South Hams campaigners are planning a protest on Dartmoor on Saturday (January 21) after the right to wild camp on the moorland was overturned when a wealthy landowner successfully won a case against Dartmoor National Park Authority.

Hedgefund manager Alexander Darwall argued the right to pitch tents did not exist on Dartmoor – the last place in England where it was possible to wild camp without seeking permission.

The park authorities are understood to be consulting with lawyers and strengthening their case before appealing against the decision, which has dismayed right to roam campaigners and nature lovers across the country.

Darwall, owner of the 1,619-hectare (4,000-acre) Blachford estate on southern Dartmoor, offers pheasant shoots, deerstalking and holiday rentals on his land.

As he was unable to order individual campers off his land, Darwall sought a declaration from the high court judge that the assumed right under the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 to wild camp in the whole national park did not exist.

Sir Julian Flaux, the chancellor of the high court, ruled that Darwall’s lawyers were correct and that the right did not exist across Dartmoor.

The case hinged on whether wild camping counts as recreation. The act under which people assumed the right to camp does not expressly mention the activity, but says visitors are free to enjoy outdoor recreation if they reach the moors on foot or horseback.

Darwall’s lawyers argued that camping was not recreation, but that the law allowed for activities such as walking and picnicking.

Campaigners aregue the right to wild camp is precious and should not be taken away. They plan to protest by continuing to wild camp, and are planning a protest on Darwall’s land.

Hundreds of people attended rallies in support of the campers both on Dartmoor and outside the high court.

In Totnes, 50 campaigners gathered at the Angel Studio to create the giant puppet Old Crockern – named after Crockern Tor – said to be the guardian spirit of the moor.

The puppet will be summoned on Dartmoor on Saturday (January 21) to support The Stars Are For Everyone and Right to Roam campaigners defend access to the moorland.

The peaceful gathering and afternoon walk will start at Ivybridge Railway Station at 1.30pm.

Totnes campaigner Christopher Dance said: “I’m appalled at the recent ruling against wild camping on Dartmoor. It is another erosion of our civil rights, which are being gradually chipped away.

“This country desperately needs a right to roam law that is the same as the ones in Scotland and much of Europe. We currently have access to just eight per cent of the land and that’s appalling.”

Robyn Minogue of Totnes, who is a member of the Landworkers’ Alliance, said access to nature was vital for people’s wellbeing and mental health.

He said: “It’s absolutely abhorrent to lose this access to nature that we all enjoy. Dartmoor holds such a place in people’s hearts in this area, it’s a part of our lives, and to seek to separate us from it smacks of an injustice that makes me sick to the stomach.” 

Also helping to make the puppet was campaigner Ruth Leonard-Williams, of Transition Streets Totnes who said: “I’m really passionate about having access to the moor. It’s such an integral part of our family life.

“We go there all the time and we’ve wild camped on Dartmoor a lot as a family, even with tiny kids.”

Lewis Winks, from The Stars are for Everyone campaign, which is fighting for the right to wild camp on the moor, said: “To lose this right at a time when nature connectedness in Britain is the lowest across the whole of Europe is a travesty. We should be increasing, not impairing, people’s ability to spend time in nature.

“We pledge to continue to fight for access to wild places, and for future generations to be able to sleep under the night sky; to have experiences which echo through lives.”

To take part in Saturday’s protest visit www.eventbrite.com/e/raise-old-crockern-to-defend-dartmoor-tickets-514716339427