UPDATE!!! Unfortunately injury and a slow recovery from covid has meant delaying The Bog Slog until Thursday 15th June - THANK YOU so much to everyone that has donated so far and if you'd like to follow along we'll share some of our ordeal on Instagram @alinorth_893 :)

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Two environmental PhD students supporting the Dartmoor wild camping appeal in the only way they know how - embarking on a bit of an epic through the moor. ~35 miles, south to north, in one (very long & painful) day. A bog slog, if you will. Hopefully a marginally less soggy foggy day than the one pictured here...!!

A bit of context -

Early this year, a court case initiated by a millionaire hedge fund manager removed the precious bylaws that wild campers have enjoyed on Dartmoor for decades - the right to hike out onto the moors and respectfully spend the night under the stars (with a strict leave no trace ethos). Dartmoor was the last place in England (& Wales) that it was legal to backpack wild camp, and that right has now been removed.

The case has brought to the forefront the huge injustice we face here in England - only 8% of land is accessible to the public. The parcels of land we do have access to are tiny fragmented pockets and pathways, whilst huge swathes of privately owned land are legally off-limits, with no right to respectfully roam, swim, climb, paddle or sleep under the stars. At a time where we need everyone fighting for the future of the planet, we desperately need better access to nature, not precarious pockets of permissive access that can change at any time (check out the Right to Roam movement here: https://www.righttoroam.org.uk/)

Thankfully Dartmoor National Park Authority are lodging an appeal to try and reverse our loss of wild camping rights, but this comes at a massive price. So, as we navigate our way across Dartmoor this April, please consider supporting our weary legs with anything you can afford, we will be eternally grateful (as will future generations enjoying the legal right to a night under a meteor shower or a setting moon).

Ali & Kate xx