Hi John,

The lockdown rules are significantly different in Wales than in England, although with the new tiered approach in England, there might finally be some uniformity. In Wales, if a county is listed as in a local lockdown, residents cannot leave the county unless they are going to work, to seek medical treatment or another essential journey. This rule also applies to people coming into the county, so if a county was in lockdown, people are required not to visit unless the same reasons apply. First Minister Drakeford is placing pressure on the Prime Minister (news 13.10.20) as tier 2 regions still allow residents to travel (travel discouraged but not banned) and Mr. Drakeford is concerned that the virus is being introduced by people travelling from areas with higher infection rates.

One can travel through a lockdown area in Wales if it is not the final destination.

The Heart of Wales Line Trail is mostly in Powys and enters Carmarthenshire and the County of Swansea in the south before re-entering Carmarthenshire. I live in Monmouthshire and when I left to commence my walk, none of the areas in question were in any form of lockdown. I learned of the lockdown to the borough of Llanelli and the County of Swansea when I was already on the walk. Returning home would be an essential journey and I was able to travel through (on foot) areas in lockdown in order to access a train that would take me home. As I discovered, the Heart of Wales Line has had no trains running on it for some time and the bus replacement service is erratic at best.

So, I walked to Llanelli, got on a train and travelled through several restricted areas to return home. One positive aspect of 2020 that I have discovered is that if one travels by train, one will have the carriage to oneself, and this was the case on my journey home to Monmouthshire.

Hope this helps and that you do get to walk this trail. It is rather good.

Regards,

David

Morning David
your protocol is what i have followed in the past whilst wild camping however i am now clearer on the actual legalities apart from "pandemic ruling" but you've said wild camping is illegal anyway, but as you say being courteous, sensible, and leave no trace in a camp out of the way or seek permission is a reasonable approach to the subject.
Maybe ill go next year when were back to some normality.
thanks for your feedback

Hi John,

Wild camping is strictly illegal in England & Wales. That's what the law says, but in practice, many people do wild camp and ensure that they do so by following the practice of camp late, strike early and leave no trace. In Snowdonia, the Peak District and the Lake District, there is a tolerance (but not a legal right) for wild campers to camp above the intake wall. One must never ever camp in the same location for more than one night and by following the unwritten rules of ethical wild camping, most will have a good experience and no issues. If one were to be found, then the landowner can ask a person to leave and that is what a wild camper should expect to do.

On my Heart of Wales Line Trail backpack I sought permission to camp wild at one location by speaking to a farmer who was very supportive and understood the ethics of good practice wild camping. On other occasions I tucked myself out of the way, arrived late and left early. On another occasion I camped above the intake wall on the side of a hill. In all the times I have wild camped in the UK, I have never had an issue with any landowner due to the unwritten rules that I have followed. Interestingly, whilst on my latest backpack, I had a long conversation with another landowner who supported the idea of a person on a journey stopping for the night before moving on the next day. The issue of wild camping has been brought starkly into focus this year due to the unethical behaviour by a number of people who have caused damage to the land and left their detritus when they have left an area. This has been commented on by several newspapers who have recognised that some people really are behaving rather badly in the countryside.

The law in Scotland is different and wild camping is legal albeit with certain criteria to be followed. I have added a link to the rules here. https://coolcamping.com/news/259-is-wild-camping-legal-in-scotland

Hope this all helps.

Regards,

David

I was interested to notice that Dave Morgan completed the new mid wales rail route back end of September with 5 wild camps can anybody tell me what the rules are with regards to wild camping in this pandemic situation and in particular wales.
i had planned to do some wild camping routes but have been advised and read that it is not allowed ?I know Dave would have kept to the rules so can anybody tell me what the ruling is please.
regards