Camping or Hiking is essentially for those of us who love the outdoors and can do without all of the comforts of home for a short while. However, just loving the outdoors is not enough to guarantee that the experience will be a fun one. The essentials of having fun in the great outdoors are preparation and an open mind. Preparation is easy, if you follow some simple rules.

Wild Camping and Hiking – When you are getting ready to plan your camping trip it is important to know were you can and can not camp. Most of the UK land is privatly owned by the Goverment, Forestry Commision, the MOD the Crown Est to name a few. So its important you have permission to pitch your tent or tents and have a camp fire. Some of the best senic places in the UK is The New Forest, The Lake District, Snowdonia, The Peak District, Pembrokeshire, and the Antrim coast. All these places are wonderful for hiking but you will need permission from the land owner to camp there, if allowed. You will usally find that all these places have certified camp sites for tent owners. One of the few places you can wild camp legally in the UK is Dartmoor National Park. { the park is has an area of 954km2 was established in 1951 and has over 10 million visitors a year, the country side is not for everyone with its vast moorland with its craggy landscape of forests, wetlands and rocks, very isolated from the outside world. There are certain areas mapped out, all you have to do is go on the Dartmoor National Parks website and look for camping map. And always follow the backpack code of conduct, Travel light – which means only use light weight equipment which comfortably fits into your backpack, staying one to two nights only. Stay out of sight – Use small light weight tents which blend into the landscape, Out of sight from roads or buildings, No more then six people in a group, Tread Lightly – No open fires for BBQs or general cooking, bury all your poo at least 15cm deep, do not pollute rivers streams or ponds, avoid unsetting the local wildlife particularly lambing and bird breeding season. If you really want to be more adventurous there are more places to wild camp over the border in Scotland, which have some fantastic remote beaches, and forests were you can pitch your tent far from human contact. Argylls islands, the inner Hebrideans, Kintyre and Cowal are just a few. Campsite Camping – A lot of people especially first time campers like to try a certified campsite first for flat level ground to pitch your tent, the security and amenities which is available, which include fresh water, shops, electric, showers, washing facilities, toilets and in some cases entertainment in the evenings. There are many fabulous campsites up and down the UK which accommodate tents, simply check them out for availability and prices on the internet.