The following was printed first in Naturist Life magazine and was written by Stewart Lomax.
Mill Bank Sun Club is a camping and caravanning club without its own
permanent site. We hold rallies throughout the season with permission
of the landowners.
This year (2024) we’ll be using a new location near Hassocks in West
Sussex.
The club have been without a site for the 2023 season as we had to
vacate our previous location at Ashburnham near Battle. The field
there was very lovely with great Wealden views, a pub near by and it
was so very quiet and peaceful. Unfortunately the owner's family had
other plans for the property and along with others who also rented, we
had to leave.
Finding another site proved to be somewhat of a challenge. We lost
some members as a result but, who knows, they may well return. All
the committee members rallied around (pun intended) to find somewhere
new. One of the major problems was to find an actual land owner!
Many farms are rented and the owners are not local. The tenant
farmers are not permitted to allow campers without their landlords
permission and many did not want the agro of pursuing that. Sometimes
just finding the owner of a suitable field we’d spotted was
difficult too.
But hey! Seek and ye shall find or good things come to those who
wait...
Whilst browsing a naturist page on Facebook, I saw a reply to a post
by a woman who’d had a 'not so great day' on Brighton naturist
beach, where voyeuristic men had made her feel uncomfortable. David
replied to her offering the use of his field for sun bathing. I’m
not sure what happened regarding her taking up Davids offer, but I
decided to contact him about his field.
Through messenger we had a very fruitful conversation and David was
pretty keen for us to go and make use of his land. The land, it
turned out, is next to Davids garden centre ‘Garden Thyme’ and was
acquired along with it.
I arranged a convenient time to visit and went along with one of Mill
Bank’s other committee members Peter. Straight away we just knew
this was a great find as David was very welcoming and amiable.
The field is easily accessed through a wide gateway then through the
centre car park the ground is level and suitable for all types of
cars, caravans and motorhomes as well as tents of course.
It’s pretty secluded and set well back from the road. There’s the
main field where we can set up our camping units in the mown area in
which there are a few trees. The back of the field is densely wooded
and thick with brambles. There’s a small nook which will be great
for shelter on more blustery days and for campfires in the evenings.
The site will get the sun all day but there are trees for shade if
required. There’s a flushing toilet on site together with fresh
drinking water.
The garden centre, previously called Allwoods (as shown on Google
maps) has a very nice cafe called ‘Tea Thyme’. Only open during
centre opening times, for snacks, meals or indeed a full Sunday roast!
The location is ideal for short or longer stays and convenient for
naturist beaches at Brighton and Fairlight or as a stopover when using
the channel crossings.
Once we’ve held our club AGM which will be at the garden centre on
Sunday 14th April 2024. Starting at 14.00 for a walk around the site.
At 15.00 well go to the café for refreshments then at 16.00 we’ll
start the AGM once the customers have left.
Our camping fees are very reasonable with preferential rates for
members. All genuine naturists are welcome as members, visiting
campers or day visitors.
For any enquiries please contact our secretary Steve:
secretary@millbanksunclub.com
Kind Regards
Stewart Lomax
07944936572