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Reviews of Housedean Farm Campsite

Q: Is Housedean Farm Campsite child friendly?

YES, it accepts children View all facilities

Q: Where is the nearest shop to Housedean Farm Campsite?

There is a shop within 5 miles View all facilities

Campsite Search > UK > South East England > East Sussex > Lewes > Housedean Farm Campsite > Reviews

Housedean Farm Campsite
Housedean Farm
Lewes
East Sussex (Browse area)
BN7 3JW
Tel: 07919 668816
Visit their website Check Digital TV coverage See Weather Forecast

Pitches:
Open: 01/03/2024 to 31/10/2024
01/03/2025 to 31/10/2025

Rating:

9/10 from 21 Reviews

Tent Pitches	No Caravans	No Motorhomes	No Campervans
Glamping Units	No Statics for Hire	No Statics for Sale	No Seasonal Pitches
No Electric Hookups	No Hardstandings	No Fully Serviced Pitches	Show Full Facilities

Who's it for
Families Welcome	Not Members Only	No Rallies	Not Naturist Site
Dogs Welcome	No Dogs Allowed	Groups Welcome
Facilities
Toilet Facilities	No Showers	Washing Up	No Bathroom
No Baby Changing	No Laundry	Drinking Water	Disabled Friendly
No Chemical Disposal	No Battery Charging	No Gas Exchange	No Recycling Facilities
No Kitchen Facilities	No Freezer / Fridge	No Motorhome Point	No Wifi Access
Shop <5 miles	Bar <1 mile	Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway <1 mile
Activities
No Playground	No TV Room	No Games Room	No Evening Ents
No Fishing	No Wild Swimming	No Indoor Pool	No Outdoor Pool
No Horse Riding	No Cycle Hire	No Golf	No Tennis
No Beach	No Watersports	No Boat Launch
Other Features
No Sea Views	Not Working Farm	Campfires Allowed
No Waterside Pitches	Public Transport On Site	No Dog Walk

Reviews: 21 in total, now showing 1 to 10 Previous 10 Next 10

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Date of Visit: June 2023

Unit: Campervan

Nights stayed: 2

Travelling as: Solo traveller

Reviewer: Quazza57

1 review from this member

It all depends what you want from a campsite. For me, I would say this is my favourite campsite in the Southeast. I come here regularly with my Eriba van ( they say no caravans or motor homes but that's because of the nature of the site, which will get chewed up quickly with heavier vehicles. If you have a small pop top caravan or similar it's worth asking). For me it's perfect. Let's deal with the two negatives.

First the road noise. Yes the A27 is a busy dual carriage way and it runs past the farm. I don't find the noise disturbing, the birdsong and cows in the morning are still way louder - but if road noise bothers you this site is not for you.

Gripe two, it's not flat. No, it's on the floor of a little valley and it slopes a bit on either side. With a van or camper, use levellers. For tents, most people seem fine with it. Some come with families year after year and stay for a week or more. But if a properly flat groundsheet matters to you, probably give this a miss.

The price. Lots of South Downs Way walkers stay here one night in little pop up tents so Nick (the farmer) thinks its fairer to charge a flat rate of £15 per person rather than charge per pitch. The pitches are big enough for two campervans or family tents. For £15 or £30 when my partner can join, I get a lot of space to myself. I paid nearly £50 for a cramped pitch on the Caravan Club's Rowntree site in York last month. Housedean seems reasonable.

On to the plusses: First, it's really beautiful. You may hear a road in the background but all you see is a rich, green valley and Nick's lovely cows, big skies, the milky way at night. It's a proper working South Downs farm and by staying here you're helping to support that. The facilities are so nicely done. None of that ghastly school shower block stuff. Loos are spotless and separate so youre not crapping next to King Kong with a stomach complaint. The shower cubicles are wooden built affairs with big fixed rain-style shower heads and industrial lever controls. None of that plastic wobbly nonsense putting out half a dribble. One shower is roofless so open to the elements. This morning I showered under a blue sky listening to blackbirds. I've even showered in the rain.

The big plus about the A27 is that the bus from Brighton to Lewes stops at the farm. I mean, the farm actually has its own stop. So, you can leave the car, walk out of the farm drive, jump on a bus and be in the most vibrant town on the South Coast in half an hour, or go the other way and hang in Lewes, which has a brewery, a castle, great shops, pubs by the river and the oldest and one of the most beautiful outdoor public swimming pools in Britain.

And, of course, there's the South Downs Way, running through the property, with some of the best walking in Southern England. In about an hour from the campsite you're up on the Ditchling Beacon.

What else? There are fire pits on every pitch, you can get wood from the farm shop, they'll do you coffee and fresh pastries in the morning.

Best of all from our home in South London I can be here, all set up, looking at the South Downs National Park with a beer in my hand in under 2 hours. I rest my case.

via mobile

Date of Visit: August 2022 Confirmed Booking

Unit: Tent

Nights stayed: 1

Travelling as: Solo traveller

Reviewer: TRT1968

12 reviews from this member

Really great site. Facilities are second to none, very clean, there's a shop, 5 loos (slight queue at one point), washing up points, water points, showers, separate sinks.

The site was very easy to find. The A27 can get very fast, very loud and quite scary, but the site is set back from this primary road.

Short walk to Falmer Village, with a very nice pub, stones throw from the Amex stadium and University of Sussex (so a cheap alternative place to stay if bringing a fresher down!)

The South Downs Way passes right by the site, so it's a cinch if you're following that trail. Falmer also has a train station with frequent services to Brighton and Lewes.

The pitches were very large but not brilliantly level. Each did have a fire pit, which I didn't use.

Did think that £15 was a bit OTT for a backpacker rate - I was on my own, but if there were two or more, it could be a bit pricey. On the one pitch I was at, you could have fitted half a dozen backpacking tents, for example.

Date of Visit: August 2021

Unit: Tent

Nights stayed: 3

Travelling as: Family with young children

Reviewer: Thwaiteschris

1 review from this member

The campsite facilities are good (clean toilets, hot water, nice showers, etc) and the people running the place are lovely. But I wouldn't consider going again.

The main problem is that the site is a V-shaped valley. There are very few level pitches. We were on such a steep incline that we struggled to sleep and ended up leaving a day early.

Also, the noise from the major road nearby is quite noticeable, and there's nothing for kids to do on site (like trees for climbing, or rope swings, climbing frames, etc. )

Date of Visit: August 2019

Unit: Other

Nights stayed: 2

Travelling as: Mature couple

Reviewer: Black-deuce

14 reviews from this member

We tried glamping for a treat and booked the Shepherd’s Hut. 10/10 for that. Very cosy and tastefully equipped.

Site-wise, it’s functional and uncommercialised. (No problem with that.) Its situation on the Downs, between Brighton and Lewes, means there are many places to visit.

The facilities are well-maintained. There isn’t anything for kids, if that matters to you.

Every pitch has a fire pit. The communal fridge and freezer are handy.

Road roar from the dual carriageway is noticeable but not enough to spoil anything.

Date of Visit: May 2019

Unit: Tent

Nights stayed: 1

Travelling as: Solo traveller

Reviewer: Alanbradshaw8

1 review from this member

Location sees the South Downs Way pass next to the campsite. Site has a small shop, showers and wash room. Sockets for charging phones. B

us to Lewes runs every 15 mins. Bus stop outside campsite. £3. 70 return. I did use this service. Staff very friendly and helpful.

Suggest pre booked as site was full on my day of arrival.

Date of Visit: August 2018

Unit: Tent

Reviewer: Fuffy

21 reviews from this member

Stayed here for one night with hubby and backpacking tent as we hiked along the south downs way. Lovely tidy and clean site and well placed for the SDW. However, there were very few level pitches as the farm is on a hill which is a challenge in a tent.

Also, I would like the site to have differential pricing for backpackers as charging £24 for 2 people in a tiny tent with no car to stay for 14 hours seems very steep. As others have said there is some road noise but I found this to be a constant hum and could zone it out.

Date of Visit: May 2017

Unit: Campervan

Reviewer: Living-the-dream

2 reviews from this member

Chose this site for the location really. Lots of good walks within easy reach. Bus stop by the site entrance with regular bus's running till 'very' late.

24hr garage and a restaurant pub 10 minute walk away.

The site itself is a good size with clean decent facilities. There's even a little kettle in the washing up area.

Slight slope on both flanks of a central track but no problem getting level and there's quite a few fire pits at hand. I didn't use the shop but the owners were helpful with local info.

Date of Visit: September 2015

Unit: Campervan

Reviewer: Cliveandfrances

1 review from this member

Really nice, tidy site. Not big, but spacious pitches. Shop a little limited (but its not a big site and shops aren't far away), but otherwise, facilities were very good and spotless.

Some posts mention the A27, but have to say we hardly noticed it at all at night.

Really handy for stopping off on the South Downs Way as well as being handy for Lewes, Brighton and further afield. Great walks straight from the farm.

Owners were really friendly and helpful. Its a lovely site, but it is still a working farm, so go and enjoy it, but also please respect its peace and location.

Sneaked a look at the shepherd's hut - a stay in it would make a great present!

Date of Visit: June 2015

Unit: Tent

Reviewer: Vadengoadl

2 reviews from this member

We were hiking the South Downs Way, and had wanted to camp along the way as often as possible. Housedean Farm was among the places we camped with our tent. Our backpacks had been transported for us to the Farm's office (having a staffed office is a significant factor in having one's belongings transported. Something that made our hike much more like the vacation it was supposed to be!), and they were there waiting for us when we arrived.

I had made this reservation online while still in the states, and paid in full prior to the trip. We arrived early after hiking all day in the rain (the only day it rained during our whole trip!). Finding Housedean Farm was easy as we walked down from the South Downs Way. It was literally along the Way.

After checking in, we talked for a few minutes with the bright gentleman who owned/ran the farm. We also met his teenage children who gave us advice about where we might have lunch in the nearby town of Lewes. They told us how to take the bus (we only needed to walk a few blocks to pick up the bus). We decided to wait until the rain stopped to pitch our tent, so off we went to Lewes.

Lewes is a beautiful town with lots to see and do. We had a lovely and brief busride into town, a delicious lunch in a modern and busy restaurant full of happy families, couples, and people who worked in town.

After lunch, we walked around town and found a bakery that would make a lunch for us to carry the next day on our hike. (The campsite had refrigerators and freezers for us to use at the campsite. ) Housedean Farm is a working farm, and the beautiful stone farmhouse had been built in the 1800s.

It had been farmed ever sense that time. For our campsite, we chose a nice, level site for our tent that would catch the maximum sunlight (it needed to dry before nightfall, if possible). The facilities were beautiful! Very clean and new showers, toilets (all well-stocked with their own sinks, paper, soap, hand dryers).

There also were nice kitchen areas with large refrigerators, freezers, large kitchen sinks, hot and cold water, electricity, and ample countertops. The camping area was beautifully maintained -- both the area for the tents and the other facilities. It was much like a hotel except we camped!

All was very quiet in the evening. We rose early, packed our now-dry belongings, left our packs with the owner, and made our way back to the trail, which was easy, given that the campsite was ON the trail! This particular stop for us was memorable in so many ways.

It was a great fit with the reason we had wanted to camp along the way where we could -- we had wanted to experience nature for an extended period of time for the restfulness it brings. Housedean Farm certainly fit our wishes and expectations.

We would stay there again without question.

Date of Visit: June 2015

Unit: Tent

Reviewer: Gekko

5 reviews from this member

Just back from a lovely weekend camping at Housedean. It was our first camping trip in 14 years - the last being with just a backpack to the south of France. This time we had a car full of equipment - however did we cope all those years ago with just a tiny tent and sleeping bag??

We were greeted by the very friendly owner, who told us we could choose any pitch in the lower field. The top field had been allocated to a group (who were not at all noisy I should add). We chose a pitch in the far bottom of the field (20) underneath a couple of trees.

The toilet and shower facilities were superb. The 5 toilets were continually stocked with toilet roll, handwash and paper towels and were kept spotless. There were 4 showers in wooden huts, one of which was open at the top. The showers had hooks for clothes and toiletries as well as a rack for shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. Most importantly, the showers were lovely and hot.

There was a covered dishwashing area with 3 sinks, 2 fridges and a freezer. We didn't use the fridge and freezer as our coolbox will go a few days without needing new blocks. However, there was tons of space. There were also a few charging points for phones etc. , all of which is free. I think it's a bargain, given that the cost for 2 adults for the weekend was £40 all in.

One of the key advantages of this campsite is it's location right on the South Downs Way and it's proximity to Brighton and Lewes. On the Saturday, we did a great 10 mile hike over the SDW and into Lewes, where we stopped for lunch before returning via the hills on the other side of the bypass. You can find the walk in the Pathfinder guide for Surrey & Sussex. It actually starts in Lewes but passes right by Housedean, so you are able to pick up the trail there.

For other things to do, Lewes is great (as is Brighton but we didn't visit as we go quite regularly). We went to the Half Moon at Plumpton for Sunday lunch. It's relaxed with a great beer garden. We booked but you could have pitched up on the fly and got a table. The fare was the usual roasts plus fish and chips and pork burgers. You could also try The Bull at Ditchling (we stopped briefly to watch the cyclists in the London to Brighton ride) but I expect you'd need to book and it's a tad more expensive.

I only have 2 negatives about the campsite, but one is quite fundamental. The elephant in the room here is the noise. Maybe it's better if you are in the top field, but we didn't have that option and the A27 is a very busy dual carriageway. The sound from the traffic is pretty loud and it doesn't ease up through the night. Even at 4am in the morning, there's a constant hum. As there are reviews here that don't mention the noise, I expect that this isn't a problem for everyone. However, we live in London and were going camping to escape the noise we put up with every day. For us, having silence (apart from the sounds of nature) is very important. Even with earplugs, we could still hear the traffic and we had to make a concerted effort to zone it out. Anyway, I'm just putting it out there - it may not bother you, but it's probably the one thing that would stop us returning.

The second issue is the slope of the pitches. To be honest, this is something you can live with, but it's worth noting as you need to consider how you pitch your tent and where you set up cooking equipment. We have a camp bed and slept with feet downhill. We did find we were slipping down quite a bit. We don't have a SIM yet though and maybe this would have kept us in one place. Setting up the camp stove was interesting as our table doesn't have adjustable legs so I had to be careful to pick a spot where the pans didn't slide about. Also, the slope meant that I couldn't pitch with my windguard to the wind but had to go side on. As a result, the pilot light did go out on occasion.

Back to the plusses, the firepits are a big bonus. Our next site doesn't allow campfires and I think we'll really miss that. The weather wasn't amazing so it was really helpful to be able to get a fire going. They sell logs, kindling etc. At the shop and the logs were well seasoned so it didn't take long to get a good fire going.

In terms of clientele, it was a real mix - young families, solo travellers, couples, friends and groups. Everyone behaved impeccably and the campsite has a strict policy about late night noise. It wasn't a problem anyway as everyone was really quiet and most people were in bed early and up early the next day.

Would I recommend Housedean? If you can deal with the noise or get a pitch in the top field, then definitely. It's a very well run site at a bargain price and superb for walking.

Previous 21 Reviews in total, now showing 1 to 10 Next

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Common Questions

Is Housedean Farm Campsite child friendly?  YES, it accepts children  View all facilities

Where is the nearest shop to Housedean Farm Campsite?  There is a shop within 5 miles  View all facilities

Is Housedean Farm Campsite dog friendly?  YES  View all facilities

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