What do kids love? Camping and ice cream. Well, our kids do anyway. So nothing will generate as much excitement as a stay at Latchetts Farm, which basically offers the up-market, parent-friendly version of both things: Think fully furnished bell tents with proper beds and, not just ice cream, but award-winning homemade gelato made fresh on the farm each day.
Opened in 2020 by the team at Bumble Bell Tents, who usually provide fancy accommodation at music festivals, this 30-tent hideaway in Sussex’s High Weald is ideal for long weekends away. It’s a half-hour drive from the coast, 20-minute drive from Lewes and has four National Trust properties within a 15-minute drive (as well as a steam railway less than two miles down the road). The glamping site itself, meanwhile, is spacious and green, with well-furnished cotton bell tents that feature designer matting, fairy lights, cushions, blankets and throws.
Though the meadow is quiet and secluded, in some ways it still has that almost-festival feel and you can tell the organisers are from a festival background. Festoon lighting illuminates the walkway between the tents, for example, and there’s an on-site pop-up 'pub', The Dog and Duck, that serves continental breakfasts and hot drinks in the morning and beers and wine at night.
The glamping site is, of course, a temporary affair that's come about as a result of music festival cancellations. But it has popped up on the far more permanent pastures of Latchetts Farm, which boats attractions that include a decent outdoor playground and farm-themed 'adventure golf'. You can walk from the campsite along farm footpaths, taking in the magnificent herd of friesians that produce the milk for Latchetts' gelato. The ice cream parlour is only a few yards from the glamping meadow and you can pop in to try a new flavour each day (they create hundreds and there are always at least 18 in the parlour at any one time).
It’s a mile and a half to the Capability Brown designed Sheffield Park and Garden (01825 790231), now cared for by the National Trust. Kids can run about, feed the swans and ducks by the lake and enjoy the children’s trail. Just beyond (around two miles from the campsite) the Bluebell Railway (01825 720800) has a fantastic collection of steam locomotives, it’s perfect for a Thomas the Tank Engine-inspired day out. In the opposite direction, it’s five miles to Winnie the Pooh’s Ashdown Forest, with an array of nature trails and cycleways. You could also try walking some of the picturesque 42-mile Ouse Valley Way. If it’s sunny, nip down to Brighton for a day of good ol’-fashioned seaside frolicking.
There's a pop-up pub/café on the campsite, serving breakfast and snacks and drinks in the evenings (and you can also buy marshmallows for your campfire). Latchetts Farm is also very well known locally for its award-winning Ice Cream Parlour (their particularly renowned for their gourmet gelato with at least 18 flavours at any one time). Elsewhere, try The Coach & Horses (01825 740369; two miles and a relatively scenic 40-minute walk) in Dane Hill, The Griffin (01825 722890; three miles) in Fletchling and The Bull (01825 722743; four miles) in Newick. We recommend booking tables in advance if you plan to eat at any of these in summer.