Why Shelter Matters More Than a View

On a clear evening high on the moors, the temptation is to pitch wherever the view opens up. Resist it. Moorland weather is famously changeable, and an exposed pitch that feels glorious at 8pm can turn into a battering ram of wind and driving rain by midnight. A tent that flaps and flexes all night is not just uncomfortable; it stresses guy lines, pole joints and fabric, and it robs you of the sleep you need for the next day's walking.

The good news is that moorland usually offers shelter if you know where to look. The skill lies in finding it without leaving a mark on the very landscape you came to enjoy. Blanket bog, heather and cotton grass are slow-growing and easily damaged, so the aim is to use what nature already provides rather than flattening, cutting or clearing anything.

Level Ground Comes First

Before you think about wind, think about your sleeping position. A gentle slope of more than a few degrees means you will spend the night sliding towards the bottom of the tent, waking up in a heap with your sleeping mat bunched against the wall. Look for a patch that feels flat underfoot when you stand on it and shuffle about a bit.

• Test the ground by lying down on your mat for a full minute before you commit. It is much easier to move a pack than a fully pitched tent.
• Avoid hollows and dips, even shallow ones. Cold air pools in them overnight, and they are the first places to collect water when rain arrives.
• Grass tussocks may look flat from a distance but hide deep bumps. Press a boot heel into the ground to check firmness.
• Slight hummocks and raised mounds of dry ground often drain better than the surrounding bog and can be surprisingly level on top.

If the only flat ground sits on vulnerable bog vegetation, consider moving on. A hundred metres further along, a patch of dry, close-cropped grass or a sandy erosion scar may offer the same comfort with far less impact.

Stay Away from Watercourses

Camping beside a stream is romantic until it rains heavily on higher ground and the level rises fast. Moorland streams and groughs can swell within an hour of a downpour on the tops, and a pitch that was a metre above the water at bedtime can be in the flow by morning. Keep well back.

• Aim for at least 30 metres from any stream, beck, grough or drainage channel, and further if the ground is steep above you.
• Never pitch in a dry gully. Water finds old channels quickly and without warning.
• Avoid the flat, grassy aprons at the inside of bends, which are often flood deposits and the first ground to go under.
• Watch for anabranches and braided channels: what looks like one stream may become several across your pitch.

Midges and damp ground also tend to gather near water, so moving uphill and away brings a second benefit on still summer evenings.

Beware Dead Trees and Loose Rock

Standing deadwood is a genuine hazard. On moorland edges you will often find skeletal trees and large branches held up by little more than habit. A gust of wind at 3am can bring one down, and the branches of a mature tree reach a long way.

Look up before you look down. Check for dead limbs still attached to living trees, and give any obviously unstable tree a wide berth — a distance of at least the tree's own height is a sensible rule. The same applies to boulders perched on slopes, loose scree and overhanging banks of peat or earth. Sit for a moment and imagine which way something would fall if it moved, then pitch somewhere else.

Using Natural Features as Windbreaks

Wind on open moorland usually arrives from a prevailing direction, most often the south-west in the UK, though local topography can bend it considerably. Rather than fighting the wind, let the land do the work.

• Pitch on the leeward side of a rise, knoll or rocky outcrop, but stay at least a few metres back so you are not in the turbulent eddy immediately behind it.
• A line of mature heather, a low crag or a bank of peat can all take the sting out of a strong breeze. Use them, but do not trample or cut them.
• Take advantage of the natural shape of the ground: a shallow bowl with a high lip on the windward side gives shelter without the cold-air pooling of a deep hollow.
• Set your tent so the lowest, strongest end faces the wind, and use the terrain to break the worst of it rather than relying on guy lines alone.

Remember that a windbreak also changes airflow around it, creating eddies that can be just as restless as open ground. Stand with your back to the wind, feel where the calmest air sits, and pitch there.

Protecting Fragile Moorland Vegetation

Moorland plants grow slowly and recover poorly. Heather, sphagnum, cotton grass and bilberry can take years to heal from a few nights of heavy use, so a little care goes a long way.

• Prefer bare or already-worn ground, short grass, or a durable patch of grit and gravel.
• Avoid pitching directly on sphagnum, bog moss or dense heather. Move your whole set-up as a unit to shift the pressure.
• Do not dig drainage ditches, cut turves or remove stones. Use natural contours instead.
• Keep cooking away from dry vegetation, and take every scrap of litter and food waste home with you.

Leave the pitch as you found it, or better. A well-chosen spot gives you a quiet night, a dry sleeping bag and a moorland that is still intact for the next walker along.