Camping in the Forest Ashhurst Review
Camping in the Forest
Ashurst Campsite
Reviewed by Cheryl Wesley
When the chance came up for a three night stay camping in the New Forest, I jumped at the opportunity to take my children. Having been brought up with camping I feel it’s an activity I would really like my children to get involved in. What can be better than waking up in the morning to see nature at its best? Every morning during our stay we could see and hear the cows and ponies that roamed freely around the site.
Camping in the Forest has 16 sites in England, Scotland and Wales set among the woodlands of the forestry commission. If you are new to camping and are unsure what site would be good for you go to www.campingintheforest.co.uk and head to the Decision Tree questionnaire where you can answer some simple questions to see what location suits you best. The questions include the distance you are willing to travel, who you are travelling with and facilities you need on or around the site. There are also some great guides on the website to help beginners ensure they have all the essentials needed for a camping trip.
Luckily for us there are a few sites in the New Forest as we live just outside in Dorset. When it came to choosing which campsite to pick, we narrowed it down quite quickly as a shower block was essential for our family as a 2 and 4 year old never manage to stay clean for more than half an hour. I then looked at the distance from my husband’s place of work as he was unable to join us but could visit during the evening to put the kids to bed and spend some time relaxing. And so we started planning our short stay at the Ashurst campsite.
Upon arriving at the campsite the wardens come along to your car and check you in without you getting out! This was where we were handed a family room key for the shower block, which when you have one parent to two little ones is extremely helpful! We were also given a few leaflets on the site, New Forest ponies and a local guide then told to proceed and choose our pitch wherever we wanted so long as it was in the boundaries and no closer than 6 meters to the next tent. My mum was in the car behind to help me set up and they waved her through with a smile.
The site can accommodate 280 pitches including caravans and motor homes, so is quite large. We decided it would be easier for us to be near to the shower block as my youngest is just potty trained. We also had the choice of being out in the open or hidden in the trees where we hoped we would be protected a little from the elements. It took us an hour to get the four man tent up and only in a couple of places we struggled to get the pegs into the ground. A dustpan and brush is much needed for this site as it is left to be as natural as possible so even with taking your shoes off leaves and mud will still get in! The children loved spending the 3 days sweeping out the mess they made!
Once the tent was up we had a much needed cup of tea and had a look around the site. There are loads of pitches hidden in and around trees. There are also open spaces to pitch up too, so something for everyone. There is a train line that runs along the campsite and a busy road on another side, but to be honest they did not disturb us really, once you heard the train beep once it became general background noise. The rest of the boundary was forest, forest, and more forest!
You just walked into the forest and explored. The little ones enjoyed climbing over the fallen down trees and going on bug hunts. We also managed to spot 3 fallow deer which the children were suitably amazed by. The campsite is next to both a bus stop and station and so if you don’t have a car, travel to the New Forest and further by train is possible (Bournemouth, Poole, Weymouth).
We then decided to check out the toilet block, I must admit being a keen camper I don’t think I’ve ever been to a site where the toilets are kept in such a clean condition. They are checked every two hours(ish) during the day, depending on how busy the reception area is. There are two sides to the shower block and both side are open when the site is over half full, however we went at a quiet time and only one side was open which only had 3 showers, so be prepared to queue in the mornings. Having said that two of the sites where you literally camp in the forest don’t have any shower facilities! The family room contained a toilet, sink, shower and baby change unit which were also kept in immaculate condition.
This campsite is an amazing base to explore the area, the New Forest has lots of offer families and walkers. Either as a base for Peppa Pig land or an excuse to get to the beach there is so much, some could say too much to do!
We decided to walk into Ashurst on our first day. This was a 15 minute walk with the children but on a busy road, thankfully pavement was available the whole way. There was not much in Ashurst, two pubs with play gardens, a few takeaways including a chippy and a post office to send postcards on their way! A further 10 minute walk along the road is a Co-op to stock up on any forgotten necessities, including a section on camping equipment including pegs if you run out.
The following day we took a short drive to Lyndhurst to have a look around the village. If the children where older we could have easily ridden or walked but I decided the safest way was by car. We spent a lovely 2 hours popping in and out of shops and sitting down to enjoy a hot chocolate in one of the many tea rooms the village has to offer. The New Forest Centre is found by the car park in the middle of the village and here you can pick up the usual tourist information available for the area. There is also the New Forest Museum but the children wanted to get back to the campsite so we did not have a chance to look around.
That afternoon my sister and brother in law came to visit us, they brought their dogs with them but as Ashurst is a dog free campsite we decided to go the pub next door, where the children could run around in the play area whilst we relaxed and chatted.
The biggest downside for us was the fact guests are charged at this campsite, £5 a car. We noticed a few cars parked at the top of the road and wonder if people were just parking up their and walking in to avoid the charge. As camping for our family has always been something that we share, I had my parents pop along one night and my husband two nights giving the site an extra £15 income. If you leave within the hour your £5 deposit is returned. I was glad to be there only 3 nights as it could have been quite expensive for my husband just to tuck the children into bed.
Also I took a cool box with me to keep some essentials cool like butter and milk, however there was not a freezer available for you to freeze your iceblocks. Instead for £2 you could use one of the site’s iceblocks and once returned you would get £1.50 back or pay another 50p for another ice block. I decided not to use this service as iceblocks don’t stay frozen for long this time and the children quite enjoy dry cereal.
Ashurst is a campsite with no electric hook ups and it makes a massive change to be on a campsite where the TV’s are not switched on by 6pm or the radios blasting all day long. It really made the whole camping experience a natural one without the 21st century gadgets ruining the beautiful setting. Recently there has been a ‘Disconnectors’ campaign where Britons aged between 30-50 who were surveyed, 66% admit to not spending time outdoors or 50% admit to hardly ever spending time with their family or partner without their phone, tablet or computer on standby. Although the phone was around for emergencies, camping in the forest really gives you a chance to escape from modern day technology.
Camping in the Forest is a partnership between the Forestry Commission and the Caravan and Camping Club, so members of the Caravan and Camping Club can get a 15% discount at the Ashurst campsite.
All in all we had a lovely short break, we would however think twice about returning due to the £5 charge for visitors and for that reason we give it 4 out of 5.
Rating: 4/5
Prices from £20 per night (2 adults).
For more information or to make a booking visit www.campingintheforest.co.uk or phone 024 7798 6991.
Ashurst Campsite, New Forest, Lyndhurst Road, Ashurst, SO40 7AR | 02380 292097
