Bodiam Castle, East Sussex, Our Maiden Voyage

[millerj1974]

We are taking the Bongo to Park Farm camp site tonight for her maiden voyage with us.

http://www.parkfarmcamping.co.uk/

Park farm is a great site near Bodium Castle and on the river Rother and the main advantage is that you can have open fires on the site so you get that real outdoor feel.

I'm a little unsure about the weather as the forecast doesn't seem that good but the kids are really excited and we are going with other friends and their kids so it should be a good time all around, I'll let you know Monday.

[Evil Edna]

I'd be very interested in feedback - good luck on your maiden voyage!

[Muzorewa]

I like it, that's my kind of Bongo Trip

If I were going to Bodiam castle I would also try to get to Leeds, Hever, Scotney and Herstmonceux castles while I was in the area - Cue Team Muz southern castles tour 2011

Make sure you take plenty of pics

[crazy uncle gray g]

I like it, that's my kind of Bongo Trip

If I were going to Bodiam castle I would also try to get to Leeds, Hever, Scotney and Herstmonceux castles while I was in the area - Cue Team Muz southern castles tour 2011

Make sure you take plenty of pics

You forgot Roy

[millerj1974]

I like it, that's my kind of Bongo Trip

If I were going to Bodiam castle I would also try to get to Leeds, Hever, Scotney and Herstmonceux castles while I was in the area - Cue Team Muz southern castles tour 2011

Make sure you take plenty of pics

You forgot Roy

Why where is he buried????????????

[Muzorewa]

I like it, that's my kind of Bongo Trip

If I were going to Bodiam castle I would also try to get to Leeds, Hever, Scotney and Herstmonceux castles while I was in the area - Cue Team Muz southern castles tour 2011

Make sure you take plenty of pics

You forgot Roy

Nearest I can do, I'm afraid, is the 13th century Castle Roy at Nethybridge, Inverness-Shire from last year's Highlands & Islands tour....

[dobby]

We are taking the Bongo to Park Farm camp site tonight for her maiden voyage with us.

http://www.parkfarmcamping.co.uk/

Park farm is a great site near Bodium Castle and on the river Rother and the main advantage is that you can have open fires on the site so you get that real outdoor feel.

I'm a little unsure about the weather as the forecast doesn't seem that good but the kids are really excited and we are going with other friends and their kids so it should be a good time all around, I'll let you know Monday.

I hope I'm wrong but I think this site can get a bit 'lively' see http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/revie ... revid=1533

[pamannec]

Only about 5 miles from me, have a great time and hope the weather is kind, forecast isn't too bad.

[mikexgough]

I like it, that's my kind of Bongo Trip

If I were going to Bodiam castle I would also try to get to Leeds, Hever, Scotney and Herstmonceux castles while I was in the area - Cue Team Muz southern castles tour 2011

Make sure you take plenty of pics

Good choice of castles there......worth doing Battle too...

[Alison01326]

Park Farm sounds like my kind of campsite. Hope you all have a great time millerj! Hope it's not as windy over there as it is down here.

Muz - when are you going to do the castles of the South West, then? I can see one from my window and if I stood on my roof I could probably see it's little brother Then, amongst others there's Tintagel, St Michael's Mount (not a castle, but what the heck!?) some Iron Age Hill Forts such as Castle an Dinas and Castle Dore. Further afield, in Devon, is the last castle to be built in Britain ..... go on, Team Muz Castles of the South and South West Tour 2011

[Muzorewa]

Muz - when are you going to do the castles of the South West, then? I can see one from my window and if I stood on my roof I could probably see it's little brother Then, amongst others there's Tintagel, St Michael's Mount (not a castle, but what the heck!?) some Iron Age Hill Forts such as Castle an Dinas and Castle Dore. Further afield, in Devon, is the last castle to be built in Britain ..... go on, Team Muz Castles of the South and South West Tour 2011

Spookily enough I have a cunning plan which has been on the back-burner for some time, quite a few in the Kent/Sussex area but St. Michael's Mount is definitely on the list, as is another one which escapes me for the minute but it's in the north Devon / south Somerset area. I'll have a look when I get home.

Some of these places are expensive to get in though, Warwick castle last weekend was £80.00 for a family

[Alison01326]

Some of these places are expensive to get in though, Warwick castle last weekend was £80.00 for a family

indeed. That's extortion on a grand scale.

Most of the Cornish ones are English Heritage, but St Michael's Mount is National Trust. I'm a member of the latter as they own an awful lot of coastal car parks so I get my membership money back that way. I only visit the English Heritage ones when I'm working, then I don't have to pay

[dobby]

Worth £80 just to watch the falconry display. Did you do a tour of the dirty weekend exhibit - very funny

Alison

St Michaels Mount - fond memories, do they still get kids to put their foot on the heart stone?

[millerj1974]

We arrived at about 6.00p.m on Friday just as the weather was clearing and pitched up with the awning in the middle of a fairly empty field and got a nice fire going in the old washing machine drum we had taken with us. The kids then all made a run for it exploring the site and playing on the rope swings while we sat around the camp fire under a full moon chatting and drinking red wine.

On Saturday everybody was up early and after breakfast we went for a long walk to Salehurst across some lovely countryside and through a great orchard where we snuffled a few cheeky freebies then ended up in the Salehurst Halt for lunch http://www.salehursthalt.co.uk/. We had great weather all day long and the kids were shattered by the time we got back to the Bongo.

This morning was another early one and after breakfast we all walked to Bodium were we left the women and kids and walked back to get the camping stuff and leave the site before 12.00 and back to Bodium to meet the others for another pub lunch at the Castle Inn http://thecastleinnbodiam.com/.

This is the second time we have stayed at Park Farm and both experiences were pretty similar with the first being a little busier than the second but on the whole we enjoyed both. The site can get busy in the summer and although the toilets and showers are clean and tidy there could be more of them and evenings can be a bit noisy but that all finishes at 11.00p.m as that’s one of the site rules.

I found sleeping in the Bongo fine but my missus said she felt a bit uncomfortable and cold but that’s probably due to the fact my 5 year old daughter didn’t want to sleep in the roof so there was three of us and a dog down below.

[Muzorewa]