Camping in Frant

Frant sits within the High Weald, a landscape of steep wooded ghylls, sandstone outcrops and sunken lanes that makes for attractive but sometimes demanding camping country. As with the rest of England, wild camping is not legal here without the express permission of the landowner, so visitors should stick to licensed campsites and glamping sites in the surrounding countryside rather than pitching up on the common land, deer park or nature reserves around the village. Eridge Rocks and Eridge Park, though beautiful, are protected sites where camping is not permitted, and the same goes for the National Trust and English Heritage land at Scotney Castle and Bayham Old Abbey nearby.

That said, the wider area around Tunbridge Wells and the High Weald AONB has a good spread of campsites, from simple tent fields to smaller family-run sites with electric hook-ups, and a growing number of glamping options such as safari tents, shepherd's huts and yurts that suit visitors who want a taste of the countryside without full camping kit. The terrain's steep little valleys and clay soils mean the best camping season runs from late spring through to early autumn, when the ground is drier and evenings are long enough to enjoy a campfire; the same wet Wealden clay that makes the woodland so lush can make winter and early spring pitches heavy going.

Camping here suits anyone keen on walking, since many sites are within reach of way-marked footpaths through the AONB, with Eridge Rocks and Bewl Water both popular targets for a day's walk from a tent. Glamping sites in particular tend to make the most of the High Weald views, with pitches looking out over ridges and valleys rather than flat open fields, and many offer a fire pit as standard given how much of the appeal here is the woodland setting after dark. Booking ahead for peak summer weekends is advisable, as the best-placed sites near Tunbridge Wells and the Kent border fill up quickly.