A protest has been organized on Dartmoor after a court ruled in favor of a landowner for wild camping to be banned on the moor, according to a report by the Southhams Today.
The pressure groups Right to Roam and The Stars are for Everyone are calling on the spirit of Old Crockern, the ancient protector of the moor, to protect Dartmoor’s ancient rights. The protest will occur on Saturday, January 21, at the war memorial in Cornwood near Ivybridge between 1:30pm and 5pm.
This decision comes after the High Court last Friday judged in favor of abolishing the right to wild camp on Dartmoor, the only place in England where it was legal.
The Dartmoor National Park Authority says it is considering the judgment, but the advice is to get landowners’ permission to wild camp on private land.
A spokesperson for the campaign said that Alexander Darwall, a multimillionaire estate owner in south Dartmoor, has used his wealth and entitlement to remove the ancient right to connect with the land by contesting a bylaw from the 1980s which simply acknowledged the long-established practice of sleeping under the stars.
The campaign is calling on the spirit of Old Crockern, the ancient protector of the moor, to oppose this decision.
A spokesperson for the campaign, Clare Coyne, said that this peaceful gathering had been organized in response to a ruling on Friday, January 13 in which the High Court judged in favor of abolishing the right to wild camp on Dartmoor.
She encourages locals, visitors, campers, farmers, walkers, students, naturalists, land workers, fishers, climbers, swimmers, bikers, canoeists, stonewallers, hedge layers, and spirits old and new to join in opposition.