+DuncanSutcliffe Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Thought I would take offspring number one for a weekend of camping, walking, photography and geocaching down in the New Forest. Can anyone recommend a quiet campsite for the two of us in the area? Cheers, Duncan Quote
+burtsbodgers Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Hi Duncan Holmsley is a big site, owned by the forestry commision. this has a plentiful amount of facilities and quite a few caches and walks around it. It also has 1 rule that i like! NO Horses on site! This is something to keep an eye open for as there are plenty of stories of horses and tents not mixing well Quote
+DuncanSutcliffe Posted June 18, 2009 Author Posted June 18, 2009 Excellent, thanks very much, looks perfect. Duncan Hi Duncan Holmsley is a big site, owned by the forestry commision. this has a plentiful amount of facilities and quite a few caches and walks around it. It also has 1 rule that i like! NO Horses on site! This is something to keep an eye open for as there are plenty of stories of horses and tents not mixing well Quote
+MartyBartfast Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Most of the campsites in the forest are run by what used to be the Forestry Comission, and they have a range from very basic small sites with no facilities other than a tap, up to big sites with shops on site. Our particular favourite is RoundHill. We've walked through Denny Wood several times and it looks really appealing but there are no toilets so you need to bring your own (which is why we've never been there). You can see them all here: http://www.forestholidays.co.uk/camping_an...new_forest.aspx While many of them have ponies wondering the campsite some would see that as a bonus (like my kids), we've seen ponies in other peoples tents several times, but if you're careful and follow the guidelines it won't happen to you. There are several non FC sites but I've never used them so won't comment. Quote
+Splendidz Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Try searching here and check out the reviews Quote
+scoops32 Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 The site I use when I go to the New Forest is Red Shoot Camping Park. A privately run site with a toilet and shower block, bike hire on site(I think) and a small shop. There is a cattle grid as you go in to the site so the Horses cant get in. There is also a lovely pub right next door (actually you drive though the pub car park to get on to the site) http://www.redshoot-campingpark.com/ Quote
+SkiBums (UK) Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Another thumbs up for the Forestry Commision sites....Holmsley is massive though you might prefer one of the smaller ones Quote
+Octopusann Posted June 19, 2009 Posted June 19, 2009 Holmsley is big but has lots of showers and toilets; good caching and cycling and is only 20 mins from the coast (Mudeford lovely but busy -sometimes good for crabbing) and Hengistbury Head Quote
+ForsdykeFinders Posted June 20, 2009 Posted June 20, 2009 We liked Redshoot. Of course if you want to go upmarket, Sandy Balls is good but have never actually camped there. Quote
+Silver Horde Posted June 20, 2009 Posted June 20, 2009 We went to Roundhill and although it is central and in a beautiful area we were unlucky enough to get there late and only pitches near the (out of sight at the time) main road were available. All night lorries were going by on their way to the ferries (I think) it was very noisy!! Booking is essential where ever you go. good luck and have a great time! Quote
nobby.nobbs Posted June 20, 2009 Posted June 20, 2009 Just a heads up. Lyndhurst is a night mare for traffic. get some good maps and avoid it at peak times there are alternatives. Quote
+MartyBartfast Posted June 20, 2009 Posted June 20, 2009 We went to Roundhill and although it is central and in a beautiful area we were unlucky enough to get there late and only pitches near the (out of sight at the time) main road were available. All night lorries were going by on their way to the ferries (I think) it was very noisy!! Booking is essential where ever you go. good luck and have a great time! This doesn't sound like Roundhill, which is on a very quiet road going from Brockenhurst to Beulieu, which gets very little heavy traffic as it basically goes nowhere. Also there's only a very small section of the site which is anywhere near the road and that's the furthest point from the entrance. It sounds like the site you were at was Hollands Wood, which runs along the length of the Lyndhurst-Lymington road and does have quite a lot of traffic and is very central. Or it could be Ocknell, up near the A31 which has a lot of very fast heavey traffic as it's a dual carriageway, but this is on the edge of the forest. Quote
+Silver Horde Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 We went to Roundhill and although it is central and in a beautiful area we were unlucky enough to get there late and only pitches near the (out of sight at the time) main road were available. All night lorries were going by on their way to the ferries (I think) it was very noisy!! Booking is essential where ever you go. good luck and have a great time! This doesn't sound like Roundhill, which is on a very quiet road going from Brockenhurst to Beulieu, which gets very little heavy traffic as it basically goes nowhere. Also there's only a very small section of the site which is anywhere near the road and that's the furthest point from the entrance. It sounds like the site you were at was Hollands Wood, which runs along the length of the Lyndhurst-Lymington road and does have quite a lot of traffic and is very central. Or it could be Ocknell, up near the A31 which has a lot of very fast heavey traffic as it's a dual carriageway, but this is on the edge of the forest. Opps, sorry you are probably right but my uncle lives in Brockenhurst and I'm sure we were near his home. It might have been Hollands Wood. Not much help am I !! New forest is a favourite place but i don't know it very well obviously!! Quote
+Mad H@ter Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 We have camped at Holmsley a couple of times and rather liked it, but more recently we held an event at Lytton Lawn and we felt that this was a nicer site with friendly owners. Also watch out for extras on Forest Holidays sites, on one visit we had a note left on our tiny box trailer to report to reception. On visiting reception we were told that we had to pay a £5/day surcharge for the trailer . Quote
+keehotee Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 We have camped at Holmsley a couple of times and rather liked it, but more recently we held an event at Lytton Lawn and we felt that this was a nicer site with friendly owners. We felt the site was a little cold, and next time you ought to book this one instead.... Quote
+DuncanSutcliffe Posted June 22, 2009 Author Posted June 22, 2009 (edited) Thanks for all the advice everyone. As recommended we used the Forestry Commission website and stayed at Hollands Wood which I would have no hesitation in recommending, EXCEPT there are ponies wandering on the site and they can be quite aggressive if you aren't careful. We saw one lady get quite a kick trying to retrieve a bin bag from a pony. Did five caches, all on foot just by walking from the camp. You could easily do more if using bike or car or had tougher legs than us. Cheers all Duncan (and James) Edited June 22, 2009 by DuncanSutcliffe Quote
+Lydford Locators Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Another vote for Holmsley. Have tried other sites and had the experience of ponies in the tent with us - not good. And ditto the terrible traffic at Lyndhurst. Otherwise an excellent place - hope you have a great time. Quote
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