Green Hill Farm Holiday Village, The New Forest
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Campsite: |
Green Hill Farm Holiday Village |
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Location: |
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Suitable for: |
Families or couples |
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Price: |
£32 per night for non-electric grass camping pitch |
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Website: |
lovatparks.com/locations/wiltshire/green-hill-farm-holiday-village |
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When: |
5 nights in August 2020 |
As lockdown eased in England during the school summer holidays of Covid-19 pandemic, we were originally supposed to be setting off in our VW T5 for ten nights in France, but the quarantine measures imposed meant that we didn't want our daughter to miss any more school time so we decided to stay in the UK. Apparently, everyone else decided to do the same as availability at campsites was scare and many insisted that you have your own toilet and shower facilities which we do not.
THE CAMPSITE:
After a lot of searching and many, many phone calls, we finally found availability for five nights at Green Hill Farm Holiday Village in Langham on the northern edge of the New Forest. Now, a family friendly campsite on a Holiday park is not normally top of our list, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. On arrival we were met by friendly staff all wearing masks, given a welcome pack and shown where to pitch up in the overflow camping field. The village has hard standing pitches, electric and non-electric grass pitches plus an adult only area. The site also has lodges for sale and hire and are currently building another site due to open in 2021.
FACILITIES:
We chose a camping spot in the non-electric grass field and parked up. A quick inspection of the toilets and showers was a welcome relief. Both were posh portacabin style, but very clean (in fact they were cleaned every three hours by staff during the pandemic) and the showers were lovely and hot.
On inspection of our welcome pack we discovered that the holiday village has a small shop, cafe, playground, outdoor gym, several toilet and shower blocks as well as a covered washing up area, laundry and freezer room. Our map indicated several small fishing lakes that guests can use on purchase of a permit from the reception.
There is also a daily timetable of activities for adults and children ranging from free bug hunts to paid clay pigeon shooting and Segway tours ranging from £5-8 per person. You can also hire bikes here for a half or full day (£15 per adult bike for half day hire).
Every evening except Mondays an outside catering van parks up on site and guests can order evening meals as takeaway including wood burning pizza and jacket potatoes. The on-site cafe all sells a range of food and drinks and is handily located next to the playground for parents wanting an easy meal or drink whilst the kids entertain themselves. A fire pit is also lit every evening for guests to sit around or toast marshmallow on sticks (which the campsite handily sells).
If the thought of a campsite filled with families and playground full of squealing children fills you with foreboding, then a short walk into the back of the campsite revealed the strictly adults only area. Here you will find a limited number of wooden camping pods, grass and hard standing pitches and a dedicated shower and toilet block. This strictly over eighteen years old area has two small fishing lakes as well as a quick and peaceful atmosphere that feels calm and million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the main campsite.
NEARBY:
As for excursions, well the New Forest is a walking or cycling paradise. A five-minute drive out of the campsite and you are into the forest with 490 square miles of ancient woodland to explore with hundreds of free parking spots allowing you to move around freely. You will no doubt encounter a free-ranging pony, donkey or cow wandering a village green or across the forest moorlands for which this region is famed. At one parking spot a pony wandered up to our van and nosed its head in our door for a snack! They are very docile however, and generally pay little or no attention to cars or pedestrians.
The New Forest itself has a bevy of way-marked paths for walkers and cyclists and you could easily spend a week exploring. Green Hill Farm Holiday Village also has a walking path that allows you direct access to the forest from the camping field.
For other nearby excursions, Green Hill Farm Holiday Village is suitably located for quick access to Poulton’s Park theme park, home of Peppa Pig World, but we satisfied ourselves with a half our drive down to Hurst Castle. We took the little ferry shuttle over to the castle (£5 per person adult. TIP: Go early to avoid queues as the boats can only take on 12 people) which sits on a peninsula cut off a high tide and then opted to walk back along the shingle causeway which took about forty minutes. Stop off at the little village of Milford-on-Sea on your way home to pick up some fresh produce for dinner or for a cold drink on the village green!
In conclusion we found that, whilst not normally our thing, a large family friendly holiday village did have its advantages. On a wet day you can hunker down with a coffee in the cafe and the showers are always hot. Kids can entertain themselves and make friends easily in and around the very safe and well-maintained campsite. Most of all though, the location is superb and allows easy access to the beautiful New Forest.
WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE:
For us, the holiday village suited our needs, but it was larger, and more family focused than we'd normally choose. At the time of our visit there were building works in progress for the new holiday home village due to open in 2021, which was noisy during weekdays. Also, the washing up facilities were quite a walk away from the camping fields.
WHAT WE LIKED:
A great location on the edge of the New Forest with easy access for walking and biking. A large, safe playground for G to play on whilst we enjoyed a drink at the café.
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