Fox Wood Campsite. Fabulous camping Sussex. Enjoy South Downs camping and glamping at beautiful woodland campsite. Explore forest trails right from relaxing Sussex campsite.

Fox Wood Camping

Camping hacks & essential information

Be happy for this moment.

This moment is your life.

– Omar Khayyam

Don’t bark up the wrong tree – Preparation is key when camping with the Pooch. Don’t leave your dog out when you all head off camping! With the right preparation and packing, your pup can have an incredible time camping. After all, there’s nothing dogs love more than exploring the countryside or coast, getting in nice long walks, and then snuggling up in your camping chair around a campfire in the evening! Does the campsite take dogs? First things first: check your campsite allows dogs. Some campsites don’t, and you definitely don’t want to get caught out when you arrive. Also it’s worth checking if surrounding beaches allow dogs so that you can enjoy stress-free days out. Pack a sturdy lead (or even a spare one if you want to be extra careful) for areas of the countryside that require dogs to be kept on leads- fields with livestock or areas of special scientific interest will often do so. Equipment essentials for your dog Camping with dogs doesn’t necessarily have to involve buying lots of kit. That being said, a spiral dog leash anchor is fairly indispensable. These can be twisted into the ground with a rope or leash tied to it so that your dog is held secure whilst you cook or are distracted. Most campsites will request dogs to be kept on leads while you’re in the actual camping area. If you have a long leash then the dog can still roam about a bit, but it prevents them from running away or getting under everybody’s feet! Not too long though – I remember our dog as a puppy felling tables and chairs as he span around the pitch! For a puppy that hasn’t yet been vaccinated or any small dog, there is always a foldable pen. This allows your dog to roam about but not escape. It is also the easiest way to prevent your dog from meeting other animals, and a surprisingly simple way to stop them from wandering off! The good stuff All the extra walks you get to go on is just one of the advantages of camping with your dog! I always find that you get to know the surrounding area much better when camping with a dog. Instead of trudging to the local park to walk them, you can explore the stunning countryside (why not check out Forest trails and Woodland Walks TTD) or, if you are close to the sea, the awe-inspiring coastal path. Or you could let your walk guide you to a dog friendly pub and have a drink in the beer garden. Try not to let your dog do his ‘doings’ in the campsite though (but if you do make sure to pick it up straight away). Instead, take him for walks in the morning and whenever you think he needs to go. Don’t forget the basics- water and food Dogs need water in reach at all times. For walks and beach trips you can buy a portable doggy water-bottle that has a bowl dispenser for your dog to drink from. They also obviously need food so bring a big bag of their favourite dog food. Just be sure to keep it out of reach for the dog (that goes for all food – human and canine) otherwise they’ll get the meal of a lifetime! If you love to pamper your dog (as let’s face it, most dog owners do!) bring some of their favourite treats and toys, to help your dog adjust to their new environment. Your four legged best friend needs blankets and towels too You can bring the dog bed from home or, if your dog is like mine and ignores the bed, preferring to sleep on a pillow, sleeping bag or even a pile of clothes, don’t bother! A scrap of blanket also means that your dog can have a spot to lie down outside so they don’t get too damp and dusty on the spiral leash. If your dog gets territorial or nervous when camping it could be because of the change of environment, especially if there are a few other dogs in your camping group. A blanket with the smells from home can also help to reassure them. If you are camping in rainy or damp weather, bring lots of extra towels. You don’t want a muddy or wet pooch making a mess of your tent! If you plan on taking trips to the sea, it is also a great idea to have a designated dog-towel. For thinner tents, I would recommend putting blankets down on the tent floor. These prevent your dog scratching holes in the tent and also make clean-up a lot easier! Better safe than sorry… An ID tag for your dog is especially important when you go camping. Plus its a legal requirement to have identity on a pet when out in the world. Put your name and phone number on it so that anyone who finds your dog can get in contact. You can buy especially engraved ones or get tags that you write on in sharpie- both work just as well! If your dog runs away often, you could always bring some walkie talkies to make it easier to try and find them. It would have saved me the stress of thinking I’d lost our dog when he’d actually ran back to our camp! Why not check out help on walkie talkies, which has loads of other uses for walkie talkies on your trip. When camping in the countryside, especially an area that livestock graze on, bring flea and tick preventative to save your dog a lot of potential discomfort! It is also worth buying or making a doggy first aid kit. Put in a vet’s phone number and your dog’s vaccination records, as well as: tweezers, bandages, blunt-ended scissors, wound wash and dressing, cotton wool, antiseptic wipes, self-adhesive tape and any medicines that your dog needs. Go for it!! Trust me: camping with your dog is a world of fun! Once they’ve adjusted to camping life, your furry friend will become as adept at camping as you. They adore being outdoors and being taken on holiday with you makes them truly feel like part of the family. If you are interested in taking your dog camping, why not book at a dog-friendly campsites for your next camping break. If you prepare right, camping with your dog will be just paw-fect!

Camping with the pooch

Don’t bark up the wrong tree – Preparation is key when camping with the Pooch. Don’t leave your dog out when you all head off camping! With the right preparation
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How to light a campfire. Wanting tips on how to light a campfire. There is nothing better than a fire, and I would go as far as to say that a campfire is a necessity on a camping trip. Indispensable for warming toes, toasting marshmallows, telling stories, cooking food and practicing survival skills. Campfires are also a great way to bring people together. Just remember to check that your campsite allows fires, as many don’t. Even if you’re a camping newbie, campfires are not as difficult to make as most people think. Fires need three things: fuel, oxygen and heat. Follow the steps below and you’ll have a toasty fire roaring in no time! How to light a campfire - Friends around a campfire The boring bit- fire safety Remember to keep a bucket of water near in case you need to put out the fire quickly. Be especially careful on windy days as sparks can make the fire spread. Make sure your fire is contained. The best way to do this is by using a fire pit if your campsite offers one, but if not, make your own. Set up the fire on bare earth, at least 4 meters from any tents or bushes, within a circle of large stones. If there are no stones available then use big pieces of greenwood, which you wet down regularly, to contain your fire. Collecting your firewood The first, and most important part of firemaking is finding the wood and tinder. If you already know about tinder and kindling then just skip to the next section for a step-by-step on how to light a campfire. Tinder Tinder is what you will use to start the fire, easily combustible and no bigger than a matchstick. Tinder can be easily found in nature, you are looking for dry grass, shaved bark, dry leaves or pine needles. Collect about a handful or two, as you only need enough to get the fire started. If there’s rainy weather forecast, or you just want to bring some good tinder with you, then cotton balls work very well as they burst into flames quickly. How to light a campfire - Dried grass tinder Kindling and fuel The next type of wood you need is kindling. Kindling should be no bigger than your thumb (although the kindling you can buy from a campsite or garage often is a bit bigger than this). Cedar bark or small twigs work well and you want to collect a good supply (a few armfuls) of kindling.  The last type of wood you need is the ‘fuel’- the larger pieces of wood. Fuel should at minimum be as thick as your wrist. For both kindling and fuel you also don’t want to use greenwood that has just been cut as this doesn’t burn very well, and produces a lot of smoke. Instead, look for wood that has been dried out, for example from dead trees or fallen twigs and sticks. Most campsites prohibit picking up of forest wood for environmental reasons, but you can buy bags of wood that contain kindling and fuel, which is often the easiest way to get the right kind of wood that burns well. If your campsite doesn’t sell wood, you can usually find bags of kiln-dried wood at local garages. Making the fire Start by piling a handful of your kindling in the centre of the fire pit. If you’re feeling less confident in your fire-starting abilities or if it’s raining then you could always buy firelighters to give yourself a leg-up! Next place kindling over the tinder/firelighters. There are a few ways to do this. The easiest options are to make a cross shape by criss-crossing the kindling over tinder, or to balance pieces of kindling against each other- making a tipi shape. You can also drive two sturdy long pieces of kindling into the ground and lean pieces of kindling against one of the sticks, creating a ‘lean-to’. Or create a square shape by stacking pieces of kindling at right angles and then placing smaller bits of kindling over the tinder in the centre. This is called the ‘log-cabin’ method and is shown in the picture below. How to light a campfire - log cabin kindling Once you have set up your wood just light the tinder using matches or a lighter, this should make the kindling also catch light. Or, you could practice your survival skills by using a flint and steel- trying to light the tinder by making sparks. If you’re struggling to light the tinder, blow on the small flames gently, and cup them with your hands to protect from the wind. The secret to long-lasting fires Once the kindling has set alight, start to add your fuel - larger pieces of wood. Continue to add logs until your fire is the size you want. Make sure to keep a supply of kindling going so that if the fire starts to wane you can add some smaller pieces of wood to get it started again. You can also re-light the fire by blowing on the embers to ignite them. Cooking campfires Once you have mastered making your campfire, cooking on it is the next step. There is a whole section of reading for Campfire Cooking ideas and inspiration. Food tastes so much richer and more flavoursome when it has been cooked over a campfire, and it is extremely satisfying to make a fire and cook on it yourself. In order to make a fire suitable for cooking on, you need embers. You also want to make sure you use hardwood, which burns more slowly, so that you can get red-hot coals for cooking on rather than big flames. If you want to learn more about how to set up a cooking campfire, have a read of simple pleasures – back to basics camping in which I go into much more detail on campfire cooking. Or some tasty vegan recipes check out Vegan campfire cooking ideas. How to light a campfire - Campfire BBQ cooking Adverse weather- don’t fear! Although it takes a little more effort to set up, you can still enjoy a campfire in rainy or windy weather. To set up a campfire on damp ground, make your own fire pit by setting the fire on a circle of stones (rather than in the middle of a donut shape). You can also collect dry wood to burn from underneath trees if you're wild camping. Or even better, purchase dry wood from your campsite shop if you're camping at a campground. If you want more details on setting fires in the rain why not check out How to keep dry when camping. To set up a fire in the wind, location is key. Try to set up your fire downwind from a large rock, but if there aren’t any near your campsite, then create your own sheltered spot. You can string up a large tarpaulin at a safe distance from your fire to act as a windbreak, or dig a hole about a foot deep to protect your fire from the wind. Another option is to set up your fire by placing a large log downwind.

How to light a campfire

Wanting tips on how to light a campfire. There is nothing better than a fire, and I would go as far as to say that a campfire is a necessity
Read More
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Fox Wood Campsite,
Selden lane, Patching
BN13 3UL

Phone: 07983 151 780

FoxWoodCamping@gmail.com

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