About Us

Donkey Down was first listed as a ‘pop-up’ campsite, by Organic grazier and business owner Tim Bowden, in January 2020. It was all a bit make shift at first with hired porta-loos and showers and a horse box as reception. With the onset of the covid pandemic and associated travel restrictions, the season was much busier than expected but the dedicated team dug deep and the positive feedback from our campers was very encouraging. So much so, that we took up the offer from a neighbouring farmer of another site, Culliford Tree, for 2021.

Both sites are located on the South Dorset Ridgeway in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). This ancient landscape has more stone age/neolithic scheduled monuments than the Stone Henge/Avebury complex in the neighbouring county of Wiltshire. Like there, the previous inhabitants of these islands have been getting together in these special places, to meet and celebrate, for thousands of years.

We are very conscious of this history and the fabulous natural beauty and we are dedicated to continuing this long tradition as sustainably as possible. In 2021 we introduced our home made composting toilets and eco showers. This year we added a solar array to supply electricity for the cafe/bar and our ambition is to be free of generators altogether by August 2024.

We are specifically a tent site with a number of bell tents available for hire. The tents are unfurnished so you will need to bring your own equipment. They are very stable in strong winds and don’t require the same effort as putting up and taking down your own tent!

We have an ethos of being eco-friendly and with this in mind, campfires and barbecues are permitted but we ask that you take the necessary care with these items and raise them off of the ground. There are no facilities for motor homes or caravans.