Get away from it all and enjoy the rolling countryside of West Sussex, though at the sacrifice of your home comforts.Basic camping in its rawest form with the comfort of a compost loo.

Review:

Plaw Hatch Farm is a little hidden gem of a camping field in West Sussex. The field is part of a 200 acre Bio Dynamic Farm. To get there you travel a short drive away from the main farm, past viewing points of Ashdown Forrest, down a little track and past some beautiful stone cottages to an even smaller track that leads you in to the reclaim field. As you drive in through the trees the field opens up to a view of the surrounding farmland, with dairy cows grazing. The field is meadow-like with wild flowers and the grass left to grow longer adding to the seclusion of the pitches. This really is basic camping, and it is exactly what we were looking for.

On the actual farm site itself there is a Shop selling produce grown at the farm such as dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables, eggs and even the sheep's wool. On the first day that we arrived we purchased some fresh tomatoes, cucumber, fresh bread and some crumbly cheese. We sat eating the most delicious tomatoes with our sandwiches as the sun shone, and took a break from setting up the tent to drink fresh apple juice. The next day I used the red onions and tomatoes I had bought to make a salsa. This was perfect to go with the burgers and boerewors, also bought from the farm shop, and cooked on the griddle over the campfire. The Farm Shop is a great amenity but is expensive in comparison to your local supermarket.

Making a campfire was a chore and joy at this site; you are free to collect wood from a pile in the centre of the field. Jake the youngest of our group loved helping to collect wood and break them down for our fire each night. Make sure you bring your saw and axe with you as you will need it to prepare the wood for your fire. Most of the wood is roots from trees so will take some preparation. The only facilities on site are the compost loo and a tap with water from a spring on the farm. The compost loo is hidden in a wooded area near the entrance to the field, and it gets very muddy around here. Make sure you take a head torch for night-time, and give your eyes time to adjust during the day. The water point is just a tap to one side of the field; there is no sink so you will need to make sure you take a bucket or washing up bowl as well as a water carrier.

Plaw Hatch Farm is right on the edge of Ashdown Forest and provides plenty of walks and stunning views if you decide to leave the campsite. However you are free to roam the farm, and are given a map to find your way around. There is a beautiful little pond where you can sit for lunch, or why not explore the woods. Nearby is Forest Row. We took shelter from the rain in The Chequers Inn, a 15^th Century Old English Pub now a hotel and Public House. If there are any essentials that you have forgotten or fancy a wander round the village there is a hard ware shop, a Tesco metro, an Off Licence, a couple of gift shops and cafés.

There is plenty to keep your children happy, with space to bound around the fields, a Tree house to climb with adult supervision, a rope swing, a walk round the farm to learn all about Bio-Dynamic farming and to see the animals, some of the children on site were even invited to see the cows going for milking. Whilst we were there some people staying had a child’s birthday party, with visitors arriving on the Sunday for a birthday lunch and yet the site still felt peaceful. Plaw Hatch would be a wonderful place to do a treasure hunt, and to teach your children about wildlife. The youngest and the oldest in our group enjoyed watching the stag beetle scurry from our tent. With such beauty in nature on your doorstep who needs club houses and theme parks.

Unfortunately we want this campsite to remain hidden and so do many of the people we spoke to at the campsite, it really is a gem of a campsite to be nurtured and not turned in to the next overbooked campsite. I truly hope that they keep the site as small as it currently stands and that people respect the nature of Plaw Hatch Farm.

Price £8 per person and £4 per child, expensive but goes towards conservation of the farm and reclaim field. Given a map and told to freely wander round the farmland.

For more information visit www.plawhatchfarm.co.uk or http://www.tablehurstandplawhatch.co.uk/