Wild(ish) Camping

We called ourselves Wild Camping in Sussex when we first started in 2008, really because we had absolutely no facilities, bar a tap in the field, but now we have a great range of facilities and let's face it, deep in the ancient woodland, a mile from the nearest road, you're not going to get much wilder than that in this busy little corner of England. Our woodland campsite offers a back-to-nature feel with the essentials that make family camping relaxed and enjoyable. Perfect for families, first-time campers, and anyone who loves campfires, space to roam, and a slower pace of life. Children love the freedom here — space to explore, build dens, and make friends while adults unwind.

At Little Dernwood Farm we have one of the largest areas of coppice woodland in East Sussex and the camping field is set within the very heart of this a 70 acres. The woods are ablaze with anemones and bluebells in the early spring, then moving to green and lush in summer - great for camp building. Finally in late summer early and autumn, it's a foragers' delight, with fruits of the forest from blackberries to chestnuts and a variety of mushrooms to stock up on.

The Quad Squad!

We operate a kit delivery service with our farm buggy & trailer down to the camping field from 4pm to 7pm every Friday and doing the return trip from 10am to 12.30pm on Sunday morning.

The opportunities for wildlife ‘safaris’ are endless, from your run of the mill rabbits and normal woodland birds to badgers roaming at night from the large sett in the woods to the south of the field, to sightings of our resident herd of fallow deer and huge buzzards flying overhead.

Camp building is always a very popular pass time and some are really very impressive, not sure how much is kids and how much is dads though!

We allow camp fires and we have nets of logs and kindling for sale at our shop. You are very welcome to bring your own wood or buy it from other sources but we do not allow foraging for firewood. It is one of our planning conditions and we strictly enforce this. We also sell our home produced meat to cook on your fire, and now you can even treat yourself to a cooked breakfast and lovely coffee up at our cafe! I know a highlight for many people is being able to see the cows, pigs and sheep out in the field, and then cook steak and sausages from the farm; the ultimate in food traceability and provenance.

We are beautifully located deep in the Sussex Weald on the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, between Brighton, Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells.

Open our interactive map

If you're after a beautful wildish campsite in Sussex then you are in the right place, we aim to provide a low impact, sustainable and eco-friendly farm camp site. It's a field in the woods, with lots of of peace & quiet, for people who are looking for a real back to nature camping experience. Please come and have fun and enjoy a glass around the camp fire. We welcome guitars, just make sure you're respectful of others.

You are immersed in the woodland, able to reconnect with nature, unplugging from technology and finding refuge from urban existence and everyday life. As one recent Tripadvisor reviewer put it “re-wilding the children at Dernwood”. I couldn’t have put it better myself.

There are 3 toilets and a covered washing up area (cold water), in the camping field and 4 showers and more toilets in the shower block up in the carpark. The field is a car free site, which is perfect for families