Posted by Jonathan Labaree on January 29, 2003 at 15:17:36 from 207.5.234.19 user JLabaree.
In Reply to: Re: Camping on Peel and Blakeholme. posted by David Shelton on January 29, 2003 at 07:52:52:
Sorry to be a wet fish, but as a staff member at a conservation organization similar to the National Trust, I feel the need to advocate against camping where it is prohibited. We own and manage a number of islands here in Maine. We allow camping on most of them. Where we don’t, it is for a very specific reason. Public access is but one of many resources we are trying to protect when we conserve land. We need to bear nature protection in mind, too, and that is often not compatible with intensive human use.
Having said that, I am a great advocate of camping on islands where and when appropriate. I did so as a child and hope my children will be able to, too. That’s one of the reasons I chose this profession – to make sure islands don’t all get cut off from public use.
No doubt the National Trust is fully aware of the significance of Peel Island as a close proximate to Wild Cat. It’s a pity they don’t allow camping, but they must have a good reason. I hope would-be campers respect it. From what I understand, they manage a lot of land in the Lake District (and throughout the country) that they keep open to the public. It would a shame to repay that great service with ignoring their rules.