 We're a pair of Aussies living in East London, looking to get away into the hills/on to the moors for weekends over winter. We've walked parts of the South Downs Way, but it was always clear we were on somebody's farm. I have been looking at the Peaks and wondering where to go that would be within a reasonable Friday night escape distance. My thinking is Friday night drive and sleep in the comfort of the van, then out walking for the weekend with an overnight somewhere away from it all. Looking at the maps the southern parts of the Peak district look pretty built up to me. Does anyone have experience of wild camping on the stretch of moors north of Matlock? (We're not novices - very discrete and keep to the normal rules). Any other suggestions for striking out from London (near the M11) would be greatly appreciated! Also, and this probably sounds pretty funny, we're good with snakes and spiders but I've no idea what dangers to look out for in the Peaks low-lands! Are my quaint foreigner's ideas of quicksand and peat bogs as silly as I think they are? Thanks in advance! Martyn
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The southern part of the peak district (the White Peak) isn't very boggy at all, the northern half (the Dark Peak - Kinder, Bleaklow, Black Hill) is VERY boggy Wild camping in England and Wales is in theory trespassing unless you have the permission of the land owner - who can ask you to move on if he catches you. And sometimes the Peak District National Park rangers have been known to do so too. However I've wild camped around the edges running from Baslow to Moscar many times - once onto moorland above the fenceline, pitch late and out of sight, leave early and with no trace and you're normally okay. Wild camping in Scotland (and oddly parts of Dartmoor, probably nearer) is legal. Wild camping on lowland is less common but still practiced by the very stealthy. as you've found most of the land is farmed and it not unknown for the farmer (or his dog) to find you. Probably the best bet is woodland - I know some people camp in Epping Forest for instance. Oddly my best experiences of camping in the South have been at campsites, those at locks on islands in the middle of the Thames (pdf here) .
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| Edited: 02/01/09 15:02 |
 You can get the Friday night sleeper to Scotland, either the one to Inverness or Fort William. This will give you time to explore areas of Scotland close to these rail links and return on the Sunday night sleeper in time for work on the Monday.
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 From E London the dark peak (prob a base somewhere near Ladybower lake) will take you around 3 1/2 hours (straight up M11 \ A1 + then A57). There are lots of nice moorland walks and some mild scrambling routes to have a go at. There are a few places where you could have a pleasant wildcamp but there is the risk of the rangers moving you on, especially in the summer months when fires are a serious problem, destroying large areas of heather moor and exposing the underlying peat to erosion. Brecon beacons would be next closest at around 4 hours. Personally though, if I'm making that sort of trip for a weekend I'd head off to Snowdonia - it'll usually only take about 4 1/2 hrs (though the traffic around Birmingham on the motorways can be a problem) so still within the 'friday night drive' possibility, especially if theres two of you to share the driving but offers far more challenging terrain and lots and lots of wildcamp sites. Usually plenty of spaces suitable for parking overnight in the layby's adjacent to Llyn Ogwen. Either Dartmoor or the Lake District, depending where you go, would be nearer a 5 - 5.5 hour drive.
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| Edited: 02/01/09 15:33 |
 London to Edale is very easy by train, by booking in advance I managed to get a return for £20 from St Pancras. The London - Sheffield train pulls in next to the Hope Valley line so didnt have to drag my kit all over the station. I stayed in a campsite the other week, but did spot a few tents setup in the less boggy areas on the hills. Once Igot off the main routes I spent several hours walking without seeing anybody which was great, and headed to the pubs in the evening.
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 From E London the dark peak (prob a base somewhere near Ladybower lake) will take you around 3 1/2 hours (straight up M11 \ A1 + then A57). There are lots of nice moorland walks and some mild scrambling routes to have a go at. There are a few places where you could have a pleasant wildcamp but there is the risk of the rangers moving you on, especially in the summer months when fires are a serious problem, destroying large areas of heather moor and exposing the underlying peat to erosion. Brecon beacons would be next closest at around 4 hours. Personally though, if I'm making that sort of trip for a weekend I'd head off to Snowdonia - it'll usually only take about 4 1/2 hrs (though the traffic around Birmingham on the motorways can be a problem) so still within the 'friday night drive' possibility, especially if theres two of you to share the driving but offers far more challenging terrain and lots and lots of wildcamp sites. Usually plenty of spaces suitable for parking overnight in the layby's adjacent to Llyn Ogwen. Either Dartmoor or the Lake District, depending where you go, would be nearer a 5 - 5.5 hour drive.
You can get to the start of the Brecon Beacons by train. Paddington to Abergavenny is around 2hours 30mins (around 160miles if driving)
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| Edited: 02/01/09 16:00 |
You can get to the start of the Brecon Beacons by train. Paddington to Abergavenny is around 2hours 30mins (around 160miles if driving)
Just did a price check on that, booking a month in advance, going up on a Friday, return on a Monday (long weekend) £23 return per person.
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  G'day there fellas, and welcome to the OM forum!
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If you go to the National Express East Coast website (google it) there's an excellent journey planner that makes finding the cheapest advance tickets very easy.
I wouldn't bother with Dartmoor unless you're looking for wild but not very hilly. Edale or the Brecons by train sounds good.
Never quite worked how to do Snowdonia by public transport. There's good trains to Bangor, but I don't suppose the buses that run from there through places like Nant Ffrancon run very late or early. Could do it in a taxi though; it's twenty minutes tops from Bangor station.
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You can get to the start of the Brecon Beacons by train. Paddington to Abergavenny is around 2hours 30mins (around 160miles if driving)
Just did a price check on that, booking a month in advance, going up on a Friday, return on a Monday (long weekend) £23 return per person.
that is an excellent price. If you go to Abergavenny, you can hit a decent wildcamping spot in 10miles or so. Even though I am a local I still go via train sometimes just for a change
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Wow, thank you all - it really makes a difference to a few pointers for where to look. Very keen on the sleeper to Scotland idea Lindsay, I'll let you know what time I fall asleep at my desk on the Monday after! Sounds like the driving times are a bit more reasonable than I'd expected too (even in our old banger camper!), thanks again all.
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sleeper to inverness----i am going soon ----booked early --£48 return-------------tip for booking----i tried to book bargain berth ----typed in dates of dep.12-14 january----no bargain berths-----accidently typed in dates of dep. 12 january---14 june-------lo and behold there was a bargain berth on the 14 of jan when i wanted to go
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"Sounds like the driving times are a bit more reasonable than I'd expected too" The most difficult bit from E London on Friday afternoon is getting out of London \ round the M25 - which makes the M11\A1 escape route more useful - if heading for N Wales consider the M11\A14 route to the M6 to avoid the peak time M25\M1.
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Martyn www.megabus.com is worth a look. Some buses to the west country are free or just £1 on a friday night.
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And imo the M6 toll road is worth it going round Birmingham.
Second the sleeper to Scotland idea. I've not done it myself but friends highly recommend it -- going to sleep in London and waking up to dawn over Rannoch Moor is apparently quite something! Late spring is best for visiting Scotland -- the driest, sunniest weather and fewer midges.
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I've not done the sleeper to the moors, but have gone to Edinburgh and was pleasantly surprised with the facilities and good night's sleep on the train.
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 Also have a look at the mega train website. I often go up to Glossop via Manchester on a friday afternoon for between £8 and £16 and come back Monday morning from Sheffield for £1.50! The local buses are good in that they usually drop you wherever you ask, and so you don't have to be dependent on a car.
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Getting from east London to anywhere with decent hills is a royal pain in the nethers unless you go before dawn. For an uncomplicated back pack/ wild camp it's worth considering Sheffield and then the train to Hathersage and come back from Edale. I've overnighted under Stanage Edge then gone over to Alport Castle, finally dropping down to Edale. A fab way to spend some time away from the city. Equally from London it's well worth considering the train to Bangor from Euston. There's frequent buses from there to Bethesda for a weekend on the Carneddau. The sooner you book, the cheaper it is. nationalrail.org.uk gives a good idea of what the current deal is. If you can manage to not come back on a Sunday you will have quicker trains - Sundays are often a disaster on BR.
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