Dernwood Farm Campsite

There is a lot to take in at Dernwood Farm but in other ways there isn't much at all and it's designed to be just that way. After checking in at reception and spotting the farm's own sausages and 21 day matured steaks for sale (you can almost taste that evening's dinner) you'll notice campers taking keen advantage of the trolleys. You realise why as you walk through the woodland as there's a ten minute stroll to the main 'wild camping field'. These days there's a shuttle to run your kit down from the car if you'd rather not haul it, though pulling the trolley yourself is half the fun. As you pull the trolley, decompressing from the real world you might think you're lost in the woods for a second. It's actually a wonderful feeling and as you step into the camping field you will have truly got as far 'away from it all' as you can in the bustling South East.

That main camping field is a level, 8 acre rectangle in the middle of the woodland with plenty of space to claim your own corner. Campfires are allowed in firepits and there is something so simple and natural about cooking food on a fire from animals reared in sight of it. There's also woodland camping in 'the encampment' with three pitches in a coppiced area around a natural pond. For glampers there are several beautiful options including bell tents, a safari tent and the 'cabin' whose construction was featured on George Clarke's Amazing Spaces for Channel 4. There's now a little on-site café too, and by all accounts the smell of it drifting through the trees is its own reason to wander over.

If you enjoyed Dernwood's mouth watering produce you could adopt a piglet that after 6 months will be butchered and delivered to you. It's a great way to teach kids about farming and something to look forward to when the nights are colder and you're dreaming of a return to the farm.