RIVERSIDE FARM CAMPING IN RUDGWICK
![Jim Stewart and Ashley Ryan at Riverside Farm, in Rudgwick (©AAH/Alan Wright) Jim Stewart and Ashley Ryan at Riverside Farm, in Rudgwick (©AAH/Alan Wright)](/phpThumb/phpThumb.php?src=/images/images/riversidefarm_3.jpg&w=600&far=1&hash=87b153670e1936799446c5327890569d)
Published on 1st June 2024
Riverside Farm Camping in Rudgwick is one of the best kept secrets in the Horsham District thanks to its tranquil location on the River Arun. Now, the family-run campsite has collaborated with a vehicle restoration specialist to offer unique glamping units for hire. AAH visited the farm and met co-owner Ashley Ryan and Jim Stewart, owner of Shred and Butta, to find out more…
NATURE UNTAMED
Kevin and Sharon Ryan purchased Riverside Farm 27 years ago, at a time when the site had no driveway, water or electricity. Kevin was previously a high procession camera tracker in the film industry, working on films such as Braveheart and James Bond movies during the Pierce Brosnan era. After countless injuries, he was finally persuaded by his family to forsake his hazardous occupation and moved to the rural farm, which runs alongside the Downs Link, close to the A281 crossing at Rudgwick.
Ashley Ryan, the couple’s daughter, said: ‘When we bought the farm, it was overrun by brambles and the only resident was an old Shire horse. Having been involved in film stunt work, my dad was a good rider and has always loved horses, so when he came across a Shire that had been neglected, he brought it to the farm to graze the land and live out its days. It was a wonderful place to grow up, surrounded by wild meadows and woodland, with the Arun meandering through the farm and a beautiful double bridge constructed as part of the old Steyning Line. It is an idyllic location, but we never even thought about establishing a campsite until the idea was suggested to us.’
‘A committee member of the Camping and Caravanning Club was walking along the bridleway when they spotted the farm and thought it would be ideal camping spot. We worked with the club for a while, but their approach wasn’t compatible with ours. They prefer trimmed grass and defined pitches and while there’s nothing wrong with that, we had come to love our untamed natural surroundings. We didn’t want to sacrifice that for the sake of concrete pitches and felt plenty of others would share our ethos and come here for a different kind of experience.’
![1950s Mercedes fire truck now used for glamping (©AAH/AW) 1950s Mercedes fire truck now used for glamping (©AAH/AW)](/phpThumb/phpThumb.php?src=/images/images/riversidefarm_2.jpg&w=600&far=1&hash=cbeb819012ffe78a9f34f2b8b6a551f8)
NIGHTINGALE SONG
Instead, Riverside Farm collaborated with Freedom Camping Club, which the Ryans felt held similar values to their own. Today, there are designated areas for Freedom members, while other fields at the 28-acre site are used by those who have arranged their visit directly through Riverside Farm. While the campsite has essential facilities including toilets, shower blocks, washing-up basins and waste disposal areas, visitors love the site for its natural beauty. Some like to paddle board, kayak or even swim along the Arun, while the site is a haven for wildlife with birds of prey, owls, woodpeckers, nightingales (AAH photographer and amateur twitcher Alan Wright heard its distinctive call during our visit) and kingfishers among the regular visitors. As well as wildlife, the farm is home to rescued goats and horses, cared for by the owners and family friends.
Ashley said: ‘We don’t have set pitches and instead allocate areas so people can relax in their own space. There are spots by the river that some find therapeutic, as they can hear the nightingales, while others prefer isolated locations where they can gaze at the night sky. Other fields are more family-orientated and have a communal feel, with children playing games. We don’t have an online booking system as we prefer to deal directly with people in order to gauge what they want from their visit. As a family-run farm, we meet everyone that arrives and give them advice, whether that relates to cycling routes, fishing spots or walks to The Fox Inn, Firebird Brewery or The Milk Churn Cafe on the Downs Link. We find that a lot of our visitors come from the local area. They don’t need to worry about travel costs, can return home quickly in an emergency and they don’t have to put up with children getting hot and bothered in a car for hours. It’s beautiful here and while it might not be far from home, it feels like a different world.’
VEGAS DREAM
As the campsite approaches its 10th anniversary, Riverside Farm is embarking on an exciting collaboration with Shred and Butta, the company behind the Discovery Channel programme, Full Metal Junkies. Last month, owner Jim Stewart and his team introduced three glamping units to Riverside, all of which were featured on Channel 4’s Carry on Glamping with Johnny Vegas. These include Billy the Snail, a vintage Morris Minor pick-up transformed into a motorhome, Dino the vintage ice cream truck (below) and a 1950s Mercedes fire truck with trailer.
Jim said: ‘Shred and Butta is a vehicle conversion specialist in Cobham. We started out building promotional vehicles, but the business evolved and recently there has been demand for renovated Campers and catering vehicles. We had already helped convert a few vehicles for Channel 4’s George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces when we first met Johnny Vegas. He was opening a campsite featuring glamping units for a new show called Carry on Glamping and he was looking for a couple more vehicles. When he visited our yard, full of old vehicles in varying degrees of rust or restoration, he picked out two that he wanted on his campsite. We had just four weeks to convert them, but we managed it and both were featured in the first series on Channel 4. One was a 1964 Mercedes fire engine and the other was an American school bus. Since then, I have invested in other vehicles with Johnny for two further series of the show.’
![The Dino glamper (©AAH/Alan Wright) The Dino glamper (©AAH/Alan Wright)](/phpThumb/phpThumb.php?src=/images/images/riversidefarm_1.jpg&w=600&far=1&hash=2afce4915a15f306f53251df8ee1215a)
‘This year, Johnny has moved around the glamping units at the Field of Dreams campsite at Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire, giving us the chance to bring some of them to Riverside. We have brought the fire truck here and we’ll be adding an awning to make it a four-berth. We have also introduced two vehicles owned by a friend of mine, including a converted 1964 Austin J2 Camper called Dino, as the owner is a fan of the Ratpack and a photo of Dean Martin hangs inside. The third vehicle is a converted Morris Minor called Billy the Snail, which has also been featured on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. It feels great to be giving these vehicles another chance and for them to be used as creative spaces that people can enjoy.’
ON THE WATERFRONT
As well as introducing the three glamping units, other ideas have been mooted for this summer and beyond. They are currently restoring a bow top gypsy wagon into a two-berth wagon (see AAH cover) that will be placed ‘off grid’ in a quiet part of the farm away from other guests. Perhaps an even more exciting project involves a Caraboat, a caravan/boat hybrid designed in the 1970s. Jim said: ‘When I first came across the Caraboat, I thought it was the ugliest thing I’d ever seen, yet I couldn’t help but love it! The initial idea was to convert it into a mobile DJ booth to support Save Our Scene, a CIC which supports UK musicians and live music. But ultimately, we needed a bigger boat! So, the idea was shelved, but when Ashley saw it, she had the idea of putting the boat on the river. There’s no room for anything else apart from a bed, so we’ve built a jetty for boarding and also to be used as a mobile kitchen. We hope to have it ready by the end of the summer to create another unique facet of Riverside Farm.’
Further information:
Call Riverside Farm Camping on (01403) 822959