Bushcraft Campsites [no chatter please]

[oldtimer]

Ogri the Trog has set a challenge to compile a list of sites sympathetic to bushcrafters to be made a sticky. We may have out own views of the criteria, so a brief decription of facilities, or lack of them would be useful.

I suggest:

Brief description of location: Hills, woods, moorland etc.
Access: walk in, parking, vehicles allowed, public transport links.
Proximity of shops, pubs etc.
Water: running, piped or static.
Sanitary facilities: WC, chemical, chemical disposal, dig your own.
Fires allowed? Gathering allowed?
Restriction on numbers? Family friendly? Linked to specific organisation eg Scouts?
Booking? Price? Contact details.

 

[pauljm116]

Excellent news, glad this ones starting up.

Forgewood camping - Tunbridge wells, Kent
This site consists of two fields and a large area of woodland for camping in.

Access: Cars are sometimes allowed on the fields, there is a seperate car park. Train station is quite nearby (probably a couple of miles away).

Water: There are standpipes dotted all around the site.

Sanitary Facilities: There are toilets, shower blocks and washing up sinks by the main entrance and toilets in the lower field.

Fires: Are allowed between 7pm and 10am, charcoal burning is allowed throughout the day. Wood is sold for £5 per bag (usually lasts a couple of nights) as gathering isnt allowed due to the impact it may have on the wildlife/woodland.

This is a family friendly site, only restrictions are no large groups where everyone is under 21. There are some bushcraft courses run here on some saturdays for a fee (see website for details). There is an onsite cafe/restaurant which does some nice food (I can recommend the breakfast!) and an onsite shop selling essentials (including venison burgers from the estate the site is on), the town centre is a 15 minute drive away for supermarkets/camping shops etc.

I recommend booking in advance as it can be busy (especially weekends). Its not the cheapest site @ £12.50 per night per person.
There is lots to do in the local area if you've got a car (High Rocks is amazing) and if you havent got a car/dont fancy driving theres lots to explore and some really nice walks taking in some trout lakes and ice caves.
The site is quite close to Gatwick airport so there are a lot of planes flying over, but after a few hours I always become accustomed to the noise and dont notice it.
I've been going to Forgewood for a couple of years and find its everything I want, nice woodland surroundings, plenty of wildlife (the deer are hard to spot though) and friendly staff. If anyone has any questions or wants to know more, they can PM me or check out their website for more info, booking etc http://forgewoodcamping.co.uk/index.html they do have a couple of other camp sites too (InWood near Basingstoke and Lordswood near Lenham/Sittingbourne) but I havent visited them so cant really comment - they are listed on the Forgewood website for anyone interested.

Hope this is of use to some.

 

[pauljm116]

Heres a few sites I've copied from this thread http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92197&p=1113235#post1113235 , thanks to all who contributed.

http://www.penpont.com/page/camping/

http://www.priorymillfarm.co.uk/campsite.htm

http://www.herefordholidays.co.uk/category/caravanning-and-camping-in-herefordshire/Tan-House-Farm-Camping

http://www.beechesfarmcampsite.co.uk/

http://www.pyscodlyncaravanpark.com/content-26.html

I've also just found this one that looks good and is run by the guys that run Forgewood so should be more of the same.

http://badgellswoodcamping.co.uk/

There are also a couple of websites that list camp sites where fires are allowed:

http://www.campfiresburning.org/sites.php

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=4

We need loads of site recommendations, so if you know of any good sites post them on this thread with a mini review (see post 1). This would make a great sticky and the more recommendations the better.

 

[richtheclimber]

There's a very quiet little site we've used before called Rough Hey Wood, just by Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. It's a really long, thin triangular shaped field, with good toilets and a brand new shower and washing up block. The wardens live year round on-site in a tipi, and are very sympathetic to bushcrafty ideas. It's set in a 1,000 acre forest, so there's plenty of wood for fires and craft projects - just help yourself. There are two pitches with electric hook-up, but the rest is for normal tents. They allow campfires by tents, but they must be raised off the ground in a washing machine drums, which they provide. (I think you can actually buy wood off the warden if you want). It's about £10 a night per TENT, which is mega-cheap. There's no restriction as to who can or can't stay there, but the downside is there's no booking, so you take your chances, especially on bank holiday weekends, for example.

Shopping is five minutes down the road in Sowerby Bridge itself (there's a big Tesco, if memory serves). Full details here... http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=6065

No affiliations, just loved it and would heartily recommend it - especially at that price!

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Red Squirrel Glencoe.