Slinfold is typical of many non-facility sites. Quiet, on the whole, remote, hidden away, with a rural feel and somewhat unkempt, but with a quality which appeals to many and often leads to the “little gem” epithet. I liked it here, but the lasting impression was that I wouldn’t want to be here for long and, except that it is convenient for visiting a relative, I would not expect to come back here soon. The site consists of one row of pitches north and south with grass pitches in a random arrangement near the entrance to the site. The hard standings are tired, not very level and very short. Vans over 6.5 metres must be booked directly. If you try to book through the web site the wording you come up against is rather final and implies rigs over this length are totally forbidden. But small print elsewhere states that you can ring to book a pitch for bigger outfits. This is so typical of the clubs lack of attention to detail. Many have complained about noise from nearby industrial units. I visited over a bank holiday weekend and was some distance from the worst offender so was little affected by this, but I was still aware of forklifts at work on the Friday afternoon. I imagine this could be a big issue if you were near the bottom end of the site and on the southern boundary. Traffic noise never bothers me but the constant droning and bleeping of fork lifts would, so be aware of this. There’s a fair bit of aircraft noise mostly from planes leaving Gatwick westerly (the usual direction) but also from planes leaving or arriving at both Gatwick and Heathrow. However, this is not significant or intrusive and speaking as one who has more than once stayed at Gatwick, one of my favourite sites, not at all an issue to me. There is an hourly bus from the top of the lane leading to the site to Horsham one way or Guilford the other. I used this to get to the busy little city of Guilford but I cycled to Horsham, a surprisingly attractive town with a lovely old part, which is a comparatively easy four miles. The Downs Link following the old Guilford to Shoreham railway line is immediately adjacent to the site and although rough in parts is good for cycling and walking, especially if you don’t do hills. However, I found it very badly signposted in parts and easy to lose. You need a good map (not the guide that is available which, whilst interesting, is hopeless as a map of the route). Trees overhang many pitches here. A reviewer below complains about pitch 13 in this respect but that pitch is by no means unique. I prefer not to be under overhanging trees but it is not a show stopper for me. I do always find it strange though that this is an issue at so many sites and is plainly not seen as a negative by the club. Mind you, at this site, I rather think it is unavoidable as huge trees pin the site very tightly into its available real estate. The village of Slinfold, and its church is delightful and the volunteer wardens were as truly perfect as wardens can be.
