Wild Boar Wood Campsite

No availability at present on Pitchup.com 9.4 7 reviews
Secluded bell tent (added by manager 03 Nov 2022)
Bell tents in the bluebells
Bell tent in the woods
Bluebells and bell tents

  • Off-grid glamping 10 minutes’ drive from Haywards Heath in West Sussex
  • A 10-minute drive to Ashdown Forest, and 40 minutes to Brighton
  • Pre-erected, fully equipped bell tents; barbecues and wood supplied
Hidden in a completely off-grid, five-acre woodland carpeted with bluebells in spring, Wild Boar Wood Campsite, 10 minutes’ drive from Haywards Heath in West Sussex, is a family-friendly wild glamping site with no electricity. Yes, it’s off grid… so guests have all the benefits of wild woodland camping with open fires, birdsong, butterflies and den building, but with accommodation in pre-erected, well-equipped bell tents. Comforting luxuries at each pitch include proper beds (bring your own linen), cooking utensils, a barbecue and a supply of firewood. The wooden facilities block has flushing loos and hot water, and you also have the novelty of washing alfresco under bucket showers operated by pulleys. The car park is a short walk away, and wheelbarrows are provided to transport your stuff through the woods to the glampsite. Set on the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Wild Boar Wood teems with birds, butterflies, deer, rabbit, hedgehogs and foxes making their homes in the fields, hedgerows and woodland. Peace is interrupted only by historic Bluebell Railway locomotives occasionally steaming past the campsite. The River Ouse meanders through the surrounding countryside, offering plenty of walks – many ending conveniently at welcoming pubs. Proximity to Haywards Heath train station (15 minutes’ drive) means the site is within easy reach of London and Brighton for weekend breaks. This is a small-scale, relaxed and laid-back campsite with wardens on hand at all times. Amplified music is not allowed and there’s a low-noise policy from 10pm.

Site type

Rent a tent 9
Opens
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • Group bookings of 2 or more units (e.g. tent, caravan, RV or accommodation hire) traveling together are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Group bookings of 4 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • Single-sex bookings of 3 or more people (couples and immediate family members excepted) are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • No bachelor/bachelorette parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Bookings must not be for more than 7 consecutive nights.
  • No cars/motorcycles at the site. All cars must be parked in the designated area.
  • The park caters for families (immediate members) and couples only - bookings from all other forms of groups are not accepted.
  • Discount cards and gift vouchers cannot be applied to bookings made via Pitchup.com.
  • This is a quiet park: no music is allowed.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality flashlight with them as parts of the park are unlit.
  • No naked flames are allowed inside the hired accommodation units.
  • Please note that the toilet/shower facilities are unisex.
  • Please note that this campsite is off grid - there is no electricity or provision for mobile phone chargers.

Languages spoken

English

Reviews

86%

would recommend this site to a friend

86%

would stay here again

  • 85%
    10
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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

A must visit!

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Colleen C. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Bell tent

Liked: Absolutely loved camping in the forest! Jess was a very friendly and helpful host and both myself, my husband and my children (16,12,11) loved all the new experiences. The bucket shower was fun, no it isn't a power shower but who expects that in the forest. It just added fun to the whole weekend. The bell tent had more than enough space for the 5 of us and we had our own little out door clearing with bench, chairs and campfire which came in extremely helpful when it rained all day on the Saturday, it meant we were not stuck in doors. Loved the added touch of the camp stove in the washing up area, for early risers like me its a god send :) There is a huge field that can be used for games and a little village not very far if a shop is needed. Really liked the honesty system where you could pick up extra firewood/kindling/firelighters without disturbing Jess all the time, you could just mark what you took on the board and post your cash in the box. Loved the little tea lights as well! Myself and my husband used to be avid campers and we have taken our children both camping and glamping and this was by far the prettiest, most peaceful experience we have had. Currently looking to see when we can come back next year we had that much fun!

Disliked: Don't wear white Crocs unless you want them ruined lol and I wouldn't advise you coming if you have a fear of wildlife or mud, if these things don't bother you, you will have a blast. WIFI is very spotty, don't go and expect much internet and you will not be disappointed. My only frustration was I couldn't read the news at 4am, but that is an extremely minor thing and to be honest just added to the peacefulness in the end :)

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Dear Colleen, Thank you for your lovely review - we are all so happy that you all enjoyed your stay with us, depite the Croc-astrophe! We do hope that we see you back here again soon.

Excellent site, friendly staff and peaceful.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
katrina M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Bell tent

Liked: The location was idea, quiet and relaxing. The tent was a good size and met our needs. The owners had thought of everything we need, and made the stay relaxing and stress free. The canopy meant we were still able to sit outside even with the rain. The kids loved exploring and playing in the woods and being off grid was great to encourage imaginative play.

Disliked: Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Dear Katrina, Thank you for your lovely, kind words. We are so happy that you enjoyed your stay with us at Wild Boar Wood and we hope that you will all be back again to visit us soon.

Excellent site, fantastic/ clean facilities and helpful staff

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Rebecca W. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Bell tent

Liked: I stayed for one night with my 12 year old son. Firstly, the Wardens were fantastic, super friendly and happy to help. The campsite offered so much more than I was expecting. Each tent included all cooking equipment (pots, pans & washing up stuff etc.). The facilities around the campsite were equally as good. Extra chairs, board games, candles, books etc. A nice touch was a communal gas hob if you wished to make a speedy cup of tea/ coffee, they even provided the tea and coffee. It just made wild camping more accessible to those less equipped for camping. Very clean communal toilets and bucket showers. My son had a shower in the morning and it was a great experience for him. Views of the steam train from the campsite and also a woodland animal search in the enclosed woodland was a lovely touch. Overall, a lovely campsite, we will be returning.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you so much for your lovely review. We're so happy you enjoyed your stay and the facilities at the campsite. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Excellent site, clean facilities and very helpful staff.

Overall 10/10
Location 8
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Miss Aimi b. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Bell tent

Liked: Absolutely great set up, we had tent 10 which was the furthest out in the corner to ourselves which I really liked. (Only down side was slightly further walk to the toilet in the night!) Everything you need is provided (minus bedding.) Also have books, games etc you can borrow. Very friendly staff, couldn't apologis enough when our zip on the tent was broken on arrival. Offered to move us but as the weather was behaving it wasn't really a problem.

Disliked: Not really a "dislike" but more of a note to make to potential campers that the site is on a flight path, so planes going overhead through the night but we got used to this very quickly.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for your lovely review! Sorry to hear about your tent zip but we're so glad you had a great stay despite this. We hope to see you again soon.

A special place, in every way.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Jonnie B. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Bell tent

Liked: Everything about it. The vibe and location were so special. We had an amazing time. Anna was lovely and really helpful and the facilities and amenities were thoughtful and made the stay so much easier. Definitely returning.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for your lovely review! We're so pleased you enjoyed your stay and we look forward to seeing you again.

Good tents and location but no glamping.

Overall 6/10
Location 10
Value for money 4
Accommodation 6
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 4
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Bell tent

Liked: Tents were amazing , fire pits available made it a very special stay. The country side was stunning and fun excursions to do: Lewes and Brigton. Our kids enjoyed it a lot.

Disliked: I don’t consider this glamping. No electricity nor wifi, no proper showers, no mixer taps. There are no services on site. You have to buy extra kindling if you want to make any fire. We didn’t have daily fresh ice for our cooler box. The way from the car park to the tents is pretty long and the weelbarrels to transport our things, although a good idea, felt short, the path is long, with steep hills and adrupt terrain. For some reason we didn’t realised that there was no electricity at all until we got the welcome pack, if it had electricity would be a 4 stars for me. Having no electricity makes it a bit precarious

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for taking the time to write us a review and provide feedback on your stay. Clearly we are a little disappointed you chose to rate us so low, when in your own words 'the tents were amazing, the firepits made it a very special stay and the kids enjoyed it a lot'. You are right, we are a very different style of glamping to other campsites, this is why we call it 'wild glamping'. We make our off grid nature, with lack of power, very obvious on the website, and on all communication with our customers. Rather confusingly you have marked us down for not realising we do not have electricity? Which is a fundamental feature for an off-grid campsite, one of our main selling points. We describe very clearly on the Pitch-up page this feature. You have further marked us down for ’not having proper showers’ - again our bucket showers are clearly identified on the website, are loved by our guests in general, and clearly shown in the images of the showers that are on the Pitch-up page. The first line of description provided on Pitch up about Wild Boar Wood Campsite is, 'off grid glamping in a quiet woodland'. With off grid being mentioned at least another time within the first paragraph. It is very clear we are an Eco off-grid campsite. With apologies for being defensive and long winded in our response, you claim that you didn't get fresh ice daily is not correct. Our wardens have confirmed they distinctly remember providing ice blocks in the cool box we supply for your arrival (you choose to use your own cool box and I assume missed this). Further you were shown where to pick up further ice blocks in the central shed daily in your welcome tour. You certainly didn’t raise any concerns at the time if you’d forgotten where to collect the ice blocks? As policy we won’t go into people's personal cool boxes and place new ice blocks for understandable hygiene and health reasons. You also mentioned the car park being away from the campsite. The campsite is in woodland so there is no way for vehicles to access the site. The position of the car park is dictated by our planning permission in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty by Mid Sussex Council. All the information on which you’ve thought was lacking in our glamping site was provided for you, but this clearly wasn't read or you didn't understand what you were booking. This does feel very much as though we are being penalised for this. We're a very small business who relies on reviews for much of our business and a review such as your own can be very damaging to us. The positive is, that if anyone should read this review, they will likely research the glamping offering and fortunately we will avoid reviews such as yours in the future by only attracting customers to our 5* rated campsite who understand what they are booking. Fortunately, despite your lack of research, your kids still enjoyed their stay 😀.

Beautiful place

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
terri e. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Bell tent

Liked: The tent, the staff, the venu,location

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for your review, we hope to see you again soon!


Features

Leisure on park

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Playground Recreation room/arcade TV room Takeout Tennis Watersports

Amenities on park

Bath available Car parking by site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Free wifi Grocery store Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundromat Parent & baby washroom Payphone Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Rallies welcome Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue grills allowed Barbecue provided Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed No dogs allowed

Themes

Forest Hikers’ paradise Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump station Electric car charging point(s) Propane/gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Nearby farmers' market Public transportation nearby

Type

Tiny (1-10 sites)

Accessibility

Disabled facilities

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Indoor pool nearby Mountain biking nearby Outdoor pool nearby Restaurant nearby Tennis nearby

Location

Wild Boar Wood Campsite

Haywards Heath

West Sussex

England

RH17 7EA

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

51.01602°N
-0.03227°W

Nearest transport

Coach
6.4 km School Lane
6.4 km School Lane
10.3 km Brambletye
Rail
5.2 km Haywards Heath Rail Station
8.5 km Wivelsfield Rail Station
8.6 km Balcombe Rail Station
Ferry
25.8 km Newhaven Harbour Ferry Terminal
46.8 km Ditton Island Ferry Landing
47.4 km Kingston Town End Pier
Airport
18.1 km London Gatwick Airport South Terminal
18.1 km London Gatwick Airport
19.1 km London Gatwick Airport North Terminal

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.

Local attractions

Walking boots at the ready? Country walks on the High Weald are yours directly from the glamping pitches. A short drive of 10 minutes takes you to Ashdown Forest, where you traipse across moorland and help the kids search for Pooh Sticks Bridge in the 100 Acre Wood. There are springtime bluebell walks through woods at Heaven Farm (also 10 minutes), and here you can also play adventure golf or let younger offspring loose in the play barn. Jump on a Bluebell Railway steam train at Sheffield Park Station (five minutes) for chugs through West Sussex countryside on a vintage railway line. If the kids are still demanding more entertainment, the best option is a day at Drusillas Park (40 minutes) so they can wear themselves out in the Hello Kitty Secret Garden, meet sloths and lemurs, or ride mini-jeeps through the Rainforest Adventure. Wanting a couple of souvenirs to take home? Pick up award-winning cheeses from Sussex High Weald Dairy (five minutes), or plunder The Lanes in Brighton (45 minutes) for antiques, hand-crafted jewellery and unusual accessories.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020 2019 2018 2017
Brighton Kemptown 23.1 km Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Good
Brighton Central 23.2 km Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Hove 23.4 km Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Saltdean 24.1 km Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Southwick 25.2 km Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Bluebell Railway 3.1 km

Sheffield Park Garden 3.5 km

Wakehurst Place 6.9 km

Standen 9.8 km

Nymans 12.1 km

National Trust

Sheffield Park Garden 3.5 km

Wakehurst Place 6.8 km

Standen 9.7 km

Nymans 12.3 km

Monk's House 20.1 km

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Danehill - Cumnor House - Newnhams - Buttocks Bank Wood 3.3 km

Horsted Keynes - Sheffield Park 3.5 km

SHEFFIELD PARK 4.1 km

Ardingly Reservoir - Wakehurst Place - Ardingly 5.3 km

BORDE HILL 6 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.

Nearest sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in West Sussex?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Wild Boar Wood Campsite have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Wild Boar Wood Campsite dog friendly? No View all features
  • What attractions are near Wild Boar Wood Campsite? Walking boots at the ready? Country walks on the High Weald are yours directly from the glamping pitches. A short drive of 10 minutes takes you to Ashdown Forest, where you traipse … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Wild Boar Wood Campsite?
    On-park accommodation
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  7:30 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    Read more