Last week I had the fortunate pleasure of being whisked away to Blackberry wood campsite as a post-birthday treat. Being London residents our journey was less than an hour by train followed by 30min walk through country lanes and bridleway; a bit tricky to work out where one is going but no shortage of locals to point us in the right direction Offically speaknig I cannot call it a weekend of camping as we stayed in one of the site's 2 caravans, however I feel qualified to share my appreciation of the wonderfully friendly and efficient camp managers and breathtaking setting; the site is surrounded on four sides by good, solid and proper english countryside (including the South Downs just 10mins walk away) with a fine selection of pubs for food, ale, cider and wine alike in all directions... the caravan proved to be pretty good value (£27 per night) and had some obvious and some unexpected added luxurys, such as gas cooker, fridge, kitchen cupboards stocked with saucepans, plates, mugs etc, almost real bed, table, 100% wind and waterproof roof etc... luxurys aside though if you do decide to book up a caravan be prepared to experience a bit of tent envy at the sight of neighbouring campers hidden away, each in their own secret patch of woodland kitted out with stone fireplaces... all is not lost though as the caravans do come with a fire pit, ideal for cooking on with coals or logs bought for £3.50 a bag from the on site shop which also sells plenty of food, matches, torches, flip flops etc. Also on the practical side the loos, showers etc are all well above average... Owing to its undeniable gloriousness this campsite gets booked up fast (hence why we ended up in a caravan) but you can check the availbilty on their website and apparently its worth keeping an eye out for last minute cancellations... All in all this is generally faultless and magical in every possible way and comes highly reccomended from me and my chap... have already made plans to book up one of the few remaining tent spots this summer for the authentic and intended experience down in the woods... happy camping!

thanks to Happy Camper Alice