Earth Activists invoke Spirit of the Moor to protect wild-camping rights

Thousands of protestors marched across Dartmoor on 21 January calling on the ancient spirits of the land to join them in opposing a recent High Court ruling removing wild camping rights.  

Sacred Earth Activism co-founder Christa Mackinnon and others took part in the widely-supported demonstration, organised by Right to Roam and The Stars are for Everyone. Gathering on Stall Moor, a huge crowd of over 2,000 people took part in ceremony to call upon Dartmoor’s traditional protector, Old Crockern, and asked for his support.

According to local legend, a wealthy landowner had moved to Dartmoor in days gone by and was keen to exploit the land for personal profit. But Old Crockern warned that should he do so, he would lose everything – a situation that subsequently came to pass.

Christa said: “The atmosphere was electric, and I hope this will be an ongoing campaign. It’s profoundly wrong, in my opinion, that a National Park can be subject to such appalling private interests based on greed and possession.”

Removing ancient wild camping rights 

The march took place after hedge fund manager and Conservative party donor Alexander Darwall won his legal case against the Dartmoor National Park Authority, whose aim was to protect the public’s right to wild camp in the area. Darwell is one of Dartmoor’s wealthiest landowners and owns the 4,000-acre Blanchford Estate, where he offers pheasant shoots, deerstalking and accommodation.

His legal team had argued that “open-air recreation”, as defined by the Dartmoor Commons Act of 1985, did not include the right to pitch tents or camp on his Estate overnight, a viewpoint the High Court accepted. This means that, while the ruling does not make wild camping an outright criminal offence on either his Estate or the wider national park, it does give landowners the right to use reasonable force to remove visitors from their land if they decide to do so.

Prior to the High Court ruling, Dartmoor had been the last place in England and Wales where wild camping was still freely permitted, taking away yet another means for people to access nature. But Old Crockern does appear to have worked his magic on the situation, thereby helping to mitigate some of its worst effects.

The Dartmoor National Park Authority has now reached an agreement in principle with The Dartmoor Commons Owners’ Association to allow members of the public to wild camp on their land through a “permissive agreement” based on the principle of ‘leave no trace’.. Do we need a sentence here that cash-strapped Dartmoor National Park had to pay land-owners for that.

Areas where wild camping is permitted without nature-lovers having to seek permission from individual landowners will soon be marked on an interactive map on the Authority’s website.

Reawakening our connection with the land

Sacred Earth Activism co-founder Jonathan Weekes said he had found it inspiring to see the spirits of the land being invoked in this powerful way.

“We’d love to see more groups remembering traditional animistic ways of being with the land, making offerings and paying their respects to the spirits who inhabit it,” he explained. “When we’re working towards the same goal, it makes sense for us all to work together - and perhaps we couldn’t do it without their help.”

Another key consideration is the importance of reawakening our connection to the land and nature at a time when it is crucial to get behind efforts to tackle today’s environmental and climate crises, Jonathan pointed out. But to do so, “we need, at very least, to have access to it. Without that connection, many people may not feel strongly enough to protect them”, he said.

A key challenge is that this shift in Dartmoor’s wild camping status is just the latest in hundreds of years of legislative restrictions separating people from accessing and connecting with nature. Only 8% of land in England is accessible to the general public.

“The problem is it only contributes to the wound of disconnection that we’re all experiencing, but Sacred Earth Activism will continue to support Right to Roam and connected organisations in their ongoing campaigns to unwind the legislative barriers we face to accessing nature,” Jonathan added.

To follow the Right to Roam campaigns, visit their Website and Instagram pages, and join Sacred Earth Activism’s Monthly Gatherings, where we will often be discussing ways we can support.