Ashurst Campsite
Check in at Ashurst is at 1pm, but we arrived at 12:47 and had a man approach us at the gate, we said the traffic had been good and we’d arrived early, is it okay to check in now? He told us that if he let us check in this early we’d have to pay an extra £5 (about a 20% price increase) which we felt was rather steep for checking in 13 minutes early, if he’d have said a couple of quid then sure, so we asked if there was somewhere we could wait. In a very smug and unwelcoming way he told us we would have to turn around, go over the cattle grid, then park on the road and wait, there was already a couple of cars parked there. This felt ridiculous, we drove back down the stretch of road and parked where indicated, we agreed if we didn’t have a booking at Happy Cheese then we would have left there and then and gone to Hollands Wood. During the time waiting for 13:00 one car with a caravan, as well as three other cars drove in. At 13:00 we turned around and went back up to a closed barrier, with three cars waiting beyond to check in, the fourth car was a permit holder entry barrier open and heading in, so I opened the barrier for the regular check in then we drove in and joined the other three cars.
Once I got to the check in office I asked if they had space for a campervan, to which they gave me a very sincere “I’m not sure” and some tapping on their computer followed by a “We can probably squeeze you in” but then I had to give all my details to them as apparently in the transition from Camping in the Forest to Camping in the New Forest they lost all the membership data. I’d told them I’d been before and often camp in the New Forest, but they went through all the rules and regulations, I felt like I was being talked down to.
In any case, we did manage to check in, then went on our way to find a pitch… in the many almost entirely empty fields, I figured they may be busier later in the day? But for the whole period that we were there the field that we were in never had more than about six vehicles, most of which were tent campers.
One of the reasons I wanted to come out to the New Forest was to take my camera out and do some actual in field photography as I much prefer to learn through practically using something rather than reading about it. So I went for a little half hour stroll through the woods with camera in hand and snapped away. The area around Ashurst campsite is like anywhere in the New Forest, so plenty of lovely views to take in, a lot of butterflies at this time of the year, foals, bees, so much wildlife. July is a lovely time to visit the New Forest.
Despite being in the forest this campsite is also right alongside a railway line which is actually relatively busy, and with a crossing not far from the station the horn is constantly going until quite late into the night, then early in the morning; as such it was not a peaceful forest experience in that regard. If you do find yourself visiting the campsite then I recommend avoiding the Eastern side, the first time we stayed we were in the thickets on the Western side which was much quieter - although a lot more crowded.
The facilities there were also a bit lacklustre, at least the gents side was as it only had half the toilet block open, for a place that was ‘really busy’ I found it very surprising that there were only 3 or 4 showers, about the same in toilets, and urinals. As well as this on the first day there the soap dispenser was empty, and the hand drier wasn’t working at all.
On a whole, it was good to get out in the van and do some camping, great fun with the right company and it felt therapeutic getting out into the woods. However the campsite itself didn’t feel welcoming at all and I don’t think I will be returning in the future.
