Wild Camping In Ireland

Irish campsites charge anything from seven to twelve euros for a solo touring cyclist to pitch a tent for a night. Many campsites are noisy and located close to towns. A bit like the suburbs only with everyone in tents and caravans. If this sounds like hell and you’d rather watch the sun go down listening to bird song and the wind blowing, out in the countryside, wild camping is a viable alternative in Ireland.

Wild Camping Mullaghmore, Co Sligo

Much of rural Ireland is sparsely populated, very quiet and has very low crime rates. There are no dangerous wild animals. If a few precautions are taken it’s a very safe place to wild camp. Most land on the island of Ireland is privately owned. However many farmers will give you permission to camp a night on their land if you ask.

If you camp on privately owned land without permission, be discreet, use a small dark tent (dark green or camo is good) and pitch in an unobtrusive place. Do it far from houses, make no noise, light no fires, damage no property and leave no rubbish behind. Make sure livestock do not have access to your campsite, you don’t want to wake up with a herd of curious cattle in your camp. Arrive late and leave early.

If you are asked to leave do so quickly and politely. In Irish law trespass is a civil matter not a criminal offense. It will only become a matter for the Garda (police) if you refuse to leave when asked.

There are two types of common land in Ireland bogland and upland. Not all bogland and upland is commonage but a lot of it is. If you camp discreetly in bogland or upland you will very rarely be disturbed. In hot dry weather (not very common in Ireland) there areas are prone to wildfires, so be very, very careful with any naked flame.

Public land can be a very good place to camp if you arrive early and leave late as public sector staff generally work office hours. Good campsites can be found at places where the public have access to lakeshores, seashores, river banks and canals. A lot of the woodland plantations in Ireland particularly on the uplands are state owned. Many have forest roads with barriers that exclude motor vehicles but can be bypassed with bicycles. In a wooded area in dry weather be very careful with any flame.

When wild camping in woodland and bogland you will meet the midge. The midge is a tiny blood sucking fly. Its bite does not transmit disease, nor does it cause serious pain or swelling except to those rare people who have an allergic reaction. It is however very itchy when they are actually biting and they bite in great numbers. They stay out of bright daylight and only bite in the open on very dull days and in the evening twilight, but at Ireland’s latitude summer evening twilight is long.

Sitting in the open where midges are active is very unpleasant. If your camp is full of them you will have to get into your tent and close the insect proof mesh door. If your wild camping with just a tarpaulin or a bivy bag make sure to also have a mosquito net for midges. Midges fly very slowly, so if you keep moving they will not catch you and if you are in a windy place they get blown away.

I often camp wild but I also use campsites. Campsites are secure, your gear can be left unattended, you can go to the pub and not worry about your equipment. Sometimes when touring in mountain country I like to stay two consecutive nights at a campsite and spend the day in between cycling an unloaded bike in the mountains. More fun than hauling a fully loaded bike up a mountain.