Access rights come with responsibilities

Scotland is one of the few places in the UK where you can legally pitch a small tent on open hill ground without asking permission. Under the access legislation and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, wild camping is accepted on most unenclosed land — from the Cairngorms to the far north-west — provided you do it lightly and don't stay long. That right does not stretch to enclosed fields, gardens, buildings or land where crops are growing, and it doesn't cover camping beside a vehicle. Some popular lochshores within national park areas run permit schemes between March and September, so it's worth checking the local situation before you set off.

The spirit of the thing is simple: a small tent, one or two nights, then move on. Wild camping is not the same as a campsite without facilities. It is a short, quiet visit to a place that belongs to everyone, and the ground has to be able to recover after you've gone.

Choose a durable pitch

Where you put the tent matters more than almost anything else. Look for ground that is already hard-wearing: gravel, rock, dry bare earth, or short, tough grass on a well-drained knoll. Avoid anything soft and slow-growing.

• Steer clear of moss, lichen, heather and alpine plants — some of these take decades to recover from a single tent footprint.
• Don't camp on boggy ground; you'll damage it and hate your night.
• Keep at least 30 metres from lochs, burns and rivers. A pitch right on the waterline feels romantic until the water level rises overnight.
• Stay away from the obvious flat grassy patch beside the bothy or the popular loch shore. It's obvious because hundreds of others have used it, and it is usually already worn bare.
• Don't dig drainage channels, shift stones or cut vegetation to flatten a pitch. If the ground needs work to fit the tent, walk on and find somewhere else.

Arriving late and leaving early is a good habit. It keeps you out of sight, reduces the sense of occupation, and means you're gone before anyone else is about.

Deal with human waste properly

This is the part most people get wrong, and it is the part that does the most damage. Aim to carry it out. A sealed bag, a length of sturdy tubing, or a purpose-made portable toilet bag will do the job; double-bag it and put it in your rucksack. It is lighter than you think and far better than leaving it behind.

If you genuinely cannot carry it out, dig a hole. Use a trowel and go 15–20 centimetres deep, well away from water, paths, buildings and anywhere people might camp or sit — at least 30 metres from any burn or loch, and further if the ground is wet. Replace the turf neatly, and carry all toilet paper out in a bag. Burying paper doesn't work in thin Highland soil; it simply reappears. Urinate well away from water and paths, and dilute it with water if you're near a popular spot.

Give wildlife room to live

The Highlands are quieter than most of Britain, but they are not empty. Red deer are on low energy reserves in winter and late spring, and pushing them off a sheltered slope can cost them condition they cannot afford. Ground-nesting birds — dotterel, ptarmigan, curlew, golden plover — are vulnerable between roughly March and August, so keep to paths on open moorland and don't linger near nests or alarm-calling birds. On cliffs, give ravens and raptors a wide berth in the breeding season.

• Never feed anything, including the gulls and the deer that hang around car parks.
• Keep dogs close, under control, and out of the tent area at night.
• Store food in a sealed bag inside your pack or tent, and never leave scraps behind.
• Watch for ticks in long grass, and check yourself properly in the evening.

Stoves, water and food

Use a stove. Open fires leave scars that last years, and deadwood that looks plentiful on a hillside is actually habitat. Collect water from a fast-flowing burn high above any grazing, and treat it — filter, boil or use purification tablets — because clear water is not automatically clean water. Avoid drawing from still pools or lowland lochs.

Cook away from the tent door, keep smells contained, and pack out every scrap of packaging. Midges will find you regardless; a head net is the cheapest piece of kit you'll ever carry.

Leave it wilder than you found it

Before you walk away, turn round and look at where the tent was. There should be nothing to see. No flattened grass, no stones moved, no scorch mark, no orange peel, no tea bags. "Biodegradable" rubbish is still litter on a Highland hillside, and it takes far longer to disappear than the label suggests.

Take everything home, including the things you'd rather not. Check the forecast before you go, tell someone your route, and be ready to turn back — the weather in the hills changes faster than any app can keep up with. Do all that, and wild camping stops being a slightly guilty secret and becomes what it should be: a quiet night in a magnificent place, leaving it exactly as you found it for the next person.