A family friendly, activity filled woodland and a horsebox with a red leather Chesterfield. Bizarre and brilliant......

Wilderness Woods is a labour of love in the hands of its second generation. The Yarrow family has dedicated themselves to making their 62 acres not only an award winning sustainable slice of the Sussex countryside, but a place of fun, food and learning. Activities range from Junior Ranger programs to relaxed barbecue weekends and even celebrity guest speakers at candlelit outdoor dinners. Find out more here!
The Horsebox adds a truckload of oddness to its corner of the wood. While perfect quiet cannot be guaranteed, the Horsebox is away from all the main trails and the other campers in the woodland with its own private shower (in a spiral-fenced enclosure) and compost loo.
Despite its red leather Chesterfield and reclaimed oak flooring, The Horsebox is for the hardier traveller. All the beds are raised and take some scrambling into and the shower is in a spiral-fenced enclosure of birch branches, with the water heated over the fire. It all adds up to an experience that combines the best of wild woodland fun with a touch of comfort and more than a hint of the unusual.

• Esentials
• Getting there
• Eating & Drinking
• Things to do
• Booking terms
• Meet your hosts

The essentials

The important stuff

• Check in time for The Horsebox is 4-5.30pm, but guests are welcome to arrive at the woodland from 10am. Guests arriving after 5.30pm may need to check themselves in. A map and instructions will be provided.
• Check out time is 12 noon, but you are more than welcome to have lunch in the Barn Café and stay until the wood closes at 5:30pm
• Kids are most welcome
• BED SIZES: The main double is 7ft by 4ft and the two kids beds above the cabin are 4ft by 2ft. ALL BEDS ARE QUITE HIGH, THE HORSE TRUCK IS NOT FOR THE ACROPHOBIC
• Guests will need to pay the Wilderness Wood entrance fee on top of the booking price on arrival. This is a one off payment of £4.40 for adults and £2.95 for kids
• Wilderness Wood is a working woodland, and visitors will be given safety information on arrival. It is open to the general public, and while the Box is in an area of the wood that is off the public trail, we cannot guarantee absolute quiet. The boundary of the wood is just behind the Box. Guests are asked not to cross fence lines and to bear in mind that neighbours (and the wood’s owners!) live relatively close by, so night-time noise should be kept to a minimum.
• Pets are welcome but may not sleep on the beds or go into the cab
• There is a solar panel and 12v phone charging facilities

Sleeping arrangements

1 double, 2 children's beds. PLEASE NOTE: Beds are 4ft and 5ft off the ground respectively and there are NO LADDERS! The children's beds are 4 foot long. Guests will need to pay the Wilderness Wood entrance fee on top of the booking price on arrival. T

Kids & Pets

Chiildren are welcome but the beds are 4ft and 5ft off the ground respectively and there are NO LADDERS! The children's beds are 4 foot long.

Surcharges

Guests will need to pay the Wilderness Wood entrance fee on top of the booking price on arrival. This is a one off payment of £4.40 for adults and £2.95 for kids

Cooking

• Gas oven with hobs (electric ignition is off, but matches are provided)
• Fire pit with cooking grill outside
• All crockery & cutlery
• Utensils, bits & bobs

Washing

• The shower is a manual affair - you heat water on the fire and hook it up in the shower which is in a spiral of wicker near the horsebox.
• There is also a compost toilet by the horsebox and both of these are for the exclusive use of Horsebox guests. There are more conventional, shared toilets, 5 mins away in The Barn.
• The Horsebox has a washing up bowl in the sink, with cold running water only. Hot water needs to be heated in a kettle.

Heating, lighting & bedding

• There is a wood-burner in the main space

Entertainment

• Board games
• Cards
• Books

Getting there

Wilderness Wood, Hadlow Down, East Sussex, TN22 4HJ

(drivers beware SATNAV, see below )

By public transport

Trains from London: 

Trains depart London Bridge hourly for Buxted Train Station, which is on the Uckfield line. Change at East Croydon or Oxted on trains from Victoria. The journey takes around 70 minutes.

The owners can provide a footpath leaflet taking you from the station to Wilderness Wood (about 3 miles). The main road from the station is suitable for cyclists but not pedestrians as there is no pavement and steep banks on both sides of the road...

 ...or you can call TMT taxis on 01825 764646 or R&R Taxis on 01825 765885. Also, the owners can pick you up from the station for £12 and with a minimum of 24 hours notice.

Buses:

The only bus service that stops in Hadlow Down is the 318 and 319 travelling between Uckfield and Heathfield (5 miles east of Hadlow Down) on weekdays only.

Uckfield to Heathfield stops at Hadlow Down at 10:51 and 14:51

Heathfield to Uckfield stops at Hadlow Down at 09:44, 12:09 and 16:29

Bus information (Renown Coaches) 01424 210744 www.renowncoaches.co.uk

By car - BEWARE SATNAV

Wilderness Wood is in Hadlow Down village, East Sussex, on the south side of the main A272 road, 5 miles north-east of Uckfield.

From the east, leave the A267 between Five Ashes and Cross-in-Hand, turning west onto the A272.

From the west, leave the A22 Uckfield bypass at Black Down roundabout and join the A26 north. At the next roundabout (Budletts), carefully follow signs for the A272 / Heathfield.

Your SATNAV may direct you somewhere to the west of our entrance. We are on the south side of the main A272, about 300 yards east of the New Inn, in the direction of Heathfield.

Eating & drinking

At Wilderness Wood

They embrace the slow food philosophy at Wilderness Wood – which means only serving great tasting, healthy, well sourced and, where possible, organic food from a network of local suppliers. Hampers and supplies of all kinds can be arranged with the owners directly.

The Barn Café at Wilderness Wood is open daily from 10am until 4.30pm or 5.30pm during weekends and holidays. It's a traditional timber frame barn overlooked by tall pines and beeches where you can drop in any time for coffees, speciality teas (some of which will be grown in their own permaculture gardens) and juices, and a range of premium vegetarian food such as roasted butternut squash, quiches, salads, soups and cakes. Catch up with a newspaper, or toast your toes by the log stove on chilly days. Sunny days will draw you out into the Garden, just behind the Barn.

Barbecue weekends

Each weekend there is a barbecue with local meats and vegetarian specials on the Saturday and roast lunches – plus a range of delicious salads, local cheeseboards and other treats.

Read more about this food event at Wilderness Wood

On the first Friday of each month Wilderness Woods host a candlelit dinner, with guest speakers who are chosen as the leading and most interesting authorities on subjects from biodiversity to climate change, slow food to electric cars.

Read more about this food event at Wilderness Wood

A little further afield...

For the basics

Your nearest local shop is Buxted stores in Buxted, about 3 miles away and about the same distance in the other direction, in Cross-in-Hand, you'll also find the Albion House Bakery. There are supermarkets in Uckfield about 5 miles away.

Pubs & restaurants

Blackboys Inn, Blackboys, (approx 2 miles) can be walked to along footpaths and quiet roads.

The Star, Old Heathfield (approx 6 miles) - a 14th Century Inn with Inglenook fireplaces, plural!

The Star, Waldron (approx 5 miles) - Listed in the Good Beer Guide, for its selection of real ales

Things to do

Wilderness Wood Events - click here for full info!

There are all sorts of activities going on at Wilderness Woods without even counting the potential for general trail walking and the adventure playground. Here is a small selection..

• Woodkid activities including Woodcook, Wildlife Safari, Gruffalo hunt, Bug Hunt,
• Seasonal specials: Death or Dinner wild mushroom foraging, Easter Egg hunt and Easter children’s activities, Christmas treats workshops,
• Sustainable lifestyle courses, including Green Your Home and Woodsweat

• Junior Rangers Saturday morning children’s club

 For more about the local area...

Hadlow Down village
Local village website with information on local, events, businesses, public transport...

High Weald AONB
Guide to the area with details of producers, events, walks 

Sussex Top Attractions
The top 50 tourist attractions in Sussex from Sussex Tourism 

Ashdown Forest Llama Park - a park full of llamas!

Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum - a curious mix of themes 

High Beeches Gardens - Glorious gardens near Handcross

Bedgebury Pinetum - Forestry Commission's landmark arboretum  

Groombridge Place Gardens and Enchanted Forest - gardens and magical (not literally) woodlands

Heaven Farm - a historic working farm

Middle Farm - A working farm, farm shop and cider centre

Seven Sisters Sheep Centre - Visiting the centre throughout the year

Wakehurst Place - Kew Gardens' Sussex estate and the Millennium Seed Bank

Meet your hosts

Wilderness Wood has been a family run woodland for over 30 years. Last year, sustainability experts Joanna Yarrow and Jonathan Smales took over the award-winning 60-acre sustainably managed woodland from Joanna’s parents, and are buiding on their legacy to create a place that celebrates all things sustainable and slow. A place where individuals, families and groups can get back to nature and experience a different way of living.

We invite you to slow down, leave the speed and cares of everyday life behind, try out a more sustainable way of life and enjoy the best of the Sussex countryside.

Environmental awards

Wilderness Wood was recently awarded first prize in the Royal Forestry Society Excellence in Forestry Awards. The Silviculture Award recognised best practice in forestry and quality timber production. Sustainable living is at the heart of the woodland’s philosophy. They use renewable energy to power the business, including a wood fired heating system and photovoltaic panels.