It’s that time of year where we all start looking at booking some holidays for the year ahead.
More and more of us are looking at staycations due to the last couple of years and I know some are just not ready to travel abroad yet.
One of mine and Charlie’s fave places to visit / things to do is go camping in the New Forest. We head to the Lepe area of the New Forest, just a short drive from Beaulieu and only a mile from the beach. The company we book through is called Campmates. They are a single parent holiday company and bring together single parents for whatever reason and from all walks of life.
You can choose from one of their pre pitched Bell Tents (new to campmates this year) or bring your own. If you opt for a pre pitched tent, you get all of this included in the price:
- Beautiful 5m Canvas Bell Tent with Porch.
- Sturdy camp bed and camping chairs.
- Cooking table.
- All cutlery, crockery, frying pan, saucepans, kettle and cooking utensils.
- Gas cooker – Gas cartridges are sold separately.
- Washing up bowl and storage box.
- A Campmates Welcome Pack is emailed to all guests after full payment has been received and prior to arrival, listing everything we include and ideas on what to bring.
So, all you have to do is bring yourself, the kids, bedding, food and clothes (don’t forget washing up liquid like I did the first year!)
You don’t need to bring a huge amount of food as less than a mile away you have a Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s. Plus, you have The Lookout which is just a mile up the road, right on the beach and they do a mean breakfast with amazing views to go with it.
If you like the sound of this, but don’t fall under the single parent option, then they have their sister company Eazycamp just a mile along the road and only a two minute walk from the beach (has great views of the sea). They work along the same lines – either pre pitched or bring your own. They have more room for bring your own as well.
If camping isn’t your “thing” then take a look at Holidaycottages.co.uk and you may find something that tickles your fancy there.
The list below are places that we have either visited in the past or are planning to visit this year
The lookout – on the beach, lovely breakfasts and lunches with great views of the beach / sea
D-Day Landing Spot, Lepe Beach – if you’re into your history, then this is definitely worth a walk along the beach to see – especially good to walk off that big breakfast
Beaulieu National Motor Museum – perfect for those petrol heads (and non petrol heads, I loved it there)
Exbury Gardens and Steam Railway – beautifully landscaped gardens and the steam railway is a perfect way for big and little kids to view the gardens and rest those weary feet after all that walking!!
New Park Manor Hotel – if you like an Afternoon Tea, then this is the place to visit if you’re in the area
Beaulieu is a great village to visit. It’s really pretty and you can visit parts of Palace House and its gardens. You may see one or two ponies and donkey’s roaming the streets too!!
Paultons Park – Paulton’s is approx half an hour from the campsite
If I remember anything, I’ll come back and add to it
Here’s some photos from over the years of camping:
