A bit of an own goal by the Lake District National Park Authority which has sent out a press release detailing concern over what it calls 'wild camping' in the picturesque Duddon Valley on the west side of the Lakes.
The problem is that what they describe in the release isn't 'wild camping' at all, but thoughtless and illegal overnight partying by small groups of irresponsible youngsters who are camping on the banks of the river at Ulpha Flats and Ulpha Bridge.
Local Park area ranger Chris Berry describes the situation like this: 'We know how much people enjoy this very special place; families have visited the area for generations. But we are now seeing groups of young people putting up four or five tents on many weekends, despite the ‘no camping’ signs, and it is causing concern.'
And of course he's absolutely right to be concerned but he's also absolutely wrong to use the term 'wild camping' to describe the problem: 'Confrontation is the last thing we want. We hope education and persuasion from ourselves and police will convince wild campers to use authorised sites, including a farm at Seathwaite, only four miles away.
“Turner Hall Farm is a lovely campsite, has plenty of space, and is a great base to explore the Duddon Valley. The owner of Ulpha Flats - Dunnerdale Estates – wants the current danger to environmental health and animals removed.
“Although most people are thoroughly reasonable when approached, we can’t get away from the consequences of wild camping.
“Fires leave holes in the grass and increasing volumes of litter are not only an eyesore but a threat to grazing sheep too. Worryingly, the backs of walls and bushes are being used as toilets.'
It's a real shame that a body that should know better, like the LDNPA, is misusing a very specific term which is generally understood to refer to the practice of camping responsibly and with minimal impact generally on the fells and in the process misleading national news organisations as to its meaning.
That might seem like splitting hairs and yes, the unpleasantness of the problem is a real issue both for visitors and locals with litter and human waste apparently being a problem, but what it isn't is 'wild camping' and the last thing responsible wild campers need is to be lumped in with the sort of thing that's going on in the Duddon.
So please call it what it is, illegal and irresponsible camping.
