Stonehenge camping

mattyfez · 21 Jun 2015 at 20:18

If you want to do wild camping properly, just be careful about fires and such, don't leave a mess etc.

You can camp wherever you like as long as you're not in sight of any buildings, don't cause a scene and leave a mess behind. who's to know?

dowie · 21 Jun 2015 at 20:19

you may get away with it if you only pitch the tent after last light, don't make too much noise and have it cleared away by first light... if you've only got a couple of tents and pick a spot of dead ground, don't use too much torchlight etc.. cover any cooking stoves etc..

plus am pretty sure it is only a civil issue - worst case is someone comes along and tells you to move on, which if you're doing it late at night and not drawing attention to yourself might not even happen

Rroff · 21 Jun 2015 at 20:20

You won't get away with wild camping around Stonehenge - much of the surrounding land is fenced farmer's fields the rest National Trust land of historic significance and you will be prosecuted (they have to otherwise people just keep trying it on).

EDIT: By the time you were far enough away to get away with it you might as well just use one of the nearby camp sites.

mattyfez · 21 Jun 2015 at 20:25

Mynight said:
Normally I have to pay for that sort of thing .

Well, you can do it for free!

Just google the battle of the bean field

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Beanfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LHizyCtakw

dowie · 21 Jun 2015 at 20:32

Rroff said:
the rest National Trust land of historic significance and you will be prosecuted (they have to otherwise people just keep trying it on).

doubtful, though I could be wrong - AFAIK it is usually a civil offence and you're not going to get prosecuted if you leave when asked to/when caught

am happy to be shown something to the contrary but I think you're wrong on that

Rroff · 21 Jun 2015 at 20:44

dowie said:
doubtful, though I could be wrong - AFAIK it is usually a civil offence and you're not going to get prosecuted if you leave when asked to/when caught

am happy to be shown something to the contrary but I think you're wrong on that

Your probably right as what I was thinking of was legal action taken by English Heritage in regards to contravention of conditions of entry - forgot that is separate to the surrounding National Trust land (and not just a case of trespassing).

russell664 · 21 Jun 2015 at 21:12

doofer said:
You need permission from a Druid, I am a Druid, I give you my permission. If anyone asks you just say doofer from the Internet said it was OK.

This will work. 100%.

Haggisman · 21 Jun 2015 at 21:26

A) you're not allowed to do it (in most of England at least)
B) its perfectly possible to wild camp where you're not supposed to without any trouble
C) Stonehenge (and most national monuments) are places where B) is unlikely

peterwalkley · 21 Jun 2015 at 21:26

Pitch your tent in a surrey cycle lane. Don't forget the cereal. Record the results for our amusement.

Blackjack Davy · 21 Jun 2015 at 23:12

maccapacca said:
The stones were heavily vandalised when you used to be able to get near them.

People can't be trusted not to wreck anything without rules.

I remember visiting them as a kid before all that fencing went up and don't remember noticing any vandalism. Still got a photo somewhere of me and my sister sitting on one of the stones.

Mason- · 21 Jun 2015 at 23:21

Part of why I lovev Norway/Finland/Sweden. You are free to roam wherever you want, it's part of the Swedish constitution. Obviously you can't go in peoples gardens but you can camp anywhere and pick berries/mushrooms, fish and swim in all bodies of water. There are rules on respecting nature, don't disturb birds nests for example. It's lovely that for countries that are quite advanced that nature is still so fundamental to them, something I think is missing in this country.

Can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam#In_the_Nordic_countries

Derp · 22 Jun 2015 at 00:00

mattyfez said:
Well, you can do it for free!

Just google the battle of the bean field

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Beanfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LHizyCtakw

I remember it well... or rather, I remember watching it on the news as a kid.

Also remember listening to this song by the Levellers about the Battle of the Beanfield when I was a teenager...

Derp · 22 Jun 2015 at 00:08

dowie said:
you may get away with it if you only pitch the tent after last light, don't make too much noise and have it cleared away by first light... if you've only got a couple of tents and pick a spot of dead ground, don't use too much torchlight etc.. cover any cooking stoves etc..

plus am pretty sure it is only a civil issue - worst case is someone comes along and tells you to move on, which if you're doing it late at night and not drawing attention to yourself might not even happen

The Public Order Act 1986 was specifically related to people trying to access Stonehenge. It may have been superseded since then, but it came about partly due to the Battle of the Beanfield.

Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 give the police the power to impose conditions on marches and any demonstration that comes within the definition of a “public assembly”. A “public assembly” is an assembly of two or more people in a public place that is wholly or partly open to the air. This can extend to privately owned land that the public generally have access to.

source: https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/sites/default/files/nusliberty-rights-document-a5.pdf