Axe and Paddle Bushcraft courses

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Enjoy one-to-one or group Axe and Paddle Bushcraft courses and workshops available for one day or the whole weekend at Pop-Up by the River campsite in Steyning.

Axe and Paddle Bushcraft have now started Kid’s Bushcraft Hazel Bow and Arrow making courses on the river campsite for the affordable cost of £10.00 per child.

Generally, there are Bushcraft courses that will suit everybody’s ability and teacher Steve is avid about wilderness Bushcraft and is experienced at teaching people from the age of five years old upwards having taught many festival goers and individuals on various campsites throughout Sussex.

Axe and Paddle Bushcraft provide family entertainment with educational and fun opportunities to take away new skills from your stay at Pop-Up by the River campsite at New Wharf Farm, Horsebridge Common. Experienced and friendly teacher Steve is happy to run an Axe and Paddle Bushcraft course or workshop from your campsite including axe throwing contest (16+), bow and arrow making, spoon carving and flint or friction fire lighting, hunting, rabbit skinning and cooking over your fire pit.

The traditional bush craft adventurous experience of canoeing on the River Adur will give each and every one of you a new outlook and will be reminiscent of artist, author, conservationist, film maker and naturalist William Clifford Mason (Bill Mason) who received a Best Specialised Film BAFTA award for the short film with humorous geographical insights ‘The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes’ (1970) with music by Robert Fleming and Bruce Mackay.

Please support our Axe and Paddle Bushcraft Crowdfunder Project to run workshops with schools and youth groups http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/yes-please-to-dirty-knees/

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Teepee goes up on pop-up by the River campsite

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Our pop-up by the River campsite is situated next to the River Adur in Sussex and our Teepee is now up and ready to hire this Summer. The paddock with teepee is ideal for large groups or big families with children.

Alternatively, you can hire your own ready pitched canvas Bell Tent or something more solid like our Handcrafted Shepherds huts. Self pitching is welcomed and we have a family field that gives parents river peace of mind.

There are local activity specialists for you to hire a canoe, kayak, paddle board or boat from. Follow the river down to Steyning soaking in this gorgeous old trading town with bespoke shops and food halls.

Adur Valley Wildlife and Sussex Wild Flora

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Grazed by cattle and sheep, the southern boundary of West Sussex is the South Downs, a magnificent range of rolling chalk hills that stretch for ninety miles across Sussex and into Hampshire.

Ideal for nature loving campers, The South Downs Way is a long distance bridleway that follows the crest of the hills from Winchester to Beachy Head at Eastbourne.

The South Downs Natural Area is rich in animal and plant species because of the wide variety of countryside from ancient woodland and wetland and arable fields to chalk cliffs.

The grasslands of the South Downs are rich in birds, butterflies, moths, plants and wild life with nearly fifty per cent of the orchid species that are native to Britain found here including the honey-scented Musk Orchid, Spider Orchid, the Bee and the Early Purple.

Plants such as the rare Early Gentian which like calcium rich soils and the Round-Headed Rampion flourish in this beautiful countryside.

The scrub, plateau and scarp woodlands are home to birds such as the Nightjar and Nightingale whilst Peregrines breed on the chalk cliffs. Bird species include Grey Partridge, Lapwing, Linnet, Skylark and Stonechat.

Nature watchers can spot a wide range of moths including the Blood Vein, the Large Yellow Underwing and the brightly coloured green and pink Elephant Hawk Moth.

The South Downs geology is comprised of relatively soft chalk containing bands and seams of flint that form tilted layers. From the Cretaceous period both the chalk and flint are formed from the remains of animals and plants. The South Downs soil type, called rendzina, is largely responsible for the diversity of small, low-growing herbs in this area as it is rich in calcium, well drained and of thin consistency and allows slow rates of plant growth.

Look out for badgers, deer, foxes and rabbits within this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as well as stunning views and delightful villages and rural hamlets to explore.

For Adur Valley nature notes click here

Camping by the River Adur

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Previously known as the Sore, The Adur is a river in Sussex, England and gives its name to the Adur district of West Sussex. Over time the river valley became silted up and the port moved down to the deeper waters nearer the mouth in Shoreham-by-Sea. Formerly the river was navigable for large vessels up as far as Steyning, where there was a large port.

Based on the name of the Roman fort Portus Adurni which was mistakenly believed to be at Shoreham, the name Adur is a relatively recent (17th Century) invention.

The river is at its most interesting at mid-tide when half the mud flats are revealed. Especially during the colder months of winter, the mud flats become a roost for gulls and other birds. Birds and waders found here include Dunlins, Lapwing and Ringed Plover and Redshanks sound the first warning at the anticipation of danger. After feeding on eels and flatfish Cormorants fan their wings on boats and wooden posts.

The two separate branches of Adur, the eastern Adur and the western Adur, meet slightly west of Henfield at Betley Bridge. Before the early 1800s boats could navigate to Mock Bridge where the A281 crosses the Adur.

The eastern Adur is fed by the Cowfold Stream at Shermanbury and rises at Ditchling Common, in East Sussex, where it crosses into West Sussex and meets a major stream of Twineham. There is a footbridge near Shermanbury Church and the western Adur is tidal as far north as Bines Bridge close to Bines Green, south of West Grinstead.

Rising at Slinfold the western Adur flows around Coolham and then through Shipley, where it then meets Lancing Brook and flows on to Knepp Castle and West Grinstead.

The Baybridge Canal uses part of the Adur’s watercourse. From west of Henfield, the two river branches meet, before flowing between Bramber and Upper Beeding, past Coombes, through a gap near Lancing College in the South Downs where the Adur is fed by the Ladywell Stream. The river continues on to the English Channel at Shoreham-by-Sea. Due to longshore drift, the mouth of the Adur is now two miles (3 km) from the town centre of Shoreham. The town of Shoreham-by-Sea supports varied wildlife fauna and flora and being close to the River Adur and with the downs and the sea nearby.