Camping Surrey/Sussex

[menthel]

Does anyone know of a nice site I can take my son to in June for a night? Somewhere with decent facilities that will take us for one night? He is desperate to try camping and my wife is away for the weekend (and refuses to camp) so I thought it might be fun if we tried somewhere close to home!

[Wowbagger]

Butterfly will be here soon to provide an encyclopaedic answer. 

[menthel]

Butterfly will be here soon to provide an encyclopaedic answer. 

 

[Butterfly]

The camping and caravaning club site in West East Horsley is nice and will take bookings for one night. There are a couple of nice ones in Westham/Pevensey area - one has a farm shop on site. Depends what you want really. CC&C sites aren't cheap but the facilities are always well looked after.

Edited to correct direction of Horsley 

[Ashaman42]

There's a C&CC site at Norman's bay near Pevensey. They generally want a two night booking for a weekend but when I went by bike they seemed flexible on that and even suggested they'd find space for cyclists/backpackers even if nominally full.

A bit of an open site if there's weather but the toilets were decent and it's right by the beach if that's your thing.

The Star Inn nearby (within walking distance) is pretty good for food too. Along with a couple other pubs and fish and chip shop a mile or so down the road in Pevensey.

[menthel]

Thanks all.

Looking for a place where we can go down on the Saturday, do an activity and then pitch the tent and have some dinner. My son is 5 so he would get to bed fairly early and I could just sit around reading etc! Then get up the next morning, have a camping breakfast and then break camp and go home via another activity. Pevensey sounds good given all the activities round there- castles etc. I will have a look at the Norman's Bay one and the East Horsley one as it is a little closer to home in case he turns out to be like his mother and hates camping!

[hillbilly]

Some of the local YHAs have camping pitches. 

This has the benefit of offering somewhere indoors to sit and read etc should you not want to spend all of your time in the tent.

[perpetual dan]

Wowo was good fun last time I was there - very much set up for families, allows fire, rope swings in the trees and next door to steam trains - all of which may be of interest to 5 year old boys (and other OTP!). Their web site isn't talking to me, so whether they'll do a one night booking I don't know (and from what I've seen not many places do one night on a summer weekend.)

Also registering interest in the thread as I'm planning the odd night away with Miss Dans Younger and Elder this summer. I might even have a go at cycling / hiking to a site with them, if I can pick somewhere in really very easy reach. (Neither is a habitual long distance rider and I'll end up with most of the stuff.)

[menthel]

Thanks.

Like the look ok Wowo but it's booked that weekend! May well go for Norman's Bay unless I can find something more adventurous!

[menthel]

Have booked Norman's Bay. It's fairly close with loads of stuff to do nearby. We may even take bikes and do a couple of km on the Cuckoo trail!

[alexb]

Wowo's is great, but very expensive and heavily booked most weekends over the summer.
It would be my first choice for camping newbies.

There are other sites around that offer a similar experience, try this site for example: https://www.coolcamping.co.uk/campsites/uk/england/near-london

[menthel]

Wowo's is great, but very expensive and heavily booked most weekends over the summer.
It would be my first choice for camping newbies.

There are other sites around that offer a similar experience, try this site for example: https://www.coolcamping.co.uk/campsites/uk/england/near-london

Thanks, if this one goes well I will bear those in mind!

[Canardly]

How did you get on M?

[menthel]

Got knocked of my bike at the end of May and fractured a couple of vertebrae so camping trip was written off. However, last night the tent went up in the garden and the boy and my wife slept out there. He had a great time and the alpkit mats were great. He also greatly enjoyed the sleeping bag supplied by fboab. I will be reorganising proper camping once I remember how to use my neck again...

[clarion]

How are you healing?

[Canardly]

Sorry to hear that you are injured. GWS. Tomorrow is another day.

[menthel]

Thanks! I am healing well, out of the collar for 2 weeks now and getting some movement back in my neck with physio. I will soon be camping and back on the bike!

[menthel]

Going to resurrect this as I will take the boy camping when he finishes for the summer holibobs. Which is at the beginning of July!!!

[menthel]

Booked into Wowo for convenience, fire pits and the Bluebell Railway!