Mike Svenson visited the New Forest and sent us this account of his ‘desperate’ search for a campsite.

Hollands Wood Campsite

Ok, so with the weather forecast predicting some of the best temperatures of this summer to date for the weekend just past, we decided it was time to try out some camping in the New Forest.

We set off from the in hope of setting up camp at Hollands Wood Campsite which is situated on the A337 road near the Balmer Lawn Hotel, on the northern edge of Brockenhurst. However even with their 600 pitches, it looked as though pretty much ever campr in the country was intent on making use of the good weather, and sadly we were turned away.

This was to become a frequent trend, as we rather desperately used the satnav to locate alternative campsites using the ‘points of interest/save our bacon’ feature.

After a handful of rejections by what looked like large campsites we felt it was almost time to turn home, (or perhaps look for a hidden away bit of land for a spot of wild-camping – not that’d we do that of course… that’s illegal don’t you know).

Making bacon (eggs)

Chapelfield Campsite

However our prayers were answered by the lovely, wonderful, owners of Chapelfield Campsite, near Fordingbridge. They thankfully managed to put us up for the night even though they too were very much full.

So – Chapelfield Campsite? Although the people were wonderful and answered our calling, the campsite was relatively ‘basic’. I guess you would probably say it was lacking in atmosphere, and had an air of carboot sale field, rather than camping field.

Saying that, the campsite did have a good number of portaloos and hot showers for that morning freshen up, so it covered the basic needs of your every day campr, but certainly couldn’t be described as luxurious.

So, I guess the summary would be, a nice little campsite if you just want to pitch a tent and survive, but if you want a bit more adventure, and perhaps the odd wild horse poking his head into your tent during the night there’s one thing to remember… book in advance!

Further information

Chapelfield Campsite
Pitches from £5 a night

8-10 Whitsbury Road
Fordingbridge
Hampshire
SP6 1JZ

Tel: 07807 471621