The Wood-fired Shower System

After a great deal of effort, planning, construction, plumbing and perseverance the sensational Wood-Burning Hot Water Shower is now operational at our Wild Boar Wood Sussex Campsite.

One of only a handful of wood-fired showers we know to be in operation in the UK, the custom made wood burner is able to provide continuous hot water for our open air shower. Just a small fire started in the wood burner about 15 minutes before your shower is sufficient to heat the water to a very comfortable 45 degrees. Add a little cold water, or adjust the temperature gauge and you have a fantastic hot shower that will keep pumping out lovely warm water for our campers.
Amongst the challenges we faced was getting the water pressure to a sufficient level, as Wild Boar Wood is off-grid and the campsite has no mains water. With the help of our mate Mike Stevenson, builder, forester and an all-round super practical man, we built a water tower with three 1000 litre tanks. This allows the water head to range between one and two metres above the shower head.

With some good old ingenuity we plumbed in the water supply between the tanks, the wood-burner and the shower head and ‘you little beauty’ as we Australians say – it was all systems go. A quick look over and advice from Chris our friendly pluming engineer, Dick Strawbridge of TV fame gave Paul some advice during his visit to High Weald Dairy for his upcoming TV series and then with John the Plumber’s help we connected the thermostatic control, making the system safe from overheating and controlling the outflow water temperature.

All our happy eco campers seem to love the shower. The shower is still open to the skies, and for those guests who love the bucket shower, we will keeping it in the second shower cubicle for the more adventurous campers amongst you.

Thanks also to Ben for the Oak paneling for the shower walls, great design and build by Rob Demel, ably assisted by Ross Scarfield and the practical assistance from Mark Hardy of High Weald Dairy.

Another great reason to come and stay at Wild Boar Wood – the best campsite in Sussex (well most likely the whole of the UK!)

x Hugh