Ashurst Caravan & Camping Site, Hampshire

...take ages to get through. Ashurst train station is also only a 5 minute walk away so you could get the train too. It takes both caravans and tents.

You must always book for bank holiday weekend which you can conveniently do online. They changed the rules slightly this year which was a bit cheeky, it is now a four night minimum over the bank holiday but it turned out we quite liked the extra night. If you intend to use the site a lot ...
...there are many sites they own and joining gives you a small discount on them. It was only £12 for the year which we recuped in the saving we made for the four days.

The site is at the end of a long drive which has fields full of the local wildlife (ponys). Reception is a small hut which you have to check in at. This does cause its own problems in that you have to wait in the queue as it takes a while to check people in and tell them ... more

I have used tis campsite for the last three years as it always provides what we need. It is very easy to find just off the M271, definitely best to get to it from this side, not to go through the town of lyndhurst first as it is always very crowded in this very small town and will take ages to get through. Ashurst train station is also only a 5 minute walk away so you could get the train too. It takes both caravans and tents.

You must always book for bank holiday weekend which you can conveniently do online. They changed the rules slightly this year which was a bit cheeky, it is now a four night minimum over the bank holiday but it turned out we quite liked the extra night. If you intend to use the site a lot it is also worth joining the forestry commision club as there are many sites they own and joining gives you a small discount on them. It was only £12 for the year which we recuped in the saving we made for the four days.

The site is at the end of a long drive which has fields full of the local wildlife (ponys). Reception is a small hut which you have to check in at. This does cause its own problems in that you have to wait in the queue as it takes a while to check people in and tell them the forest rules. Once inside the site you are free to go wherever you want to as the site is full of trees and bushes and not marked out like some sites are. You have to camp the usual 6m away from other tents but apart from that you are free to choose your own secluded area in amongst the foliage which is lovely.

Once you have decided on your patch it is then the quite difficult task of putting up your tent, not just for the usual reasons but because the ground can be very hard, even this summer with all the rain we had we struggled. One of our party went out and bought rock pegs for the job! So make sure you bring a sturdy mallet and lots of patience.

There is one toilet block between the whole site so we always position oursleves fairly close. There are male and female sides both of which have two sections so cleaning can be done without inconveniencing everyone. They were refurbished this year so that the sinks are individually in cubicles now which is nice for a bit of privacy. There are plenty of toilets but unfortunately we were expecting with the refurb they might have included some more showers. There are 3 on each side so 6 in total for males and 6 for females. This inevitably leads to big queues in the morning, we tend to have showers in the afternoon when it is not so busy. They are always kept clean though. I have had no problems with hot water, the showers run on a push the button and it runs for a short amount of time to save water system. You have to press it a good few times to finish. There are hooks on the back of the doors for clothes but it is the usual hassle of having a shower camping, as the floor is wet and you have to juggle all your clothes and things.

Around the site there are water taps and bins, enough so you are never too far away from one. There is a caravan waste disposal point and a bin dedicated to bbq waste which we used lots! The only thing we found a bit of a pain was that there is no recycling point so we had to gather ours up and take it to the nearest supermarket which is quite a way away.

They have washing up facilities which consists of a room with about 8 sinks and a constant supply of hot water, it can get a bit crowded but that is to be expected. There is a laundry room but I did not need to use this so can't tell you what it is like.

The reception offers a few services such as ice block freezing, battery charging and a selection of leaflets on local attractions. There is no shop but the local shop is only about 10 mins walk away. As is the local pub, however I would not recommend it as you will read in my review of it (New Forest Inn). During peak season there are guided walks offered too, I did not go on any but information can be found when you arrive.

The local wildlife is allowed to roam free in the whole of the New Forest and this is lovely but can be a menace. No food can be left anywhere outside or in your tent as they can smell it and will stop at nothing to get at it. Rubbish bags are the same as they will rip them apart to get at what is inside.

The site has a mixture of famliles, couples and groups of people. The wardens go around at night checking there are no fires and ensuring the site is kept fairly quiet so people can sleep. Overall a great site for a relaxing break away from it all and we will be back next year. 

...less