“Who cares about flushing toilets!” exclaims John on the
Camping Unplugged website. It’s not normally the sort of headline you expect to
attract people in their droves but it is a fairly accurate reflection of the
ethos here at Lordswood. Simplicity is the core criteria for facilities. A
large empty field (albeit a field situated in the stunning Kent Downs AONB) is essentially the only thing to describe about the campsite, with just a few
portable events showers, composting toilets and sacks of dried logs for sale.
Oh, and there’s a sign at the entrance gate too. After all that, what more do
you need?
Surrounded by trees on all sides, and with a large section
of woodland at one end, Lordswood is an ideal site for large family groups.
There are no set pitches and cars are welcome to park wherever, so you simply
drive in, find a flat spot among the gently rolling slopes and then begin
pitching your tents. Campfires are welcome, though it’s strongly encouraged you
try and light them on patches of previous fires, so as not to endlessly scar
the grass. And ball games, frisbee or den building in the woods are all
encouraged too. The long term plan is to begin opening up the woods for further
pitches, so campers can set their tents up in among the trees. For now you’ll
have to make do with all the branches lying around, building your own camp-fort
for the kids to defend.
Forts of a more formidable kind can be found off-site. It
takes just over 10 minutes to drive to magnificent Leeds Castle (no, it’s not
in Leeds), a turreted, picture-perfect castle, islanded in the middle of a
lake. It is, in fact, a wide moat, dug out when the castle was built over 900
years ago. It’s the crowning glory in the park, which extends far beyond the
castle itself to include sign-posted wildlife walks, formal gardens, a maze and a
large playground – castle themed, of course – plus, throughout summer, they run
various activities and regular falconry displays.
The result is attractions and entertainment off-site, within
easy driving distance, but a sense of remote, ‘wild’ camping on the campsite
itself. It’s nothing fancy but it’s spot on for those seeking the authentic,
basic camping of old.
