Start low, and take the easy path up

The hills will still be there next summer. Your first wild camp is not the place to find out whether you can carry a heavy pack up a thousand metres of scree, pitch in the dark and sleep through a gale. What you want from night one is a calm, quiet, well-made camp, and the proof to yourself that you can do this.

So choose a lowland site. A valley floor, a sheltered woodland edge, a flat spot beside a low-level llyn or loch. Somewhere under about 300 metres, with a short walk-in of an hour or two. You still get the whole experience — carrying everything you need, cooking outdoors, waking in the open — without adding high-level weather, exposure or navigational risk to the mix.

If you can, do your first night somewhere you already know in daylight. Familiar ground at dusk is worth more than an extra mile of adventure.

Check the rules before you check the weather

Access rules differ across the UK, and getting this wrong is the quickest way to spoil a night.

• Scotland: There is a right of responsible access to most unenclosed land. Wild camping is permitted in small numbers, for a night or two, on land not otherwise excluded. It does not cover enclosed fields, buildings or farmland, and it comes with an expectation that you cause no damage.
• England and Wales: There is no general right to wild camp. The right to roam covers walking, not camping. Dartmoor allows limited wild camping only in specified areas and with consent, so check the current position before you travel.
• Bothies: These are free, open shelters, but they are shared and first-come. Carry a tent anyway, and be ready to pitch outside or move on if it is full.

Where there is no right, ask. Farmers, estate offices and landowners often say yes to a polite, specific request: one small tent, one night, arriving early and leaving nothing behind. Ask well in advance, not at nine o'clock from the gate.

Arrive early, pitch in daylight

Give yourself two hours of daylight at the pitch. That is the single most useful piece of advice here.

Arriving early lets you:

• Read the ground properly — flat, well drained, no dead branches overhead, no animal burrows.
• Find and check your water source while you can still see it.
• Note the wind direction and pitch with the door away from the breeze.
• Deal with surprises — a boggy pitch, a busy spot, a locked gate — with time to move on.

In Scotland the older habit is to arrive late and leave early, keeping a low profile. That is fine for an experienced camper and miserable for a first-timer. On a permitted or permissive pitch, turn up in the afternoon, set up calmly and enjoy the evening.

Pack for warmth, not for bravado

Night temperatures in the British hills drop further than most people expect. Five to ten degrees below the daytime figure is normal, and a still valley floor can be colder than a breezy ridge. Take a sleeping mat with decent insulation, a bag rated below the forecast minimum, and one spare dry layer that never leaves the stuff sack.

• Shelter: a tent with a porch, so wet kit stays out of the sleeping space.
• Sleep: mat, bag, and something to rest your head on. Comfort is bought cheaply here.
• Light: a headtorch, plus spare batteries.
• Water: two litres of capacity, a filter or tablets, and a plan for refilling.
• Kitchen: stove, fuel, lighter and a small pot you do not mind eating from.
• Extras: midge head net, tick tool, first-aid kit, trowel and waste bags.

Midges, weather and the small things that spoil nights

Check the forecast on the day you leave and be willing to change plans. Wind of 30 mph or more on an exposed pitch is unpleasant; under trees it can be dangerous. Valley bottoms collect cold air, and in wet weather they collect water. Damp hollows also grow the worst midges.

If you are camping between May and September in the west, assume midges. Pitch where there is a bit of breeze, keep the tent zipped, cook before dusk and eat inside if you must. A head net weighs almost nothing and saves an entire evening. If rain is forecast, choose ground that rises slightly rather than the flattest hollow you can find.

Leave it as you found it

Use a durable pitch — gravel, dry grass, rock — rather than fragile vegetation. No fires. Dig any toilet hole 15 to 20 cm deep, at least 50 metres from water, and cover it afterwards. Carry out every scrap, including food waste, tea bags and orange peel.

Then walk away in the morning with a quiet camp behind you, a decent night's sleep and the confidence to go higher next time.