Sunninglye Farm

Not being someone who particularly likes, tents, camping or generally 'roughing it' in any way at all - i really didn't know what to expect before we turned up, but from the moment that we arrived it was clear that we were going to have a lovely stay. Having been welcomed by Gill in the car park and helped down to our canvas hideaway, we all felt immediately at home and relaxed in the idyllic space.The tent was basic but clean and very well appointed and I can only say that the lack of electricity, oil lamps and candles added significantly to the overall charm of the experience. The adventure began immediately as we set about building our fire for our 'farmers stew'! We invested in a number of the food packs before arriving, which were lovingly customised for us as we are all vegetarians - I can't recommend this enough. Quality and quantity of all were great and added to the fun of the stay. We ate our dinner on the first night as the sun was setting, surrounded by the blissful tranquillity that the farm offers.On the second day our tasty breakfast pack arrived, allowing us to enjoy a veggie full-English before embarking to feed the animals. We were collected at around 10, and invited to meet Cyril and Margot (a pair of delightfully ugly, but charming pigs), Norman the donkey, a beautiful horse, some goats, several very happy ex-battery hens and some bottle fed lambs. For my 4-year-old son - bottle feeding a lamb was an immense highlight. This was followed by a trip to the pond where we did some fishing and went out on the water in a rowboat. The afternoon was filled with other adventures like races through the field, playing in the park and generally climbing on things and collecting all kinds of woodland paraphernalia!Saturday night the pizza oven was lit, and we prepared our pizza for tea using the carefully selected items available in the honesty shop. This was enjoyed with some delicious local ice-cream!Board games by oil lamps and red wine by the fire characterised the evening, which was as relaxed and as cosy as could be in our beautiful tent. We left feeling totally refreshed, and my son felt very sad to be leaving without saying good bye to Frank the resident sheepdog - with whom he made fast friends.I could go on about all the other stuff we did in our two short days - but suffice to say it was lovely, exceeded expectations and I’m sure we'll be back.

Our family, 2 adults and 2 boys (7 and 5) glamped on Sunningle Farm, the farm is a working farm so lots of animals which we loved and the boys who especially liked to feed them. Despite it being a working farm, it was very tranquil with spectacular views.Our tent was large with cosy beds for all and a flushing toilet, we opted for a shower block nearby which always had hot water.We didn’t have any electricity so lighting in the evening was candles or paraffin lamps which we liked, plus cooking on the stove, which was also very good at keeping the tent warm.Lovely walks are available through the farm and we were hosted by Gill who was awesome at showing us what’s what and making sure we had everything we needed. She introduced us to the animals and allowed our boys to feed them. She made a big fuss of our boys and even made a bow for one of them as a present! Gill was a star.There was an honestly shop on site which stocked basics and ability to charge devices if needed. There is also a BBQ kit which is worth renting and Gill runs a pizza oven night on a Wednesday which was great fun.The farm is well located for days out to the surrounding area.

We went to Sunninglyle for my mum's 60th and it was fantastic. The farm is idyllic, with lots of very friendly animals to meet, and the accommodation was very comfortable and cosy. We had an amazing time raft building on the pond and brunch in wooded area. All of the food was delicious, the host was very attentive and made sure we had everything we needed, she even let us bottle feed the lambs! We had a really fabulous weekend

Amazing hosts, so friendly and helpful. Waking up to the stunning views each morning was absolutely magical. The children loved the lamb feeding, meeting the horses, pigs, chickens and the donkey. The boating pond and brunch is such a wonderful experience. Back to nature holidays are the way forward, we will be back next year!

We hebben enorm genoten! De tent was compleet , een fijne douche in een apart gebouwtje verderop, de rondlopende kippen bij de tent, lammetjes de fles mogen geven en zelfs even de kids (2,5 en 4 jaar) op de tractor mogen zitten van boerin Gill:-). Ze vonden het geweldig, het weer werkte gelukkig ook goed mee. Vermoedelijk gaan we nog wel een keer een boerenbed boeken!

From start, to finish, it was the perfect relaxing holiday that we had hoped for; Gillian and Jo could not have done more to ensure a fun, comfortable, relaxing stay at Sunninglye Farm. We had great fun gathering wood for the camp fire and the pizza oven and enjoyed the experience of cooking on these, as well as the wood burning stove in the tent, the latter was greatly assisted by the provision of wonderful dry wood to burn so it was never any bother to get the fire going and up to cooking temperature in a short space of time. And, on the days it was wet and windy, the fire kept us warm and cosy for a 'snuggle-in' reading day. We greatly enjoyed exploring the fields, woods and pond - the fish were so intriguing to watch! we took a boat out on the pond which was enormous fun; we collected our eggs for breakfast - delicious! had chats with Denise, Margo and Cyril (pigs) and the donkey and pony too. There was so much to keep us entertained and relaxing at Sunninglye, we didn't leave the farm once we'd arrived, taking full advantage of their fresh bread deliveries (utterly scrumptious!) and the delicious meat from a local butcher, also delivered to us. The 'honesty shop' took me back to being a child, literally like a child in a sweet shop - it has sooooo many treats and goodies and thoughtful items to enable you to cook a complete meal if needed i.e. pizza bases, pesto, ice cream - even boxes of matches. This holiday was to celebrate a 70th birthday and a retirement (so we're no 'spring chickens' )and it was absolutely wonderful and I would wholeheartedly recommend it, if you're looking for a complete break and a 'step off the treadmill'! Thank you Gillian and Jo for all your hard work, that you make look so easy, in providing a really memorable holiday.........we shall definitely be back!!!

Geweldige week gehad op Sunninglye Farm. Gill is erg vriendelijk en zorgzaam, er was veel te doen voor de kinderen, en de tent ligt heel vrij met een prachtig uitzicht over de heuvels. De "farmhouse" douches bevielen prima.

We're a family of 4 with a mad cocker spaniel. The whole experience was fab and we were hosted brilliantly. Jill rang prior to our stay and made helpful suggestions with our itinerary and gave us tips on what to pack. The kids had a brilliant time, bottle-feeding the baby lambs and meeting the other animals. Jill also took our vehicle-mad 4-year-old on the tractor when we weren't able to get to Diggerland. She showed us where we could let our dog off the lead and explore away from the vulnerable ewes and lambs, and also kept a fenced-off field available for us to exercise him near the tent. We had a day out at Camber Sands and also went to Bedgebury Pinetum, which although expensive to park (£14 for a car!) was a fab day out with loads of activities for the kids. The tent itself was well equipped and comfy, we needed hot water bottles at night and learned to light the fire early on to stay cosy in the evening, but we had a great time. We definitely needed our camping stove, and we made good use of the pizza oven one night which the kids really enjoyed. Overall a really great stay in a beautiful part of the UK.

We had a wonderful weekend at the farm so much so that we and our 2 young daughters didn’t want to leave. Gill and Jo were incredibly kind and thoughtful hosts especially when it comes to little ones and what they might like to see and do. We can’t wait to visit again.

Sunninglye farm was an idyllic getaway wonderfully which caters really well for families. Our children loved the animals and beautiful surroundings which gave them freedom to explore whilst always in our eye sight. We didn’t need to leave the site at all. Gill was a fantastic host and very patient with our children's questions and excitement. The farm tour was perfect and we all learnt something! We spent a lot of time on the boats and catching crayfish which was a first :) The Pizza oven on the Saturday night worked brilliantly too. We had a really great weekend spending time with family and making memories, we can’t wait to return.

We had a wonderful stay at Sunninglye farm. The setting was beautiful and we loved waking up each morning to a view of rolling hills, sheep and deer from our veranda. My 3 year old, 5 year old and 8 year old loved collecting chicken eggs, feeding the horse and donkey and meeting the pigs and chickens as they pecked and snuffled around our tent. The little play area kept the little ones happy and my oldest loved trying out all of the boats on the pond each day, so everyone was entertained without having to leave the farm and spend extra money. Our dog enjoyed being allowed to come with us everywhere on the farm, swimming in the pond and her off lead walks beyond the campsite, just a short walk away. We loved our tent, it had everything we needed and was very comfortable and private from the other campers. Our host, Gill, was great, she was available and responsive to our needs, and we felt welcomed and looked after. A true escape and break from our normal city life. We all loved it.