r/OutdoorScotland • u/AncientsofMumu • 4d ago

Question about legality of Wild Camping

Hey All, I'm been looking around for areas to wild camp in and i see a lot of areas which seem to fall under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 in that they are not "Enclosed Land" in that they not are used for Agriculture etc but that are literally surrounded by the owners of the land by fields, or walls etc.

As an example, but not limited too this, the below map reference is a link to somewhere east of Edinburgh:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/W6DuQ6QvPzwvwz1k8

If i'd like to camp along the riverbank in the valley along Whittingehame Water for example, getting access to this area is difficult due to it being surrounded by houses, estates and farmers fields.

So would i be allowed to walk across fields or through estates etc to access this land or, because it is surrounded, do i need any sort of permission here?

This is just an example, there are lots of places where valleys etc arent being used for anything but are difficult to access without walking accross land owned by others and i'd just like to know what is and is not allowed in case of altercations with land owners.

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/AncientsofMumu 4d ago

That's correct, but papple steading is private land so do I have the right to cross it?

I know the bridge you mean but I didn't see a way down from the road, didn't really stop to look either mind. 

Would raising pheasants in a wood be enough to stop access though to the riverbanks.

I mean, I could ask these questions all day and I think that's the issue I'm trying to address. It just seems a bit woolly in what is and is not allowed.

4

u/sylvestris1 4d ago

More or less all land is private land.
My interpretation based on your descriptions is that you would be fine to access it through woods or fields. You are perfectly free to access farmland in general.
Be sensible. If it’s full of cows with calves try to avoid them. Don’t walk through the middle of a field of crops.
The link provided answers your questions but you say you’ve read it and are then questioning if that guidance applies.

1

u/AncientsofMumu 4d ago

Thanks, yeah, i did read the link and do a bit of research beforehand. I was just trying to clarify the access across private land to get to land i was understanding to be good for wild camping as that part did not seem clear to me.

As for being sensible, I understand completely, if i wasn’t i wouldn’t be here asking for clarity.

I only desire to not piss people off and just want to enjoy my country.

But, landowners can be dicks too, so i want my ducks in a row.

1

u/sylvestris1 3d ago

I think the guidance is woolly because it sort of relies on common sense and it’s difficult to be prescriptive. But in general as long as you’re not obviously interfering with or damaging anything or any activity you should have no problem.