I think this is such a good title for a post. It is up there with my post title Nuts to Leave No Trace. The Nanny State wowsers would ban all fun if they could. The author is from the UK. One thing which surprised me during our trip around Scotland last year was how much freer hikers and campers had it there than here. Scotland is 17% forest (more than Victoria) and you may walk and/or camp anywhere on it. You may also walk across private land anywhere ‘as of right’. England is more crowded and more rule-bound apparently. I am not especially looking forward to our trip there – but I guess we have to go and see where the ‘ancestors’ came from sometime.
The author has some tips about encouraging children in the worthy civil disobedience of ‘free or stealth camping’. I couldn’t agree more.
One of my all-time favourite books is Thoreau’s Walden and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience which you can download and read for free from the link. The alternative title might be more evocative for you: ‘Life in the Woods’.
Here is the illustration from the cover:
Thoreau retired (c1820) to a tiny remote cabin in the woods (near Walden Pond) where he chose to live a life of simple self-sufficiency – an inspiration now to many generations of us who have essayed to emulate him. it is a great read and always on my phone when I venture into the trackless wilderness which I often do, thank goodness.
Tom Smallwood discusses the delicate chore of telling your children that what you are doing ie camping on someone else’s land is illegal, but alright to do nonetheless. The idea of raising a tribe of such young anarchists strikes a chord with me. Here in Victoria much of our camping (eg in National Parks, & even perhaps on waterways may be technically illegal, but should be encouraged nonetheless – so long as you don’t leave a mess or spook the sheep!
See Also:
https://armchairmountaineer.com/blog/2018/10/15/wild-camping-is-illegal
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2020/01/04/nuts-to-leave-no-trace/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2018/05/01/the-littlest-hiker/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/05/23/the-ultimate-hunting-trip/
