Wilderness Wood's cut-your-own field opens for choosing on 7, 8, 14 and 15 November, with collection from 21 November. Fayre weekends, parking and Five Ashes.

The quick answer

  • Cut your own: Wilderness Wood, Hadlow Down. You choose a tree in the field on Saturday 7, Sunday 8, Saturday 14 or Sunday 15 November, decorate it so you can find it again, and come back with your own saw from 21 November to cut it down
  • Members go first on Sunday 1 November
  • Pre-cut trees and the winter fayre: 28 and 29 November, 5 and 6 December, 12 and 13 December, with parking booked in advance from 24 October
  • Weekdays: the wood is open every day from 24 November to 21 December, 10am to 4pm, with no ticket needed
  • Prices: Wilderness Wood has not published its 2026 tree prices
  • Five Ashes: Sussex Christmas Trees has not posted its 2026 opening date yet

Wilderness Wood, Hadlow Down

Wilderness Wood, on Main Road at Hadlow Down (TN22 4HJ), is the cut-your-own field near Crowborough that has already published its 2026 dates. It sells two kinds of tree: ones you pick in the field and cut yourself, and pre-cut local trees in the courtyard.

Choosing a cut-your-own tree

The field opens for choosing on four days in November. You pick your tree and decorate it, which marks it as yours, then return to cut it down nearer Christmas.

Date Times Who
Sun 1 Nov 10am to 4pm Members only, advance reservation
Sat 7 Nov 10am to 4pm Everyone, with wood-fired pizza and decoration making
Sun 8 Nov 10am (see below) Everyone
Sat 14 Nov 10am to 4pm Everyone
Sun 15 Nov 10am to 4pm Everyone

One detail to check: the wood’s events calendar lists Sunday 8 November as 10am to 12pm, while the other public days run to 4pm. Go in the morning that day to be safe.

You do not need to book parking for these reservation days, the wood says. Pizza on the November weekends is from Cashew Catering.

Then, from 21 November, come back in daylight (from 10am) with your own saw: “this is a diy activity”, the wood says. If you have not reserved, it expects some “wonky (although still lovely)” trees to be left in the field, but will not guarantee it. The cut-your-own field has no disabled access.

The winter fayre weekends

Hundreds of pre-cut, locally grown trees go on sale in the courtyard, alongside gifts and decorations from local makers, food, drink, music and craft demonstrations, on three weekends:

  • Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, 9am to 4pm
  • Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December, 9am to 4pm
  • Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December, 10am to 4pm

The rules on these weekends are tighter:

  • Book a parking space. Wilderness Wood recommends it and says the booking link goes live on 24 October. All parking on fayre weekends is limited to 90 minutes. The 9am slot is a one-hour “Early Bird” slot for people who want to collect a tree and go.
  • Not buying a tree? Pay the usual admission at The Hatch when you arrive, and consider parking off site and walking in.
  • No woodland walks. The trail is closed on fayre weekends. Dogs on leads are welcome, but if you want to walk the dog in the wood, come in the week.

Weekdays are quieter

From 24 November to 21 December the wood is open every day, 10am to 4pm, and you do not need a ticket on weekdays. The wood suggests a weekday visit if you want to choose a tree “in relative peace”.

Card and contactless are accepted for trees, pizza and drinks. Some gifts are sold by the makers themselves, so bring some cash if you can.

Sussex Christmas Trees, Five Ashes

Sussex Christmas Trees grows trees at its Northdown Plantation at Five Ashes, East Sussex (TN20 6JG), and names Crowborough among the towns it serves. At Five Ashes you pick a tree from the plantation and its team helps you cut it down.

Its 2026 opening date is not published. When we checked on 8 October, its website still showed an opening countdown for 24 November 2023. Its listing with the British Christmas Tree Growers Association gives the usual pattern: 9am to 5pm every day from the last weekend of November until 23 December. If that holds, the first weekend would be 28 and 29 November, but treat it as unconfirmed until the farm says so. We will update this page when it does.

Is there a Christmas tree sale in Crowborough itself?

Neither Crowborough Town Council nor any organiser we checked has published a 2026 tree sale in the town. The town’s own festive date is the Christmas Cracker and lights switch-on on Friday 27 November, and every market and fair nearby is on our Christmas markets page.

Getting there

Both farms are a drive from Crowborough, and a tree on the roof means you will want parking close to the gate. On Wilderness Wood’s fayre weekends that means booking. Before you set off, check our Crowborough roadworks and travel page, and for Christmas shopping in town, see parking in Crowborough.

When your tree is finished with, our Christmas bin collections page explains the options: cut it up for the garden waste bin, or take it to a household waste recycling site.

Also on Crowborough Today

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