A little Life in England – What NOT to do When Wild Camping on Dartmoor

I have a fair amount of experience of wild camping. It is very common in New Zealand, where there are national parks where you can set up a tent and camp for free (not on the Great Walks, but on most of them). And many years ago, when I walked the Coast to Coast in the north of England, the ex-boyo and I wild camped a lot (even though it wasn’t strictly legal). We set up late, packed up early, and always left the campsite the way we’d found it, or better.

When I moved back from New Zealand, I brought nearly all my camping gear with me, including a little camping stove that has served me well on many a trip in England, Australia and New Zealand. The one thing I couldn’t bring back was the gas canisters, so I bought a few before my trip and took the smallest one.

Big mistake.