What is Wild With Consent?

Wild With Consent is a booking platform, which offers wild camping spots for campervans, motorhomes, caravans and 4x4s. As wild camping without the landowners permission is illegal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, it’s a great way to get the benefits of wild camping, without trespassing.

Since buying our campervan, we’ve loved getting out and about exploring new places around the UK. So we decided to try out Wild With Consent with some friends at a site near Cheltenham. Although each site is exclusive and only takes one booking per night, it is possible to add an extra campervan to your booking. So it’s a great way to have some privacy when camping as a group.

It’s worth noting that Wild With Consent is totally off-grid camping. So you must be prepared to camp without electricity or toilet facilities etc.

Most of the sites are in farmers’ fields and they all vary in terms of the nature you can experience, so it’s worth having a look around on the website. Some of them are in woodlands, others near streams or rivers, while some promote dark sky opportunities.

Our Wild With Consent experience

The Wild With Consent site we stayed at looks out across a wildflower meadow. So it was perfect for our little adventurers to run around in. There was also a traditional stone barn on the site, known as Owl Barn, so we were hoping to catch a glimpse of an owl.

Sadly, that didn’t happen on our trip. Although my little adventurers were very excited to find a barn owl feather and also enjoyed looking at the owls’ regurgitated pellets! Evidence that they had indeed been there.

Some of the Wild With Consent sites are super remote, which is perfect if you want to get off the beaten track. However, what I liked about the site that we stayed on, was that while it was very quiet and we were totally undisturbed during our stay, it was actually only 10 minutes from the local village if we wanted pub or cafe options.

How does Wild With Consent work?

Wild With Consent works with farmers to gain permission for people to camp on their land. It’s free to sign up via the website and then you can chose from a selection of sites around the country. Different sites have different rules around allowing BBQs, raised fire pits and dogs, so make sure you check these things out before you book.

Visitor membership is open to anyone travelling in a self-contained campervan, motorhome, 4×4 or caravan. Once you have selected a site and paid for your stay, you will be sent an email containing all of the information you need to access the site. 

We actually didn’t meet the landowner at all during our stay, so it really does feel like you have the freedom of wild camping.

Wild With Consent: Pros and Cons

Pros: The benefits of the Wild With Consent scheme is that it enables you to enjoy all of the benefits of wild camping, but with permission from the landowner. You you will also be the only people camping on the site. This privacy may be beneficial if you’re taking a baby in a campervan or taking a toddler in a campervan, so you don’t have to worry about disturbing other campers. It’s also the chance to have some special encounters with nature and enjoy some truly dark sky moments. 

Cons: One of the downsides of Wild With Consent is that it can be pricey for a pitch. The cost seems to hover around £45 for a night. But some are as much as £75. But obviously you are paying a premium for exclusive access and the chance to camp somewhere unique.

Can you wild camp in the UK?

It is actually illegal to wild camp in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland is different, as you allowed to wild camp under its right to roam laws. So the only way to legally camp is to gain permission from the landowner in advance. This can sometimes be achieved just with a simple ask, on the understanding that no trace is left behind.

So this is what Wild With Consent is basically doing – securing the landowner’s permission in advance. Although obviously, it comes with a price tag when doing it this way.

Is Wild With Consent worth the money?

Now I’m not going to beat around the bush, Wild With Consent does cost considerably more than a lot of other no-hookup campsites. We usually pay around £15-£20 a night to camp. However with Wild With Consent Standard sites, of which there appear to be only a few, are £25 a night. Premium sites, which seem to be the majority of them are £45 and Super Premium ones are £75. 

Obviously one of the main things you are paying for is the exclusivity, so if you really want to get away from it all, it is a good option. I also think this works out well if a group of friends are travelling together as you basically get your own private campsite.

With Wild With Consent you also know that all of the sites have been vetted beforehand, so they are pretty cool places to spend the night. 

I also think it depends on the time of year you’re travelling. We usually opt for smaller off-grid campsites anyway, so that often means they are naturally quieter, especially out of season. But I think if you’re travelling peak season and you want a unique experience, this is definitely a way to do it.

You can also purchase gift vouchers, which I think is a really nice present for someone with a campervan. As most of us love a night away! 

If you want to consider a cheaper version, you could always look at options on park4night.