Wimbles Farm

Fantastic location and hand built hut, fabulous hosts, friendly pub a short walk away, thoroughly enjoyed it and wished we stayed longer.

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All the facilities we needed. Beautiful spot, very quiet. Appreciated that Mark came to visit each morning to check everything was okay.

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Spaciousness of the pitch areas, individual compost loos, beautiful location

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The shepards hut was lovely, very quirky. The bedding was clean and the surrounding area was beautiful. The tents were dotted around the camp with enough space so it still felt private. There was loads of outdoor seating & the fire pit & bbq they provided did the job. Outdoor toilet was very clean

I had emailed the landlord twice about providing firewood and bedding but had no reply. When we got to the farm we couldn't get into the coded gate as he hadn't provided it through email so we had to ring, which was difficult with no signal.
When we entered the farm there was a map and went to where we thought we were going. As we got out of the car the landlord came down ranting at us for driving on and ruining his grass. There was a grass path that he had mowed on the side but it was not clear that was what it was for. He directed us to where to park and showed us where our hut was. He was then nice and shook our hands and resolved the bad atmosphere.
After we had unpacked our bags, my friend seen a plug to try and charge her phone. It wasn't working so I phoned and asked him about it. He became funny again and said he only plugs it in, in winter. Once he calmed a little he did kindly take them to his cottage to charge (we had small children at home so needed to contact) otherwise we were fine with no use of phones.
There was no gas then in the hut, but as he was irritable on the few encounters we didn't want to approach him just incase he got funny again.
When we spoke to him the next morning he seemed in good spirit so we asked him to change it and he did by the time we got back.
The hamper on arrival was not what it stated, he did provide milk but there was no bread, butter and the condiments were basically what you would gave in a cupboard. There was a nice box of cerial though.
We had to pay extra for the firewood which was fine.

Wonderful quiet and private campsite with own private dry toilet, table, and fire pit. There are no cars allowed on the camping field, which makes it feel even calmer. There is a gas-heated outdoor shower which was very refreshing. There are no sinks or running water, as it is a rustic/wild campground, however, we liked this aspect of it! Staff was friendly and helpful and came to check in with us a few times to make sure all was well. We had a great time!

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We booked the XL "Spinney" pitch, which is for larger groups (up to 20). Probably a little bit over the top for our group of dads and kids - we had just two tents and a Gazebo so there was plenty of room for the kids to run around and have fun. The willow "hideout" was a great feature of this pitch, which the kids loved. They were running around shouting "best campsite ever" as we were putting up the tents.

The field we were staying in must have been around 10 acres, with just three pitches, so you had plenty of peace, quiet and privacy. There are also picnic tables on each of them, and plenty of seating around the firepit (which we didn't have to pay for despite the website saying there was a hire charge) so you needent bring tables and chairs yourself. The owner came round every day to see how we were getting on and if we needed anything, and even offered us the use of a bike for the day if we needed it.

Location wise, the site is around 45 mins from either Eastbourne or Hastings which both offer a great day out on the beach, and there are plenty of pubs within walking distance if you don't fancy cooking yourself.

Whilst I can put up with the very basic composing toilets (they may deter some people), the place could really do with a (semi) decent shower. This would probably prevent us from staying there for any longer than a couple of nights if we were to come again. I appreciate that this is marketed as "Wild camping", but with a little investment, this campsite could be truely amazing.

The website describes a "solar shower" being present, but we couldn't see anything on site that would actually heat the water up - by "solar shower", I naturally presumed that the water would be heated via solar panel or equivalent. You basically had to go and fill up a pot from the drinking water tap, which had a shower attachment, and then hang it up in the enclosure. There is a rubber container for you to stand in. We were only there for two nights, so didn't bother.

Just a minor grumble - when we arrived, the wheelbarrow to move your kit from the car park had a puncture which made carting everything down a little difficult. However this was fixed as soon as the owner was made aware, and in time for our departure.