On my way down to recover an owl monitoring device yesterday i noticed this tent. Nice place for a tent. By the time i’d recovered the monitor the ‘campers’ had lit a fire on the edge of woodland in a SSSI.
Whilst i spoke to them – asked them to extinguish it – and then i walked out to get tools to soak the fire site, a colleague (with pemissions in place) flew a drone overhead for my safety and to keep an eye on the fire and campers until firefighting kit was brought down.
Along with this fire and a bit of sunshine the weekend also brought cannabis waste, livestock bothering, multiple counts of illegal off-road motorbiking, several hundred cases of selfish verge-damaging cars parked wherever the f*ck they want, flytipping, and dog shit bags everywhere. And it’s only March.
On the brighter side … curlew, lapwing, deer and adder seen and snipe heard.
For the record there is currently no provision for having a BBQ in the open countryside of the Peak District and any fire of any size and type is not allowed in car parks, open countryside or woodland.
In some areas, these restrictions may be covered by Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) with fines applicable.