is enshrined in law, although as with all access rights, this comes along with responsibilities.

The Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) outlines our access rights and responsibilities, including those pertaining to camping.

One of the main problems is that any discussion involves terms such as “responsible access” and “wild camping” itself, but people interpret these terms differently.

Generally speaking, wild camping should be lightweight and short-term – one or two tents for no more than two or three nights.

Wild campers should also follow the ‘Leave No Trace’ philosophy. Essentially, this means there should be no way of telling you’ve been there – no litter, no signs of fires, no damage to trees or other elements of the environment.

This is a good example of wild camping

Some very conscientious campers take this further by removing litter left by others, i.e. the site looks better for them having been there. Hats off to these heroes.

If it can sometimes be difficult to define what wild camping is, it’s easier to say what it isn’t.

It isn’t pitching a tent in a car park, and it certainly isn’t turning up with your entire family and friends and a car full of glamping kit and/or lager.

It may also surprise some people, but responsible wild camping would not include an open fire; at least not in certain areas. SOAC states that you should “never light an open fire during prolonged dry periods or in areas such as forests, woods, farmland...” So, fires in the woods are in breach of the code, as are fires anywhere during dry periods.

If you’re desperately in need of a fire, the place to have it is on the beach.

It’s also a good idea to bring your own wood. Collecting fuel on-site isn’t a good thing, as dead wood is a valuable part of ecosystems. Cutting branches from trees may constitute vandalism and anyway, green wood burns really badly.

Perhaps it’s also important to think about the ethos behind wild camping.

As mentioned, truly wild camping should have an intrinsic respect for, and minimal impact on, the natural environment.

At some of our sites, we’ve seen a huge increase in camping in recent years.

Many of those involved are reasonably responsible campers, fires aside, that is, leaving little or no litter.

However, the cumulative effect of such a high density of campers (we recently counted over 90 tents at Tyninghame) is to slowly degrade the natural environment.

Then, of course, there’s the issue of where all these people are going to the toilet, but let’s not dwell on that.

So, perhaps it just needs a little more thought on the part of the campers.

Some sites are simply inappropriate – Aberlady Bay and Traprain Law, for example, being a nature reserve and scheduled monument respectively.

Others may be OK sometimes, but not when busy.

Under these circumstances, it may be that prospective campers should think about choosing another venue.

Right, rant over; normal service will be resumed next month.