About Nearly Wild Camping

Connecting nature lovers with secluded camping spots across the UK and Ireland

Our mission

Nearly Wild Camping was created to solve a simple problem: finding legal, secluded places to camp in the UK and Ireland is incredibly difficult. We're bridging the gap between traditional campsites and true wild camping, offering access to beautiful, quiet locations with minimal facilities and maximum nature.

"We believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the peace and beauty of sleeping under the stars, surrounded by nature, without the worry of trespassing or the crowds of traditional campsites."

Our platform connects outdoor enthusiasts with landowners who are willing to share their land for responsible, low-impact camping. Every location in our directory has been personally vetted and comes with full landowner permission, so you can camp with confidence and peace of mind.

We're passionate about making wild camping accessible while protecting the environment and supporting the landowners who make it possible. A portion of every membership goes directly to landowners, creating a sustainable model that benefits everyone.

Hundreds

Of wilder locations

Thousands

Of members

£24

Annual membership

Our values

The principles that guide everything we do

Responsible access

We believe in sustainable outdoor recreation that protects the environment while supporting local landowners and communities.

Community first

Building a community of like-minded outdoor enthusiasts who share our values of respect, responsibility, and conservation.

Quality locations

Every location is carefully vetted to ensure it offers a genuine nearly wild experience with proper landowner permissions.

Supporting landowners

We work directly with landowners to create fair compensation models that encourage them to open their land for responsible camping.

How we work

Creating a sustainable model for responsible wild camping

Landowner partnerships

We work directly with landowners across the UK and Ireland to identify suitable locations and establish formal permission for Nearly Wild Camping members to camp on their land.

Location vetting

Every location is personally visited and assessed to ensure it offers a genuine nearly wild experience with appropriate access, safety considerations, and environmental suitability.

Fair compensation

A portion of every membership fee goes directly to landowners, creating a sustainable income stream that rewards them for opening their land to responsible campers.

Community education

We provide resources and guidance to ensure our members understand and practice Leave No Trace principles, protecting the environment and maintaining good relationships with landowners.

The Nearly Wild difference

What makes Nearly Wild Camping different from traditional campsites and wild camping? We're in the sweet spot - offering the peace, privacy, and connection with nature you'd get from wild camping, but with the legal certainty and landowner approval you need for peace of mind.

Our locations are carefully selected to offer:

Seclusion: Most sites accommodate just a handful of tents, ensuring you have space and solitude
Minimal facilities: Usually just basic amenities, keeping the experience wild and natural
Stunning settings: From mountain meadows to forest clearings, coastal spots to riverside pitches
Legal access: Every location comes with confirmed landowner permission
Responsible approach: Supporting landowners and protecting the environment

Meet our team

The dedicated individuals behind Nearly Wild Camping

Irene

Board Member

Irene, Steve's wife, has been a part of Nearly Wild Camping from the beginning and has given a lot of her time and energy to help it grow into what it is today. Inspired by the natural world, one her favourite things is sitting somewhere outdoors 'weaving the view', distilling key elements of what she sees to create a tapestry in just a few hours. "When I look at the tapestry afterwards, I'm reminded of the birdsong, breeze and sense of wellbeing that I experienced while I was weaving".

Richard

CEO

Richard is the CEO of Nearly Wild Camping and he brings over 20 years of experience in small business, sustainability, publishing, and community-building. He's founded and grown multiple purpose-led ventures and has worked across strategic roles in events, content, and digital transformation. A passionate advocate for nature connection and low-impact living, Richard has guided more than 1,000 people on foraging walks and bushcraft sessions, and has helped launch sustainability initiatives across sectors.

Michelle

Administration

Michelle manages the admin and member engagement side of Nearly Wild Camping. She grew up on a farm in Zimbabwe where she spent most of her time horse riding, fishing, camping or building dens. She moved up to the Highlands of Scotland 20 years ago where she is now happily settled. Nature has always played a huge part in her life and camping is a way of 'taking a breather and recharging' from everyday life, either solo or with friends.

Steve

Founder

Steve is the Founder of Nearly Wild Camping. An ecologist by training, Steve has a passion for exploration of the natural world, and for strengthening the link between people and nature. Outdoor pursuits is a means of travel, be it underwater, climbing a Himalayan peak or wandering local hills, combining this with quiet observation of nature through his art. He has lived in remote places in Tanzania, Alaska and Nicaragua, and travelled widely in Britain and overseas.

Kerry

Board Member

Kerry has been involved in Nearly Wild Camping since its inception, beginning first as an administrator and project coordinator to taking her place on the board today. Kerry has many threads woven into her bundle. Her interests lie in the many levels of how to weave relationship and connection, including to other than human beings, to our own bodies, our own wildness and between people, through community and regenerative culture. Her work has spanned from supporting grassroots solutions with transition towns to facilitating connection with nature and then into her own inner landscapes, working with clients to rediscover the ease and vitality of their natural bodies through somatic experiencing. She is currently involved in an exciting project weaving together restoring Celtic rainforest, regenerative farming and a thriving community in an eco village.

Jim

Board Member

Jim is an ecologist and trekking guide who educates about the natural world through guided walks, writing and the training of mountain leaders, Nature's Work. His work is "all about people and the environment. It's about sharing opportunities and engaging people with the natural world." Jim is happiest out camping on the Isles of Scilly. "You get out of the tent and you're in the outside world. When you're out camping and see someone else pitched up, you have things in common with people."

Shels

Board Member

With a background in community work, and a lived experience of physical disability, Shels is an important voice within Nearly Wild Camping. A volunteer with Cymru vs Arthritis, Shels has seen first-hand how empowering camping and the outdoors can be for everyone, and is passionate about sharing it. Camping is, for Shels, a deeply therapeutic exercise, when done right. Commercial campsites had been too busy for Shels, who has physical disabilities. She felt that she needed that back to nature feeling, the back to basics that is good for mental health.

Rupert

Board Member

A teacher, scientist, wine-expert, climbing instructor, fencing champion and experimental archaeologist, Rupert Loch brings an almost infinite amount of skills to his outdoor teaching organisation, Feral Science. Passionate about inspiring people to learn outside, his mission is to "stick around and maybe, maybe, change an education system." One common link between all of Rupert's diverse career steps and interests is a deep love of the outdoors, and the drive to inspire us to learn more about the inner workings of the natural world.

Irene

Board Member

Richard

CEO

Join our community

Become part of a growing community of responsible campers who value nature, respect landowners, and believe in sustainable outdoor recreation.

£24 a year • Access hundreds of locations • Support landowners • Camp responsibly