Dagger Wood Campsite

08/10/2024

We always hear a lot of well earned celebration for Laetiporus sulphureus (chicken of the woods) as it does have a meaty texture that will sometimes leaving you wondering whether you do have a mouthful of chicken or not.

But there is one polypore that gives just as much of a meaty crunch, and that’s the blackening polypore. Often overlooked or confused for COTW, it lacks that distinctive sulphur like colouring COTW has on the tips fungal fingers. Its moniker as the blackening polypore comes from the fact it stains a dark colour upon bruising.

The blackening polypore grows in similar environments as COTW, from deciduous trees such as oak or beech. You never have to worry too much about foraging for polypore or brackets in the U.K. as only a very select few are in anyway inedible, even that being said, triple check your identification across multiple sources.

07/10/2024

We love to see campers embracing the harsher elements of Autumn during their stay at Dagger Wood.

Charlie and his friends stayed with us recently on pitch 27 during all the severe downpours and embraced a no shoes approach when the going got particularly muddy.

If you’re after a wild getaway this spooky season come join the beetles, toads, and other wildlife this October on the campsite.

05/09/2024

The campsite has awoken this morning to what feels like a quick start to Autumn!

So it may be time already to say goodbye to the sun (did we really even say hello in the first place this year!?) but no doubt a random heat wave is on the cards for some time later this month or in October.

If you’re still desperate to wander the streets of local Glastonbury like we often are, then we are open all the way up until the 4th November. We are hoping to have some alternative accommodation to offer visitors by the end of September to make it easier to escape the elements, stay tuned! 🍂

03/09/2024

We were chuffed to be able to host Matt at Red Fox Bushcraft this past weekend, who will now be offering various bushcraft courses from the campsite. For more information on future courses, search for Red Fox Bushcraft on Facebook. Below is a snippet of what was on offer at the last Fox Fest;

Fox Fest Weekend is coming up!!! (30th
Aug-1st Sept)
Fox Fest is the name I have given to a collection of workshops held over a weekend, held in Dagger camping site in Clutton (near Bristol). You can book as many or as few workshops as you like. Camping is also available at £5 per head (book with venue).

I will be running 4 workshops:
ancient baskety, simple spoon carving, whittle a mushroom and sling making and slinging (I’m yet to come up with a catchy name for that one).

‘Ancient basketry’
In this workshop we’ll make a small container using the ancient, and relatively easy, coil method. You’ll also learn about how to harvest and prepare various materials. The coil method is, essentially, the stitching of coils of fibrous materials together using a needle. Containers can be made from many different materials like grass, raffia or pine needles, stitches together with home made materials, string or thread.

‘Whittle a mushroom’
You’ll use a small whittling knife to whittle some mushrooms out of sticks. I’ll teach you all the techniques needed as well as teaching you how to keep your knife sharp.
‘Simple spoon carving’

Here you’ll learn how to carve a simple spoon using only basic tools. You’ll learn all the techniques necessary to carve you a simple spoon as well as how all you need to know to get you carving at home.

‘Sling making and slinging’
This is my favourite class...
Learn how to make and use the legendary Balearic sling (or a simplified version of it at least). We will use a simple 3 strand plait (as often use in hair) to make a sling and then sling some tennis balls at a target.

28/08/2024

Our mushroom senses are tingling as we creep towards autumn.

One mushroom we’ve never found on the campsite before is the Oyster Mushroom, until now that is!

As we lifted the wooden lid on one of our recycling bins we couldn’t help but notice this pair of small Pleurotus ostreatus. Oyster mushrooms are renowned for their lack of fuss around whatever substrate they are happy to feed upon, from books to cuddly toys and even oil.

Despite it being a tasty edible, we are going to leave these to continue to grow and hopefully distribute their spores before they eventually get knocked off.

Interested in learning more about fungi? Get yourself booked in for a foraging course with us come October!

21/08/2024

We have quite a few campers now that come and have an annual celebration at Dagger Wood.

Sam visits every year to celebrate her birthday, creating their own mini festival down at pitch 1. As innate fans of any tractor, we were chuffed to see they arrived in style on this Massey Ferguson 65.

We are lucky enough to be able to provide enough space & privacy for you to be able to have celebrations just like this one. If you want to plan a camping trip for you and your friends, we can accommodate groups up to 20 people. Visit our website for more information. Link in bio.

15/08/2024

We’ve had lots of new visitors to Dagger Wood over the last few weeks of the summer holidays.

A lot of our campers inform us that this is their first time using compost toilets during a camping trip, and we are always chuffed to learn that they’ve found the experience a lot less daunting than they expected.

One camper even told us this week that they had become quite attached to the smell of the sawdust during each early morning visit to our composting buckets.

As August rolls on there is still plenty of time to book your own stay and try a non-flushing toilet for the first time. Head to www.daggerwoodcampsite.co.uk for more information.

10/08/2024

We always appreciate campers sending us some fire side photos of any treats they are having during these long summer nights.

and friends showing us how it’s done down at pitch 17 when it comes to roasting these puffy marshmallows perfectly.

We are fully booked for this weekend but if you’d like to have your own secluded getaway to pitch 17 then head to our page on pitch up or our website to visit us next week instead.

28/07/2024

Thank you to the campers that sent us this lovely fireside photo of some warm toast and soup from the fireside at pitch 13.

We always encourage campers to have a fire, but please ensure that these brick and motor pits are left where you find them. If they are moved to another part of the pitch or campsite, they just cause unnecessary further burn damage to other areas.

If you would like to have a fire closer to your tent or anywhere else for whatever reason, then please ask to borrow one of our transportable fire pits.

22/07/2024

22/07/2024

We are always paying attention to camper feedback, and the main entrance track has always proven to be a bit of bumpy ride!

While we aren’t about to try and ensure it’s a journey of smooth Tarmac all the way to the bottom, we’ve been working hard over the last week to tamper away the worst of these holes, so hopefully whether you have a Yaris or a Landrover, your grip on the steering wheel is now a little less tight.

We can’t believe it’s nearly August! Why not come and stay with us for the weekend of Cluttons Strongest & village fete? Head to our website or see a previous post for more information.

27/06/2024

As huge fans of and frequent visitors to Wookey Hole, we are delighted that anyone staying with us at Dagger Wood Campsite now receives a discount code towards their tickets if they want to go and visit Wookey Hole for the day! 

From fascinating cave tours to a vintage penny arcade and exhilarating live circus performances, a day at Wookey Hole really does feel like a magical escape into a picturesque area of Somerset that’s only a twenty minute drive from the campsite.

This discount code can be found within your booking confirmation email, but you can also request it upon arrival at the campsite.