Camping in Cuckfield

There are no legal wild camping sites around Cuckfield, or anywhere else in England, without the landowner's explicit permission, so any camping trip here means booking a recognised campsite or glamping pitch rather than pitching up on a whim in the Weald. That said, the countryside around the village suits camping well: this is classic High Weald landscape, a patchwork of small fields, shaws and ghyll woodland on undulating sandstone and clay ground, quite different from the open downland further south, and campsites in the area tend to be small, farm-based affairs tucked into folds of this landscape rather than large holiday parks.

Being clay-based Wealden terrain, the ground here holds water more than the chalk of the South Downs, so it pays to time a trip for late spring through to early autumn, roughly May to September, when the going is driest underfoot and evenings are long enough to enjoy a campfire or a walk up into the village for dinner at one of its coaching inns. Established sites within a short drive tend to mix traditional grass touring and camping pitches with an increasing number of glamping options, safari tents, shepherd's huts and the like, which suit anyone who wants the feel of being under canvas in the Sussex countryside without carrying a full kit of camping gear. Several sites in the wider Haywards Heath and Cuckfield area are geared towards families, with easy access to Borde Hill Garden's adventure playground and woodland trails, or to the Bluebell Railway a little further north for a steam-train day out.

Because Cuckfield itself is a small, densely built conservation village with no campsite in the centre, campers should expect to base themselves a short drive into the surrounding parishes and treat the village as a destination for a pub meal, a look round the museum and a walk, rather than the camping base itself. Booking ahead is worthwhile in peak summer weekends and during half terms, when family-friendly sites near Borde Hill and the Bluebell Railway fill up quickly.