Even if it doesnt appear to be private land, it probably is. A BAD EXPERIENCE.

I had a terrible experience yesterday. I went out camping after spending hours and hours on google and bing maps trying to find somewhere with a flat piece of grass that didnt look like it was a field.

I found what I thought was a suitable spot near Streedagh beach in Sligo. Set up my tent and had dinner etc. Ended up not being such a quiet spot and engaged in many conversations with passing joggers, people walking dogs, cyclists and even people riding horses. Just as the sun was setting we were washing up the plates etc when a man drives over the dunes in his 4x4 and stops literally 3 inches from the table and beckons me over. He told me that camping isnt permitted and why was I there. I said I didnt know it wasnt permitted and I asked him why it wasnt permitted and if it was private land as I assumed it wasnt as there were no fences or anything like that. He said he was one of the owners and that I had to go. I asked him if it would be OK to stay until the morning as it was literally getting dark right then as the sun had just dipped below the horizon and I promised him that I would leave no sign that I had been there and I even apologised that i had not sought permission, but that it was a genuine mistake on my part. He then exploded and started swearing at me, saying that if I didnt pack up straight away, he would go and "get the others" who would lift us off and he would be back with his shotgun and to "have a nice night!".

So my girlfriend and I packed up the tent by torchlight and trudged back to the car with a wet tent. The worst of it was all of the other people we had met were warm and friendly and even a man who lived just over the dune had stopped and chatted with us for a while and he was talking about how he had an Orkney Longliner boat just around the headland, and that we should go for a walk over and told us where his boat house was and we should feel free to walk in and have a look at it if we wished. This was my very first experience camping in Ireland and it was very distressing and disappointing to have been threatened in that way. I hate to think what it would have been like had I actually been rude to him, or even had stood up to his threats. Of course I could have called the Gardai etc, but realistically what difference would it make. I now really appreciate the rights to roam we have in Scotland, I always took them for granted!

On the plus side I did get a few photos before this all happened.