Wild camping in a campervan.

We get asked about wild camping in a campervan in the UK more than anything else. It is also the topic with the most confident nonsense online. "It is legal in Scotland." "You can park anywhere for one night." "Dartmoor is open again." Each has a grain of truth, and each can land you in trouble if you take it at face value. This guide sets out what the law actually says in each of the four nations, with the official sources linked, and then what we do in practice.

We are not lawyers. This is our reading of the published law and official guidance as of 25 October 2026. Rules change, landowners have their own policies, and local byelaws can sit on top of everything. Always check local signs and rules before you go.

Tents and vans are not the same thing

Most articles about wild camping are written for people with a rucksack and a tent. The legal rules that make tent camping possible in some places are almost always about access on foot. A campervan is a motor vehicle, and motor vehicles are handled by different laws: road traffic law, parking orders and the rights of the landowner.

Two examples make the point:

• In Scotland, section 9 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 lists conduct that is excluded from access rights. One item is "being on or crossing land in or with a motorised vehicle or vessel" (with an exception for vehicles adapted for disabled people). The Scottish Outdoor Access Code says plainly that access rights do not include motor vehicles.
• In England and Wales, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gives a right to walk on mapped access land, but Schedule 2 excludes driving or riding any vehicle (other than an invalid carriage) and also excludes camping.

So even where a walker may pitch a small tent, the van parked at the roadside is not covered by that right. It is either parked lawfully on a road or car park under the normal rules, or it is on someone's land, with or without their permission.

England

There is no general right to wild camp in England, in a tent or a van. Camping on someone's land without permission is usually trespass, which is normally a civil matter between you and the landowner rather than a crime. In practice the landowner, or the police acting for them in some situations, can ask you to leave, and you should.

Driving off the road is where criminal law comes in. Section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it an offence to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle without lawful authority onto common land, moorland or any land that is not part of a road, or along a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway. There is an exception for driving onto land within fifteen yards of a road for the sole purpose of parking there, but that is a defence to the driving offence, not permission to camp, and it does not stop the landowner objecting.

That leaves vans in England with three routes to a legal night: a campsite, a place where the landowner says yes (a farm, a pub, a stopover scheme host), or a road or car park where overnight parking is allowed. Our overnight parking rules guide covers that last one in detail.

Dartmoor and the court cases

Dartmoor is the one place in England where a right to wild camp has been argued about in the highest court, and it gets misreported a lot.

The Dartmoor Commons Act 1985, section 10(1), gives the public a right of access to the Dartmoor commons "on foot and on horseback for the purpose of open-air recreation". The Dartmoor National Park Authority had long treated backpack camping as part of that. Landowners Alexander and Diana Darwall challenged this.

• January 2023, High Court: the court held that the Act did not give the public a right to pitch tents or camp overnight on the commons, and that camping needed the landowner's consent.
• July 2023, Court of Appeal: the decision was reversed. The Court of Appeal held that open-air recreation could include camping.
• 21 May 2025, Supreme Court: in Darwall and another v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2025] UKSC 20, the court unanimously dismissed the landowners' appeal. Reporting of the judgment says the court treated "on foot and on horseback" as describing how you get there, not limiting what recreation you do once there, so camping falls within open-air recreation.

What this means for a campervan: nothing changes. The right is to access on foot or horseback. It does not let you drive onto the moor or sleep in a vehicle on the commons, and section 34 of the Road Traffic Act still applies. The National Park Authority publishes guidance and a map of where backpack camping is permitted, plus its own byelaws; read the current version on the Dartmoor National Park Authority site before you go. If you want to camp on Dartmoor, park legally and walk in with a tent.

Wales

Wales follows the same broad position as England. There is no general right to wild camp, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 exclusions for camping and vehicles apply on access land, and section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 applies to driving off road. You need the landowner's permission. Natural Resources Wales and the national park authorities manage a great deal of land, and their individual sites and car parks have their own rules on overnight stays, shown on signs and their websites. In busy areas like Eryri (Snowdonia) and Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons), check each car park's signs and the park authority's website before planning a night there.

Scotland

Scotland is where most of the confusion comes from. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 created wide access rights, and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code explains how to use them responsibly, including lightweight camping. Many people take that to mean campervans can stop anywhere. They cannot, at least not under the access rights.

• Access rights exclude vehicles. Section 9(f) of the Act excludes being on land in or with a motorised vehicle. The Code's camping guidance says access rights do not include motor vehicles, and that if landowners restrict or regulate parking on their land, you must respect this.
• Roadside parking is about road and parking rules. Parking a van in a lawful place by the road and sleeping in it is not covered or banned by the access rights. It is governed by the normal rules: traffic orders, car park conditions, signs and the landowner where it is private.
• Byelaws can go further. Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park has camping management byelaws that apply from 1 March to 30 September in its camping management zones. It runs motorhome permit areas for short stays and says passing places must not be used overnight. Other areas have their own arrangements, and some popular spots have seen car park bans as numbers have grown.

Scotland is still the most relaxed of the four nations in practice, and many landowners and communities are welcoming if you are discreet and spend money locally. But the honest summary is: tent campers have a legal right; campervans have the same parking rules as anywhere else. Planning a Highland trip? See our NC500 campervan guide.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has no equivalent of the Scottish access rights. Wild camping, in a tent or a van, needs the landowner's permission. Some public land managers offer permitted or bookable camping, and car parks and laybys follow their own posted rules. Check with the land manager or local council before you rely on a spot. Planning the coast? Our Causeway Coastal Route guide covers the drive.

The rules at a glance

How to wild camp in a campervan well

When you do have a legal spot with permission, or a roadside place where overnight parking is allowed, the way you behave decides whether that place stays open to the next van. A lot of the bans we see started with a few people leaving a mess. Our habits, built on the familiar "leave no trace" idea:

• Arrive late, leave early. One night, then move on.
• Look parked, not camped. No awnings, chairs, tables or washing lines outside. Keep steps and doors to a minimum.
• Toilets and waste go to proper points. Never empty a cassette or grey water on the ground or into a drain. Take every bit of rubbish with you. Our water, waste and toilets guide covers where to empty.
• No fires or barbecues on the ground. Many places ban them and they scar the land.
• Be quiet. No generators, no music. Park away from houses and farm gates.
• Never block gates, tracks, passing places or turning areas, which farmers and emergency services need.
• Respect signs. "No overnight parking" or "no camping" includes you.
• If asked to move, move, politely, at any hour.
• Spend locally. Buy food in the village shop, eat at the pub. It is the strongest argument for keeping places open.

Alternatives that feel wild

If what you want is a quiet night with a view, not the legal grey area, there are good options:

• Stopover schemes. Brit Stops lists more than 1,200 farms, pubs, vineyards and attractions that host vans, for a yearly membership. More in our motorhome aires and stopovers guide.
• Small farm and certificated sites. Often just a field and a tap, cheap, and with permission built in.
• National park and council motorhome areas, such as Loch Lomond and The Trossachs' motorhome permit areas.
• Ask. Knock on a farmhouse door and ask nicely. It has worked for us more often than not.
• Park legally and walk in. On Dartmoor or in Scotland, take a tent.

Questions

Is wild camping in a campervan legal in the UK?

Only with the landowner's permission, or where parking overnight is lawful under road and parking rules. There is no general right to wild camp in a vehicle in any of the four nations.

Can you wild camp in a campervan in Scotland?

Scotland's access rights allow responsible tent camping but exclude motor vehicles. Parking a van overnight depends on road rules, car park conditions, local byelaws and the landowner.

Did the Supreme Court make wild camping legal on Dartmoor?

In May 2025 it confirmed a right to camp as open-air recreation on the Dartmoor commons, reached on foot or horseback. It does not cover vehicles.

What happens if I wild camp without permission?

Usually you will be asked to leave. Trespass is normally a civil matter, but driving off road, breaking byelaws or ignoring parking orders can bring fines or penalty notices.

Can I park within 15 yards of a road to sleep?

Section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 has an exception for driving within fifteen yards of a road to park. It only means that driving is not an offence. It does not give you a right to camp on someone's land.