Fancy a bit of wild-style camping but without a wild and complicated journey to get there? Make for Martha's Down, in a cracking Wiltshire countryside spot a couple of minutes’ drive from the A303, just south of Chicklade.
Such a handy location makes this a top spot for cross-country stopovers, but those that choose to stick around for a little longer should be richly rewarded with fine views (as it’s in the Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and places to go for day trips (what with Salisbury, Shaftesbury, Stonehenge, Stourhead and Longleat all being within a half-hour drive…)
The vibe here at Martha’s Down is ‘wild-style’ rather than completely wild camping – that means all the relaxed atmosphere and peace of a rural site but with the added comfort of hot showers and ample toilets (there’s also a chemical waste disposal point if you’re in possession of your own toilet facilities).
This is a place that’s keenly family-friendly, so it allows well-behaved dogs and has a strict quiet time from 10pm to 8am that all guests are asked to keep to. Family gatherings round a barbecue are most welcome too: there’s a village shop 15 minutes’ walk away for picking up the bits, although you may just choose to stick around in the village to eat at one of the two pubs instead.
Martha is our favourite Suffolk x mule ewe. She was one of our orphan lambs from a few years ago who we bottle fed and so became very tame. When she grew up she joined our small flock of 22 ewes.