Building Fakenham Dog Field: A Booking System with Automated Access Control

The Brief

Fakenham Dog Field is a brand new secure dog exercise field at Fakenham Racecourse. The owner needed a booking and payment system ready for launch, with one twist: the field is behind a Paxton-controlled gate, so customers need a valid access code to get in.

The requirements were pretty clear from the start:

Let customers book and pay online, any time of day
Automatically generate and send a gate access code after payment
Keep it simple, no app downloads, no account creation

We looked at off-the-shelf booking platforms first, but none of them could handle the Paxton gate integration the way we needed. The ones that came close would have been expensive to customise and still wouldn’t have done exactly what we wanted. So we built it from scratch.

What We Built

We built a custom booking system from scratch, deployed on Cloudflare Pages. It handles everything from browsing available slots to receiving a gate code, with nothing manual in between.

How It Works

Customer picks a date and time on the calendar, which shows available slots based on operating hours and existing bookings
Customer enters their details like name, email, and phone number
Payment goes through Stripe with a secure card payment, no account needed
Access code gets generated by the system talking to the Paxton access control API to create a time-limited code
Confirmation email goes out with the booking details and gate code

The whole thing takes under two minutes from start to finish.

Key Features

Smart availability checking so the system prevents double-bookings by checking existing reservations and blocked dates in real-time. Operating hours are configurable per day of the week.

Stripe integration where payments are handled securely through Stripe, with webhook confirmation to make sure the booking is only confirmed after successful payment.

Paxton API integration which was the interesting bit. The physical Paxton access control system was installed by Surelock Security, a well-established security company based in Dereham who have been looking after homes and businesses across Norfolk for over 25 years. Their director Cameron handled the hardware side of things, fitting and configuring the Paxton gate system on site. We then built the software layer on top, connecting to the Paxton Cloud API so the booking system can automatically generate a unique access code that only works during the booked time window.

Admin dashboard so the field owner can view bookings, manage availability, block dates for maintenance, and see revenue reports.

Email notifications with automated confirmation emails including booking details and the gate access code, plus reminders before the session.

You can see the live site at fakenhamdogfield.co.uk.

How It’s Going

The system has been running reliably since launch:

Fully self-service so every booking happens without anyone needing to get involved
Open 24/7 so customers book whenever it suits them
No access issues because the automated codes just work
Minimal admin for the owner, who can focus on running the field rather than chasing bookings

Tech Stack

The project was built with a focus on speed, reliability, and low running costs:

Frontend: Custom-built with modern JavaScript
Hosting: Cloudflare Pages (fast, global CDN)
Payments: Stripe (checkout sessions + webhooks)
Access Control: Paxton Cloud API integration
Database: Serverless database for bookings and availability
Email: Transactional email service for confirmations

The whole system runs with minimal hosting costs thanks to Cloudflare and serverless architecture.

Working with Surelock Security

This project was a great example of software and hardware working together. Cameron and the team at Surelock Security were brilliant to work with. They brought the physical security expertise, installing and configuring the Paxton gate system on site, while we handled the software side, building the booking platform and API integration that ties it all together. Cameron was really helpful throughout the process, making sure the hardware and software played nicely together. It’s the kind of collaboration that gets a better result than either side could deliver alone. If you’re working on a project that needs access control or security hardware alongside a custom software build, Surelock are a solid team to work with.

This project is a good example of how a focused custom build can solve a real problem better than an off-the-shelf solution. The Paxton integration alone, automating physical access control from an online booking, isn’t something you’d find in a standard booking plugin.

If you’ve got something similar where online actions need to trigger real-world systems, get in touch. There’s a good chance it can be automated.