This is my first post here, so please be gentle =)
We have just returned from our first camping trip! We went to Sandy Balls, which was a safe option for our first outing. I have three small boys and it has all the facilities that I wanted just in case it all went wrong (which it did - torrential rain)! Although I loved the site I just found it all too big and crowded.
We have a local campsite nearby called Chestnut Meadow (Web: http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=5262). This site is perfect for me and I want to find a site like this in the New Forest. I have a large tent, around 8 meters x 4 meters, so I need a good size pitch. I need electric hook up too. Chestnut Meadow has around 100 pitches in a large circle, so matter where the children are I can just about see them. This helps me to relax! There is an outdoor and indoor play area for children too. A small site shop. Café/Bar with WiFi access. The shower/toilet block are spotlessly clean all the time. There are also a launderette and washing up facilities. A bath for the kids is also an added bonus. It is just a nice smaller site, relaxed and with all the luxury facilities.
Can anyone recommend a site like this in the New Forest? Basically, I am looking for Sandy Balls on a smaller scale!
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
To be honest I think that most people who camp in the New Forest do so to enjoy the wide open spaces of the forest itself rather than looking for sites with onsite activities and entertainment. . There are very few commercial sites in the forest itself. Most are Forest Holiday (Forestry Commission sites) although two commercial sites that I know of within the forest bounderies are Red Shoot Campsite and Long Meadow Campsite near Brockenhurst. Of the Forest holiday sites I would say that Roundhill is the best. Hollands Wood is closer to habitation - Brockenhurst - but although I have stayed at this site several times the pitches are generally very worn and no effort appears to be made to repair them after a busy summer. Many are just bare earth pitches.Roundhill on the other hand appears to have large areas of open grassy pitches with plenty of room for the kids to play.Aldridge Hill is also a very pleasant site but here you have to provide your own toilet facilities.
Long Meadow is becoming increasingly popular and although the toilets and showers are only in portacabins they are kept very clean. Pitches are very generous and are arranged in a big grid fashion so no one can stray on to your pitch. This site also has the attraction that a herd of deer live in the adjacent field and at night times wander thro' the camping field.
Never stopped at Red Shoot but I do know it's part of the pub next door. For me it is situated a little too far north of the New Forest as is Sandy balls and therefore that much further away from the south coast beaches.
Longmeadow Campsite is in the grounds of the New Forest Showground although it is a seperate field away from the showground itself. It does have electric hook ups around the edge of the field and a gateway leads directly into the forest irself. See here for more info
------------- Mother Nature always wins in the end.
Agree with poster above I don't think you will find a smaller version of Sandy Balls in the New Forest. If you could widen your search and using the search facility on here you might find something or someone else might be able to came up with some suggestions.
Don't forget to leave a review of the campsites you have visited this year or last!
Might be worth looking at this site Lytton Lawn near Milford On Sea - not actually within the New Forest but within a short drive and is also close to the beaches and other places of interest.
------------- Mother Nature always wins in the end.
We're going to Hoburne Bashley for half-term, which is a smaller (but not much) version of Sandy Balls but just south of the New Forest. They don't accept tents but they have a couple of other sites nearby that do (all called Hoburne 'something'...).
Basically, you don't get 'small' Sandy Balls-type sites because they couldn't justify the outlay to install pools etc - they wouldn't make enough in pitch fees to pay for it all.
We've stayed at Hollands Wood, which is very large but only has toilet blocks, no other facilities (no EHU either). Great location for the site but it is very 'au naturel', horse poo everywhere, bare earth - proper English forest really. We like it but can understand if others don't.
Our first ever camping trip (in a tent) was to Red Shoot a few years ago. We had a great time but that was more because of the novelty - the site itself is just a large field with a very small kids playground and decent toilet block. Pretty expensive as well (all New Forest sites are)...
------------- 'In later life, you will be more disappointed with the things you didn't do than with the things you did.' - Mark Twain
We went to Shamba near to Ringwood in August - it has a pool. And play area, plus a bar and occasional entertainment....it was very crowded though pitch wise, we wouldn't go again in the school holidays
------------- Bev :o)
2013
March - Pooley Bridge (Pod booked!)
May - Spiers House, Pickering
June - La Garangeoire, Vendee, France
Aug - The Cotswolds?
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: New Forest Recommendations?
