Supreme Court rules that ‘wild camping’ is allowed on Dartmoor
Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2025] UKSC 20
Today, on 21 May 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed an appeal in Darwall and another (Appellants) v Dartmoor National Park Authority (Respondent). This upholds the Court of Appeal’s decision that section 10(1) of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 grants the public a right to pitch tents and camp on the Dartmoor Commons.
The High Court had earlier held that section 10(1) did not grant such a right. The Court of Appeal then disagreed and held that section 10(1) conferred a right to engage in camping on the Commons. The Supreme Court’s judgment now resolves the issue decisively in favour of the National Park Authority.
The judgment also contains an interesting and important discussion of the role played by the Attorney General as a representative of the public in proceedings concerning public rights.
In 2023 Gavin Bennison wrote about this background to this case here, following the decision in the High Court.
You can access the judgment of the Supreme Court here.
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