Ethos | Nearly Wild Camping

The outdoors is a place of beauty, adventure, and connection with nature. In order to preserve this natural environment for generations to come, it is important to follow the principles of Leave No Trace (LNT) camping ethos.

Leave No Trace is a set of seven principles that guide outdoor enthusiasts on how to minimize their impact on the environment and leave it pristine for others to enjoy. These principles were developed in the 1960s by outdoor recreation and conservation professionals, and have since been adopted by various organizations around the world.

Plan ahead and prepare: Proper planning can help minimize potential issues such as overcrowding or damage to sensitive areas.

Travel and camp on durable surfaces: Stick to established paths and camp locations to avoid damaging vegetation.

Dispose of waste properly: Pack out all rubbish, including food waste, and dispose of human waste properly.

Leave what you find: Do not take anything from the natural environment, whether it is a rock or a wildflower.

Minimize campfire impacts: Use existing fire rings and make sure to fully extinguish the fire before leaving.

Respect wildlife: Observe animals from a distance and do not feed or approach them.

Be considerate of other visitors: Respect others’ experience in the outdoors by keeping noise levels down and giving them space.

By following these principles, we can all do our part in preserving the natural beauty of our environment. But it is not just about minimizing our impact, it is also about leaving a positive impact by being good stewards of the land.

Pack out what you pack in: Bring rubbish bags with you and make sure to leave your camp location cleaner than you found it.

Use a stove instead of making a campfire: This helps minimize the impact on the natural environment and reduces the risk of wildfires.

Stay on designated paths: Venturing off path can cause erosion and damage to delicate plant life.

Respect wildlife and their habitats: Do not disturb or approach animals, and make sure to properly secure food to avoid attracting them to your campsite.

Leave nature as you found it: Resist the urge to take home souvenirs such as rocks, shells, or plants.

Educate others: Spread the message of Leave No Trace and encourage others to follow these principles.

Adhering to the Leave No Trace camping ethos not only helps protect the environment, but it also ensures that future generations will be able to enjoy the same natural wonders that we do today.

So next time you head out into the great outdoors, remember to leave no trace and leave it better than you found it. Happy camping!

The Leave No Trace principles not only apply to camping, but also to any outdoor activity such as hiking, backpacking, or even just a day trip

Make some money and reduce waste.

We all know there is nothing better than sleeping under the stars, enjoying the benefits of being outside, experiencing time with our beautiful natural world. Nearly Wild Camping has created a directory of campsites that offer just this experience. Tentshare is offering a way to help the camping community share their tents and kit safely, earn money and reduce our carbon footprint.

Fondly referred to as Fresh-Airbnb, Tentshare is an online tent-matching service. The idea is simple: organized sharing. A tent owner can earn money sharing their kit with people in the local community who would like to camp but don’t own a tent. The tent-borrower can rent a tent at an affordable cost.

Let’s face it most of us campers have a couple (if not more) of tents stored and unused in our garage or loft. It’s estimated that 250,00 tents go to landfill each year in the UK. If we all shared, we wouldn’t need to keep buying cheap tents and them ending up in landfill.

Tentshare is committed to building a like-minded sharing community. We would love you to join us on our mission to share more and consume less. Tentshare provides a way earning and saving money for you, and in turn helping to protect our planet.

There are three ways we can help you and in turn, you can help protect our planet.

1) Earn money – List your tent on the Tentshare platform: https://www.tentshare.co.uk/ready-to-share/

2) Save money – Rent a tent from the Tentshare platform:

https://www.tentshare.co.uk/ready-to-camp/

3) Receive the ultimate FREEcamping checklist – Sign up to receive a bi-weekly news update from us: https://mailchi.mp/4e12731fa41d/tentsharers

Rebecca Heaps

founder of Tentshare

The STORM CARE range is designed to wash, proof, deodorise and repair your outdoor apparel, footwear and gear.All of their products are made in England, and they are proud to produce aftercare that is PFC, PFOA and PFOS FREE.

‘Don’t replace. Reproof and Reuse.Over time, dirt and oil mask the water repellency treatment on gear, meaning it starts losing performance and absorbing water; putting a dampener on your outdoor experience. Care really is key when it comes to getting the most out of your kit. So in 2003 we decided to create a range of products that do just that, to ensure you get maximum usage and performance, from your gear.’ – Matt Graves, Storm Care Solutions Ltd

Many of us have found a reignited passion for the great outdoors over the last year and a half and what better way to reconnect with nature than to go camping?! I recently heard of a new concept; “nearly wild camping” and was really intrigued to find out more about it. As someone who has enjoyed camping throughout my life, including wild camping (bush camping) across Africa, I am open to all things camping and started doing my research.

To understand Nearly Wild Camping, we need to understand what Wild Camping is. So What is Wild Camping?

Wild camping is where you camp on land that is not set up as a campsite and enjoy nature and solitude in the wilderness. Generally it is illegal to do so in most places in the UK without the landowner’s permission, and so, if you do get caught, you risk being asked to move on. In many areas like Snowdonia and other National Parks there are wardens and gamekeepers who often move people on. The one place that does allow Wild Camping in England is Dartmoor but you must follow strict guidance on this. Check out the guide here. All wild campers love Scotland as it isn’t prohibited there, so you can technically pitch up wherever you like including it’s incredible National Parks, although there are some restrictions around Loch Lomond, so again check out and follow the local guidance here. Wild campers in Scotland are advised to follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, which is a great guide for all wild campers. Despite it being illegal, Wild camping is generally tolerated throughout the UK as long as you camp responsibly by following the ‘leave no trace’ principles; take all litter with you and leave no evidence of you having been there (burnt logs or damage to nature).

A typical wild camper travels light and minimalist, packing a little tent and the basic necessities for a night or two, then heading off into the mountains, pitching up at dusk and leaving at dawn, never staying in the same place more than 1 night. The idea is to be discreet, pitching up in a remote location where others are unlikely to see you.

Nearly Wild Camping a growing network of locations ‘willing to host campers (in tents, hammocks, campervans or roof top tents) who are looking for a wilder, secluded or quieter camping experience’. There are over 150 locations across the UK in very different environments including by lakes, in forests, on clifftops and by beaches, with most locations allowing campfires/BBQs. They provide campers with a safe and secure location to enjoy a wilder camping experience at a price. Many locations also offer additional experiences such as bushcraft, bee keeping, pottery and fishing amongst others. With all this in mind, I had to try it out for myself!

I went on a solo adventure with my Tentbox to North Wales where I stayed at 2 different Nearly Wild Campsites. I am a usually a very sociable person, so for me solo adventures are a fairly new thing. I have found solace in solitude throughout the Covid19 pandemic and healing in nature and hiking, but the thought of wild camping in my car on my own did give me quite a lot of anxiety. Nearly Wild Camping for me, was a great way to help me overcome this anxiety and grow confidence in being able to go on wild camping adventures in my car, on my own in the future.

My first campsite was in Anglesey at a Bee Keeping farm. I had the place to myself and parked up in their newly planted Bee friendly forest. The site offered fresh drinking water but not toilet or shower facilities due to them being built at that time. They had a large area of land dedicated to people who want to Nearly Wild camp and the lakeside area, I was told, had been really popular with hammock campers. They provided Bee Keeping courses and experiences and showed me their bees telling me all about their importance and how to become more bee friendly.

I had sheep, wild rabbits and birds for neighbours that night and sat out enjoying the evening until dusk. It was an incredibly peaceful night. I had my roof top tent all to myself for once which was great too as I could spread eagle. I made the most of my location to explore Anglesey including the stunning Newborough Beach and Bryn Celli Ddu, a 5000 year old neolithic burial chamber that was nearby.

My second night was at a Nearly Wild camp site on the Hafod Elwy National Nature Reserve. I had a great drive through the Ogwen Valley to get to it. This site was fairly busy with lots of campers, however due to the site being so big, everyone was dotted around with plenty privacy and space to themselves, so it did feel quite secluded. I had a perfect spot for my roof top tent with great views out to the nature reserve. I explored the site that offered Shepherd Huts to campers should they need. These were cool little huts that were completely empty inside but would offer protection against the elements in a storm for instance. There were hammock campers, families with children in large tents, groups of friends in wild camping tents and campervans. This camp provided toilets, showers and drinking water.

It was a great base to explore the Alwen reservoir and Llyn Brenig, so I went for a little adventure into the forest and got some stunning views. Despite the drizzly weather, it was a perfect weekend of peace, exploring and solo adventures.

I have since also stayed at a Nearly Wild Campsite in Cornwall during a weeklong road trip with my mama and son in my Tentbox. We were the only ones camping on a large clifftop field and had the most incredible views of the sea. This site provided a compost toilet and drinking water. Washing is fairly easy when camping if there are no shower facilities. We simply warmed some water on the stove and used this to have a proper wild camping wash… face, pits and bits.

There are lots of benefits of Nearly Wild Camping. By paying to stay at a nearly wild camp, you have no risk of ‘trespassing’ or being asked to move on. You also support local businesses and landowners, something that the UKs economy will benefit from this year more than ever. Nearly Wild Campsites provide safety and security to those travelling alone, with children or who are just a bit nervous about trying Wild Camping yet. Many have amenities such as toilets, showers and drinking water which you wouldn’t otherwise get when Wild Camping, although these are dependent on the individual locations. The best thing for me is that they provide wilder natural spaces for you to enjoy and re-connect with nature. Where normal campsites tend to be plain fields with no real character, Nearly Wild Campsites are just that… “Nearly Wild”. I will definitely be staying at more Nearly Wild Campsites this summer and I think you should try them too!

Whether you Wild Camp or Nearly Wild camp, make sure you enjoy the beauty of nature and all she has to offer you and treat her with respect. Make sure you camp responsibly and ensure you follow the ‘Leave No Trace’ principles so we can all continues to enjoy these camping experiences and have ongoing access to the great British outdoors.

Janire is a travel blogger based in Shropshire who specialises in camping, outdoors and adventure travel. Her blog posts have been featured by Acacia Africa, Tentbox and The Travel Cult.

What does bushcraft and wilder camping mean to me? Well, apart from its practical application and the fact that I think it’s just good fun. For me, I get a deeper sense of meaning from it. Especially when spending nights alone in the wild with little and basic equipment. Meaning that I desperately need in this confusing world where everything is now coming under question. I believe, it’s about getting rid of the fluff and peeling away the layers of useless, material baggage of the modern world and condensing down what you actually need in life to some basic tools and priorities.

If you think about it: the human mind and physiology has been moulded by hundreds of thousands of years of hunter gatherer evolution. Well over 90% of our existence on this planet. Therefore, practicing these skills connects me with what I can only describe as the primal fundamental human reality. Like a memory of something that I have never seen. Like acting out distant knowledge encoded in our very DNA. In the woods I feel whole and I feel human.
In many hunter gatherer societies, boys were initiated into manhood by being banished alone into the wilderness to fend for themselves. To allow the “boy ego” to die and for them to return a man. Perhaps this is the origins of what Joseph Campell described as the “Hero’s Journey”. A story represented in myths throughout cultures and ages all around the world. I see the solo journey into the wild as a metaphor for life and an exercise to better understand ourselves.
The wilderness represents chaos. When the walls of your reality break down and the comfort of order disintegrates. You are alone with your thoughts, there is no one else to rely on and your only companion is a few basic tools in your backpack. Then like King Arthur’s knights, you must willingly enter the part of the forest that seems darkest to you and confront the shadows that are awaiting in the abyss.
But your mission is clear. You must setup or build a shelter to maintain your core body temperature and establish a microclimate of order. Create fire -man’s greatest companion- to provide the energy potential to make water safe to drink, food more nutritious, manipulate resources in your environment to make tools and banish the beasts of the darkness. With each of these challenges overcome you plant a seed of order in the chaos. You find new appreciation for the simple things in life and become grateful for what little you may have.
But in synchrony with the chaos of the wild, there is also space, harmony and a stillness. Sensations that we are we so deprived of in modern life. Free from distractions, your evening entertainment is the crackling fire accompanied by the forest symphony. Its a chance to reclaim your attention and be alone with your thoughts and see what your thoughts actually are. Content with the primal attraction of staring into the flames of your camp fire, you commune with the ancestors. The passage of time seems less rigid and less relevant.
Its a chance to observe the way of the forest; many life forms performing a slow, cyclic dance of life and death; struggling for survival yet effortlessly being; competing yet cooperating simultaneously.

In the abyss of the wilderness, perhaps something inside of you may die and something new will be reborn. On returning to the known world, many things may not seem so scary any more. You have a whole new appreciation for the simple things in life: The joy of clean running water; the wonder of a hot shower; the cosy security of a solid shelter and the marvel at the easily available food from all around the world and the indescribable contentment of sharing a meal in the company of loved ones. The experience is a reminder of what is actually important and can be used as an everyday meditation of gratitude. A useful tool I have found to get me through the harder days in life.
Despite our need to create habitable order from the chaos of nature; I don’t believe that nature is something that we must battle and subdue. Nor separate ourselves from and contain as ornaments of purity, only to admire from a distance, never to be touched. For you cannot separate the organism from the environment and what you do to one you do to the other.
For as Chief Seattle said “Man did not weave the web of life-he is merely a strand in it”. Therefore, I believe we must relearn how to be active, responsible participants in the natural world. We must not suppress, but integrate our wild nature, immerses ourselves in the wilderness and be aware what we have evolved to be.
The forest is the site of the rite of passage and without the woods, we humans are stuck in a hall of mirrors, bound to reflect only our man-made world and ideas.

I think wildness is essential to human wellbeing and as John Muir once said “Thousands of tired, nerveshaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity“.
I feel like we can all benefit by reconnecting to our wild origins and experience feeling human again.

– adapted from a video transcript by Tom Langhorne – YouTube channel ‘Fandabi Dozi’

All of the UK is owned by someone or some organisation. Wild camping does happen but is often not possible or realistic for many people hence the reason for creating Nearly Wild Camping.

Nearly Wild Camping has been working hard to help people access wilder camping opportunities for some time, whilst also ensuring some benefit to the landowners. We are not aiming to replace or challenge wild camping, we are here to make wilder camping more accessible whilst giving real benefit to both campers and landowners.

Nearly Wild Camping (www.nearlywildcamping.org) has been running for some years, has almost 1000 members and 65 locations already. We are a corporate partner of the National Association for AONBs and we have recently been granted Welsh Government camping exemption certificate for locations (we are still waiting to hear about our England licence, though hope to hear soon).

By setting up a wild camping organisation of which both campers and landowners are members, we have started to establish a real community of campers and locations. It is important to us to offer a range of wilder experiences, including importantly locations which help people learn and develop their skills. And, if we are really able to help people re-connect with nature and the countryside it’s important that we can have locations which are close to the urban areas where so many of us live.

We have worked hard to keep our prices low to make sure that affordability isn’t a barrier and we know from feedback that it works. However, we also know that the income that the landowners get matters, helping them to find the money they need to manage their land. We have spoken with some of ourlandowners about considering a small payback to local wildlife and landscape organisations to help with their work, but we do not demand it. We would of course be happy to pilot other ways of doing this and have done some trials of our own already.

Our booking system is not online, but direct to the landowner. This is deliberate and based on our experience of working with both online and direct booking methods. We have found that the ‘good old human relationship’ ensure our members get the best service, helping campers connect with the landowner and learn about the countryside more directly through them.

We decided to be a club (it’s easy to join, and only £20 per year so it should not exclude anyone on price!) to help give landowners confidence, and to provide a framework for us to build a network and community for people to join, where they can learn about and enjoy responsible camping either as a camper or a landowning provider – and some are both.

Working with the John Muir Award programme, we are developing camping guidance and we are soon to launch social weekends with a learning aim, focussing on low impact, leave no trace, give something back camping. These will develop camper skills, build social networks and enable attendees to access to some of our more sensitive camp locations.

We are very proud of what our small team have achieved so far, mainly through voluntary efforts and with only a small initial external set-up grant (from a Powys LEADER programme). We are now a self financing success story and we aim to now build up what we offer.

We are proud of our Welsh roots and very pleased that Wales has been the first country to grant us the camping exemption certificate. We believe this is an important part of building a greener economy in Wales and fits with important Welsh Government agendas. We have 5 years’ practical experience of working with campers and landowners and have a huge amount of knowledge to share. We are now starting to blog, vlog and share this, based on real experience. In addition, our founders have now also launched Nearly Wild (www.nearlywild.org), a community interest company, to help other types of nature-based business and the people seeking to buy nature-based products and services.

We have lots more plans in the pipeline, so please do help support us, get involved or become a Nearly Wild camper or camping location.

Attentional restoration theory (ART) first proposed by Kaplan and Kaplan (1989) claims that urban environments suffer from an excess of stimulation that serves to dramatically capture our attention. People exposed to urban environments are forced to use their attention to overcome the effects of constant stimulation (described as hard fascination), and over time this in turn induces cognitive fatigue. In contrast, natural environments benefit from what the Kaplan’s term soft fascination, which refers to scene content that automatically captures attention while simultaneously evoking a sense of wellbeing. Generally speaking, natural settings do not pull at your attention relentlessly, forcing you to make decision after decision. Instead, they inspire quiet observation, appreciation and relaxation.

‘The natural world is often depicted as a restorative environment that replenishes one’s resources, while busy, crowded urban environments have often been considered attention and energy drains. Although these beliefs were long held as simply opinions and personal views, the last few decades have seen some empirical work on the idea that natural environments can restore and rejuvenate us, boost our attention, and keep us healthier.’ – Positive Psychology Program

‘When the demands of daily life get to be a little much sometimes all it takes is a brisk walk outside to simmer down and release some excess tension. The smell of fresh air and the subtle sounds of nature have the unique ability to cleanse our thoughts and help us escape. With more research into our connection with nature, science is always there to remind us that not only is spending time in nature a perfect way to unwind but is also an essential component to our mental health.’ – MindBody Vortex

It is obvious then that camping in a wilder, more natural location is the perfect way to invoke attentional restoration. People quite often are aware of the positive feeling of ‘escaping’ into nature without being able to express it in words. Camping also allows us to leave the clutter of things we surround ourselves with behind, thus removing distractions that can also cause stress. As humans we do have the ability to adapt and evolve but nowhere near as quickly as the rate of change that has happened in the last few thousand years with the development of cities, man-made materials and the infrastructure built from them.

In conclusion regular wilder camping trips – even for only a single night away – will help to keep the mind, body and spirit in balance and you may just have some fun too!

Offering expeditions, training and development courses across the UK and overseas, Wilderness Expertise has joined the Nearly Wild Camping co-operative as a Business Supporter and we look forward to working with them going forward…

www.wilderness-expertise.co.uk

Planning & Preparation – check the weather forecast, plan your meals & snacks, pack your bag in the order you will need things (or use different pockets). Knowledge of the landscape (map).

Practice & Testing – learn to put your tent up in the dark/low light and pack away in an organised manner.

Knowledge of Equipment – understand your kit (Practice & testing), you may need backups such as an extra torch and more than one way to light your stove.

Self-discipline – keep your camp and equipment organised or you will keep losing things.

Problem solving – you need the ability to adapt to unexpected changes and failures (Spares & Repairs)

Self-sufficiency – if you are on your own you want to check you have everything you need with you including a first aid kit (Planning & Preparation)

Spares & Repairs – take some basic tools and bits’n’bobs to make field repairs eg. fabric tears, pole break, broken sleeping bag zip etc.

Leave no trace – pack everything out, double check you have left nothing behind.

All of the above lead to Confidence in your ability and equipment but if that all seems a bit daunting start by spending regular times in a wilder place and observing the sights, smells and sounds until it all starts to feel familiar. Then try camping with a friend and finally spend a night out on your own.

Fear – the only way to conquer it is to face it, once you get past the fact that wilder places aren’t full of bogeymen, ghosts and zombies you will get great enjoyment (and other benefits) from time spent in nature.

www.wilderness-expertise.co.uk

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