The Blue Ship
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/-0.4528755000000046,51.0633847,12,0,0/376x277@2x)
- Simple pitches behind a West Sussex family-run freehouse country pub
- A 15-minute drive from Horsham; half an hour to the South Downs
- Pub with homemade food and local beers and produce; beer garden
Campground type
10
10
15
This campground/park has no on-site shower facilities.
Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.- The campground/park does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dog Act (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
- No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
- Commercial vehicles (vehicles used for work-related purposes, carrying goods or fare-paying passengers) and sign-written vehicles are not permitted on site.
- At least one of the party members must be aged 21 or over.
- There are no bins onsite: all rubbish will need to be taken home with you.
Languages spoken
English
Open from Fri, 1 May to
Site types & availability
Unpowered grass tent or trailer tent site
5 people maximum 
8.8/10
58 reviews Ground type: Grass
Site size: Max 6m width × 4m depth (24m²)
Arrival daysFrom GBP 25 (GBP 25)
View prices & book
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Unpowered grass tent site (large, family)
7 people maximum 8.1/10
7 reviews Ground type: Grass
Site size: Unlimited
Arrival daysFrom GBP 35 (GBP 35)
View prices & book
Reviews
91% would recommend this campground to a friend
89% would stay here again
What customers say
A peaceful, rural spot near a top pub. Praised for friendly hosts, roomy sites, clean loos & tasty tucker. Basic but great for country walks. Some found no hot water/bins. Owners say it's basic by design and price, and they're sorting noise/facilities.
Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews
The food was nice and the…
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Unpowered grass tent site (large, family)
Liked The food was nice and the old lady who served us was very friendly
Disliked The toilet cleaner came over to us in the morning and started moaning at us for cleaning up the site and leaving a black bag beside the ash bin that we were going to move when we left .
Recommend to friends Visit again
From the manager: A 2/10 rating purely based on the fact that you were told not to leave your rubbish behind, which was very evidently your intention given that you had walked from your pitch to the metal bin very clearly labelled for ash disposal only.
FYI - it was the owner (not a toilet cleaner) who saw you to so on CCTV and headed out to politely tell you that you need to take your rubbish home. Nobody “moaned at you”, you were simply told to take your rubbish with you when departing which for some reason you’ve clearly taken offence to without justification.
We do not offer rubbish disposal, this is made clear in our listing when booking, in the welcome letter sent to all customers by email, and clearly signed in the campsite, and yet a small number of campers have the self entitlement to think this does not apply to them and that it is entirely acceptable to leave their rubbish behind.
Exellent spot…
Unpowered grass caravan site
Liked Exellent spot
Recommend to friends Visit again
From the manager: Thank you for visiting, we are delighted you enjoyed your stay with us and hope to welcome you again soon.
Best Wishes
Sophie.
Food and drink great, hosts were…
Unpowered grass tent or trailer tent site
Liked Food and drink great, hosts were lovely!
Disliked Nothing
Recommend to friends Visit again
From the manager: Thank you for visiting, we are delighted you enjoyed your stay with us and hope to welcome you again soon.
Best Wishes
Sophie.
Excellent site with clean facilities
Unpowered grass caravan site
Liked Everything
Disliked Nothing
Recommend to friends Visit again
Location, clean facilities, generous spaces in…
Unpowered grass caravan site
Liked Location, clean facilities, generous spaces in large camping field
Recommend to friends Visit again
From the manager: Thank you for visiting, we are delighted you enjoyed your stay with us and hope to welcome you again soon.
Best Wishes
Sophie.
Ones agine very good stay. And…
Unpowered grass caravan site
Liked Ones agine very good stay. And the food was very good 👍 .I've stayed twice and will stay again.
Disliked None
Recommend to friends Visit again
From the manager: Thank you for visiting and we are delighted that you enjoyed your stay with us.
We hope to welcome you again soon.
Best Wishes
Sophie.
OK Budget camp with overrated pub grub
Unpowered grass tent or trailer tent site
Liked Location to Gatwick for outbound flights
Disliked Washing up facilities a ground based soiled butlers sink with tired house pipe. Toilets adequate. In flight path to Gatwick so only a 5-6 hour quiet window
Recommend to friends Visit again
From the manager: I’m most confused by your review, you liked that we are in a good location to Gatwick (about a 30-40 minute drive for those reading this) and yet disliked that you have planes heading to Gatwick?!?! A total contradiction….?
For clarity for those reading this, any plane heading to Gatwick is at a considerable height due to our distance from the airport, I’m not even sure this has been mentioned in a review of our campsite before that is how insignificant it is!
Yes our washing up area is a large butler sink, nothing less, nothing more.
Our facilities overall are exactly as we claim them to be, we are a basic rural campsite and I simply can’t emphasise enough that if anyone is looking for considerably more facilities than we offer here then please don’t book to stay at our campsite as we could not be clearer about our offerings.
For those that want a basic rural camping weekend in a beautiful location, they love it as you’ll see from our many many reviews on here and other sites.
As for our “over rated pub grub” having won on award this year for one of the top ten pubs in West Sussex, there are many who would very much disagree with you. Everything is locally sourced and freshly prepared to order. Likewise all of our beers and ciders are local too.
Having read your other reviews too, I may suggest that perhaps camping is not for you and a hotel may be better suited as it appears you are yet to find a campsite you actually like.
The amount of space per pitch.…
Unpowered grass caravan site
Liked The amount of space per pitch. We had dinner in the pub too which was fabulous. Very friendly, peaceful campsite with basic facilities
Disliked Liked everything.
Recommend to friends Visit again
From the manager: Thank you for visiting and we are delighted you enjoyed your visit.
Lovely to read how spacious you thought it was given the ridiculous comments raised above by another guest! Hope to welcome you again soon.
Best wishes
Sophie
Very friendly, Easy to arrive and pitch…
Unpowered grass tent site (large, family)
Liked Very friendly,
Easy to arrive and pitch up, pub close by that sold amazing food!
Disliked Maybe add to the play area for the kids? They made their own fun but a maybe in the future a small patch in the middle of the field would be amazing for them!.
Recommend to friends Visit again
From the manager: Thank you for visiting and we are delighted you enjoyed your stay with us. We hope to welcome you again soon.
We have no current plans to add any additional play areas to the campsite, we feel this would ruin our rural location and just is not what we offer.
Best Wishes
Sophie.
- Location - Good value for…
Unpowered grass tent or trailer tent site
Liked - Location
- Good value for money
- Relaxed friendly atmosphere
- Clean, modern toilets
- Nice pub next to campsite
Recommend to friends Visit again
From the manager: Thank you for visiting, we are delighted you enjoyed your stay with us and hope to welcome you again soon.
Best Wishes
Sophie.
Features
Leisure on site
Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis WatersportsAmenities on site
Bath available Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundry Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area WifiGroups welcome
Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcomeRules
Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all yearThemes
Peaceful Remote location Walkers' paradise Wildlife havenUtilities
Charging facilities Dump point Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available No hot water Recycling available Renewable energyNearby amenities
Bar nearby Dog walk nearbyType
Medium (26-50 sites) Pub campgroundNearby leisure
Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Restaurant nearbyLocation
The Blue Ship
The Haven
Billingshurst
West Sussex
England
RH14 9BS
Directions Timezone
Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)
GPS
51.06338°N
0.45288°W
Nearest transport
Coach
Rail
Ferry
AirportPlease note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.
Local attractions
Water quality at nearby bathing waters
| Name | Distance | Type | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancing, Beach Green | 28.6 km | Sea | N/A | Good | Good | Good |
| Worthing | 28.9 km | Sea | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Shoreham Beach | 29.2 km | Sea | N/A | Excellent | Good | Excellent |
| Littlehampton | 29.7 km | Sea | N/A | Good | Good | Good |
| Southwick | 30.2 km | Sea | N/A | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
Data source: European Environment Agency
Must see
Fishers Adventure Farm Park 4.7 km
Petworth House & Park 13.9 km
Parham House & Gardens 16.4 km
Nymans 18 km
Denbies Wine Estate 22.2 km
National Trust
Petworth House and Park 13.9 km
Winkworth Arboretum 14.1 km
Oakhurst Cottage 14.3 km
Nymans 17.8 km
Shalford Mill 19.1 km
Cycle routes
Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.
Other
WARNHAM COURT 7.9 km
Shipley - Knepp Castle - River Adur Circular 10.4 km
SEDGWICK PARK 10.6 km
KNEPP CASTLE 11.3 km
Nuthurst 11.5 km
Local events
- Farnborough International Airshow (Monday 20 July 2026 – Monday 20 July 2026)
Farnborough, England 31.8 km
Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.
Want to know more about camping in West Sussex?
Frequently asked questions
- Does The Blue Ship have a swimming pool? No View all features
- Is The Blue Ship dog friendly? Yes View all features
- What attractions are near The Blue Ship? With the South Downs National Park (half an hour’s drive) so straightforward to get to from The Blue Ship, your packing list might need to include hiking boots for trails like the … Read more
- When can I check in and check out of The Blue Ship?
Read moreCamping and caravan Arrive: 2 p.m. – 9 p.m. Depart by: noon - How much does it cost to stay at The Blue Ship? From $50.76 (for 1 night, 5 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.