Everything You Need To Know About Campfires

England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Unless you are the land owner or you have the land owner's permission, you can't light a campfire in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. National parks, forests and all the land in England and Wales is privately owned. But many campsites have recognised campers' desire to make campfires and there are now plenty that allow them.

Scotland
Open campfires have been legal in Scotland since 2004 - as long as you work within certain guidelines.

Scottish Outdoor Access Code Summary

• No fires in forests, farmland, peaty ground, very dry conditions, cultural heritage sites, Areas of Special Scientific Interest, plantations, farmland or near buildings / roads

• Keep fires small, under control and supervised at all times

• You may be liable for major damage caused by a fire

• Remove all traces of an open fire

Once you've got your permission to have a fire, you need three components to start a campfire Tinder, kindling and a spark (and a little bit of patience).

• Small pieces of tinder help your initial flame - dry leaves, grass, newspaper or even tortilla chips make for good tinder.

• Craft the tinder into a few piles and place them a few inches apart from each other.

• Gather some small, dry twigs and position them over the tinder in a teepee shape. This lets oxygen reach the tinder and encourages the twigs to set alight.

• Light the piles of tinder - waterproof matches or a fire striker are reliable igniters.

• Wait for the twigs to be burning strongly before adding small sticks of kindling to the fire.

• Slowly but surely add bigger sticks to the fire until it is big enough to burn logs.

The United States of America suffers from large wildfires every summer and invests a large amount of money and time in educating the public about campfire safety.

To safely put out a fire they recommend you:

• Douse the fire with water.

• Add soil to the water and stir the embers/ash until it is no longer glowing.

• Ensure that all the embers are wet (use further water if needed), then wait five minutes for the embers to cool.

• Carefully touch the embers making sure they are cool.

• Finally, check around the fire or campfire stones for any hidden embers.
  
  "Remember: if it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to leave."
  - United States Forestry service

Since 1994 the Leave No Trace campaign has been encouraging responsible land use and nature protection in the US. Their campaign is built around seven core principles which help guide campers to leave no evidence of their camping trip. Number five on the principles list is 'minimise campfire impacts'.

They recommend that:

• Where possible, use existing fire pits or a camping stove. If there are no existing pits or a stove is not a viable option, a fire pan or a mound fire work well.

• Fire pan – A metal plate raised 3-5 inches off the floor which the fire rest on (you can place stones under each corner to raise it off the ground).

• Mound Fire - A mineral soil platform that the fire sits on, insulating the ground from the heat.
  
  How to make a ‘Leave no trace’ mound fire
  

• Gather mineral soil (dry soil 2-3 inches below the surface), gravel or sand into a ground bag.

• Build a 3-5 inch thick platform with the soil, making sure the platform is larger than the intended fire, to catch embers.

• Construct your teepee-style campfire on top of the platform.

• Once the fire is safely out (see above for instructions) scatter the wood ashes over a large area and return the mineral soil to where you found it.

An important though less obvious aspect of leaving no trace is that, if you have permission, you should gather wood responsibly (dead wood, that you can break with your hands) or buy firewood from a local source. This all helps to protect the surrounding woodlands that play a large part the local ecosystem. Trying to burn freshly cut wood is often a false economy due to its high moisture content, meaning it gives off little heat and doesn't burn well.