Glamping in East Sussex
Swallowtail Hill in Sussex is a family run farm with glamping in the Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Our 40 acres of wildflower meadow and woodland are managed purely for conservation and offer the perfect setting for glamping holidays, special celebrations and outdoor learning. Our little corner of East Sussex is picture-postcard-pretty, we’re just five miles north of the historic town of Rye and there is plenty to see and do in the area from Camber Sands, Winchelsea Beach and Hastings old town to Bodiam Castle, Sissinghurst and Great Dixter.
Glamping at Swallowtail Hill is a unique experience, we have two unique cabins and two quirky cottages-on-wheels which are our own rather eccentric designs – you won’t find anything similar around. Like Shepherd’s Huts only far superior – our Meadow Keeper’s Cottage sits by our wildflower meadows and our Woodcutter’s Cottage lives in our wood.
THE CABINS
The two cosy wooden cabins, Wood and Penfold, which sit on wooden decks in the Beckley Bowl, a field so called because it is almost a natural amphitheatre. The field sits in the middle of the farm and backs on to a wood. The cabins have been sited at the bottom of this hillside field next to a pond, which is regularly home to a family of moorhens.
Each cabin sleeps up to four people. Cabins include
- One double bed and up to two single beds (or travel cots) can be added
- Simply furnished but comfortable and in keeping with the surroundings
- The double beds have been hand crafted using all sorts of different pieces of local wood and you’ll find old apple crates as bedside tables, antique trunks for storage and handmade coffee tables
- All bedding and towels are provided, along with hot water bottles for those who are worried about feeling chilly
- A woodburning stove inside to keep you warm at night
- A little kitchen area with a two ring gas hob and grill
- Outside each has its own firepit equipped with BonFire cooking kit
- Shared covered kitchen area and there you will find a gas oven for those who prefer to cook more conventionally.
- Covered dining area – shared by both cabins – and we provide all the necessary camping crockery, cutlery and useful kitchen tools you need along with a cooler box for your food and drink.
- Rechargeable lanterns for your use
ADDITIONAL CABIN FACILITIES
The cabins are far enough apart for you to enjoy your own privacy and there’s space enough to share the facilities without crowding other guests. But for those families wanting to holiday with friends – why not hire both cabins and have the space entirely to yourselves? We’ve found this works perfectly for family get-togethers or friends with children of similar ages.
In an adjacent field approximately 20 metres away from the camp site we have one wood-fired outdoor shower and hand
There is also a purpose compost loo – the operation of which we will explain when you get here!
MEADOW KEEPER’S COTTAGE
AS SEEN ON GEORGE CLARKE’S ….. AMAZING SPACES
The Meadow Keeper’s cottage is a one-off. Hand-built by highly skilled local craftsmen with timber sourced from local woods, it’s a quirky cottage-on-wheels. If you know your fairy stories – think gingerbread cottage and you’ve got the idea. The cottage sits between two wildflower meadows, next to a pond and is invisible from anywhere else on the farm.
Inside it’s a carefully constructed space that can accommodate four people.
- Double bed
- Two singles that double up as benches
- Fold-away dining table between them
- Indoor cooking area with gas hob and sink
- Small wardrobe
- Log burner
- All bedding and towels
- Rechargeable lanterns for your use
- Cooking equipment, crockery and cutlery are provided
- Cooler box for your food and drink
- Open the stable door, and go down the steps to your own fire pit equipped with BonFire cooking kit, and an outdoor dining area
Meadow Keeper’s cottage has its own private pond – often frequented by Heron, and sometimes visited by Kingfishers – it’s the perfect place for bird watching. There’s also a little row boat for those feeling adventurous.
WOODCUTTER’S COTTAGE
Woodcutter’s is straight out of Little Red Riding Hood. A cottage-on-wheels made of wood and surrounded by wood. It’s another one-off, custom made by local carpenters and woodsmen from locally sourced timber. You will find it in a secluded dell at the end of The Dean Wood, an eight acre chestnut and oak coppiced woodland surrounded by hornbeam, holly, hazel, oak and chestnut hedgelines.
Clad in rough cut timber planking, and roofed with chestnut shingles, it has
- Double bed
- Two benches that double up as single bunks at night
- Dining table
- Indoor cooking area with gas hob and sink
- Log burner
- All bedding
- Towels
- Rechargeable lanterns for your use
- Cooking equipment, crockery and cutlery
- Cooler box for your food and drink
- Just outside is your own firepit equipped with BonFire cooking kit, and an outdoor dining area
Woodcutter’s Cottage is perfectly situated for wildlife watching, from birds and squirrels during the day to foxes and badgers at night.
ADDITIONAL COTTAGE FACILITIES
There is an outside tap connected to mains drinking water.
Just to the side of the cottage is your own Heath Robinson looking (but extremely effective) log fired shower which we will teach you how to light once you’re here.
And at a discreet distance is your very own compost loo!
Please note we are totally off-grid – there is no electricity supply
FARM SHOP
Our little Farm Shop is at the top of the hill and is the place to go to for snacks and treats, ice creams and souvenirs! We regularly sell fruit and veg from our own veg garden and of course our wonderful range of preserves are available to buy. There are store cupboard essentials too for any last minute supper ingredients you might have forgotten.
CAMPSITE CATERING
All breaks on the farm are self-catering. We provide you with tea, coffee, sugar, cereal and milk along with kitchen condiments. You can purchase a welcome pack containing apple juice, a loaf of bread, some butter, a packet of biscuits, a tin of beans and farm eggs. Enough to get you started and for your first breakfast.
For those who want to enjoy a bit of campfire cooking we have a range of grocery boxes available for you to purchase to make things easier for you. They include our BBQ box and our Breakfast Box. All food is locally sourced. We’re very keen on supporting our local farmers! And our eggs are fresh from our very own hens. We also work with a fabulous local chef – Chloe – who each week prepares meals that you can pre-order for your day of arrival ready to reheat on your campfire. The menu changes each week – just ask for details. Chloe can also prepare picnics, afternoon teas and special suppers for you – again – please just ask for details.
HILL TOP TENT
The Hill Top Tent is a special little hang-out space that you can hire as an extra treat during your stay on site (May to September only). You might like to spend a few hours there for a picnic lunch or afternoon tea, or visit for sundowner drinks, it’s also a cosy place for a stargazing session, or to play board games and listen to music or simply to enjoy the view. You can also book it for a special supper – Chloe our chef can prepare you a wonderful meal to enjoy sitting out on the deck looking over the meadow.
The Hill Top Tent is hidden away in its own private paddock – accessed only by our tree ‘tunnel’. Once you’re there the views across our farm are stunning and George and Buttons the donkeys graze in the field next door and love to wander over and say hello.
The Hill Top tent has comfortable seating outside, lanterns and a fire saucer for chilly evenings. Inside it has giant bean bags for relaxing in and fairy lights to add to the atmosphere.
If you’re interested in finding out more – just ask for our range of Hill Top Tent packages. Please note the Hill Top Tent is not an accommodation space.
CELEBRATIONS & WEDDINGS
If you’re planning a family get-together, a celebration or a wedding with a difference Swallowtail Hill can provide a beautiful backdrop for your special day, your guests won’t have far to go when the evening ends as they’ll be glamping right here on the farm. From hen weekends through to children’s bushcraft birthday parties – we love to create special occasions here on the farm.
THINGS TO DO LOCALLY
- Local steam railway running trains from the market town of Tenterden to Bodiam Castle
- Take a steam boat ride on the river Rother, or hire a row boat
- Camber Sands – where you’ll find the Kite Surfing Centre
- Rye Nature Reserve
- Rye
- Local Vineyards
- Several local riding stables
- Bodiam Castle is very close by and offers a wonderful range of family activities
- For the more horticulturally inclined Great Dixter is just around the corner
- Hastings old town which you may recognise as the setting for ‘Foyle’s War’?
PRICES
Prices start at £97 per night for the hire of one cabin which sleeps up to four people.
Prices start at £107 per night for the hire of a cottage-on-wheels which sleeps up to four people.
During term time (off-peak) we operate a two night minimum booking policy and during school holidays (peak) we have a three night minimum booking policy.