Fly-campers have caused damage to a Cumbrian nature reserve that could have led to a ‘catastrophic’ disaster.
Drumburgh Moss national nature reserve in north Cumbria was left burnt and covered in broken glass, litter and melted plastic.
The reserve is made up of over 200 hectares of peatland – one of Western Europe’s most threatened habitats – and as a result, is considered an internationally important site.
It is only openly accessible to walkers and runners and camping, fires, cyclists and horse riders are strictly prohibited.
The fly-campers, comprised of a man and his young son, also left rubbish including their tent and cutlery and tossed hot coals from a barbecue into a nearby bush.
When approached, the individuals ignored repeated pleas from a local resident to put the fire out, who went on to contact Cumbria Wildlife Trust who manage the site.
Kevin Scott, northern reserves manager at the Trust said: “The formation of a peatland habitat takes 10,000 years to mature and just 24 hours to destroy it utterly.
“Peatlands or bogs are like a tinderbox and the fact that the whole bog didn’t go up in smoke I personally regard as miraculous, because all it would have taken is a spark from that man’s campfire to start an immense fire.
“This was happening during the period where we had no rain for weeks and we’ve all heard the news about wildfires and various serious incidents that have gone on in the past – this one would have made national news, his fire was just six metres away from the edge of the bog.
“But when this was pointed out to the man who was camping, his response was ‘well you can’t go camping without a campfire.'”
Kevin added that whilst the duo eventually moved on and left without causing extensive damage, that it would have only taken one wrong move to start a serious and devastating fire.
He said: “I can’t express the frustration when you come across people who turn around and say ‘well, I don’t care we don’t have permission or could have caused a massive fire, we’re going to do it anyway’.
“The fire would have been utterly catastrophic, god only knows how many plants and animals would have died. We also graze the area with a herd of Exmoor ponies and it would have been quite disturbing for them.
“It’s home to ground nesting birds and reptiles and it’s an incredibly important site for wetland invertebrates and is one of the last few areas you can see the large heath butterfly.
“These people were on privately owned land with no permission to be there, breaking up bottles and throwing plastic on the fire – it’s not even just carelessness, it’s stronger and much worse.
“I can’t even think how much money has been spent on restoring Drumburgh as it was one of these places that was cut for peat.
“As such the whole of the bog had been damaged and we have worked over the last 15 to 20 years on restoration projects, putting in god knows how many work hours and money.
“To have all that wildlife thrown into jeopardy because one person decides they want a campfire on land they aren’t allowed to camp on, it’s just beggar’s belief.”
No laws to protect the site
Kevin added that while the Trust did report the incident to the police, he was aware of no laws other than trespassing being broken to mobilise officers into action.
He said: “The campers did take most of their things with them, which is a minor positive as quite often you find when these things happen they leave a tent and all their rubbish.
“But there was still the immediate damage caused by the fire, glass and burnt plastic. When someone came to collect the duo, they also drove onto an area of the reserve you’re not allowed to drive on.
“We did report the matter to the police thinking it might be helpful if someone from an official body went and explained what they had done wrong, but because trespassing is a civil matter it’s not of importance to them.”
Kevin added that he felt the Covid-19 lockdown’s were perhaps partly the result of an increase in fly-campers in Cumbria, the Lake District and beyond.
He said: “Clearly not everyone acts like this, but perhaps it was partially brought about by Covid when people couldn’t go away and started instead looking at their local area and thinking what they could do.
“There is a part of society that regards these areas as places they can do whatever they like on. Instead of thinking actually, this is owned by somebody.
“Although Drumburgh Moss is open access land, that open access only grants specific rights. I think the man and his son camping is in and of itself great, I’m glad to see people enjoying the countryside – but it has to be done in the right way, responsibly and with respect.”
All for instant gratification
He added that he felt new laws should be considered to address these incidents before more damage is caused in special and important areas.
He said: “Unfortunately many land owning organisations maybe a few years ago would have turned a blind eye to wild campers but now they simply can’t because of the poor behaviour of this new majority.
“People wild camping correctly seem to have been overtaken by a new majority that are ruining it for other folk. It’s just all for people’s instant gratification and it’s outrageous.
“Perhaps laws around all this need to be changed. In my opinion there is a major difference between walking across farmland and trespassing and then coming onto privately owned land like the reserve and deciding to have a fire – that to me has moved beyond trespassing.
“To make matters worse, when someone like myself who is a representative of the landowner turns up and says you shouldn’t be here, people people just laugh in your face because they know you’re very limited in what you can do.
“This behaviour has become so rife I’m absolutely of the view that something has to be done about it.”
If you’re considering camping this summer, read more about camping responsibly here: Love the Lakes? Here’s how to properly leave no trace.
