Camping in West Chiltington

England's wild camping laws mean you cannot simply pitch a tent on open land around West Chiltington without the landowner's permission, whatever the temptation of a clear night beneath the Downs. The good news is that this part of West Sussex has a growing number of proper campsites and glampsites happy to welcome you legitimately, many of them working farms or vineyards that have turned over a paddock or orchard corner to a handful of pitches. Expect small, quiet, family-run sites rather than sprawling holiday parks, with a strong emphasis on the surrounding countryside rather than on-site entertainment.

The terrain here is gentler than the chalk ridge of the South Downs proper, rolling farmland and wooded shaws giving way to the escarpment a few miles south, so pitches tend to be sheltered rather than exposed. That makes camping feasible across a longer season than you would get up on the open Downs, though most sites still concentrate their opening dates between April and September, when the ground is drier and the weather more forgiving. Spring brings blossom in the orchards and bluebells in the woodland edges, while a settled week in summer is the classic time to explore Pulborough Brooks or walk up onto Rackham Hill for a picnic with views over the Amberley Wild Brooks.

If a tent feels like too much of a commitment, glamping has taken hold across this stretch of Sussex just as it has elsewhere, with shepherd's huts, safari tents and the odd converted horsebox appearing on smallholdings and vineyards within a few miles of the village. These give you a proper bed, often a wood-burner or log stove, and sometimes a fire pit for the evening, without needing to own or transport any camping kit. Either way, book ahead in peak months: sites here are small, word travels locally, and weekends in June and July fill quickly.