Cheap, but for a reason
Jul 2024Location is good, beaches close by and 2 pubs within walking distance. Sainsbury's a 5 min drive away and a small corner shop less, so this was all good.
Field itself, is, well, a field, nothing spectacular about it, but it's flat with plenty of space and you can pitch wherever you like. Signage to find the field is scant - its a metal gate off a track residential rode with a small 'Summers Camping' sign attached. For this and all the above, I would give it a 7 out of 10.
The facilities are what let it down. The whole structure has literally been thrown together, imagine a 2x2" wood frame covered by the thinnest of plastic panelling and you are there. If you lost your balance in the loo or shower, you would go through the wall with no effort.
They provide 3 flush-less toilets, basically long drop, with a toilet seat above and then they provide sawdust for you to chuck over. We have used these types of toilets in many campsites, and they are fine and we are not squeamish. However, these were not emptied frequently enough for their use, toilet paper was scarce and they were dirty on almost every visit. When you have young children and adults alike that won't use them and instead drive to Sainsburys or the pub to use their toilets, then this is a problem. The 3 showers were just okay, basic but for the one time I used them, it was doable as long as no one else is using the water at the same time.
There is finally one sink with a tap that is for hand washing, washing up and drinking water. If you are in the shower and someone uses the sink, then you get no water, the same if more than one shower is in use.
I would say that the field was at 50% capacity during our 3 night stay, so the fact that the toilets became unusable at times really isn't acceptable. I would also say that a dedicated water tap is required, as the one tap was pretty slow and impedes the use of the showers.
Finally, the grass was really thick and crunchy and about a foot deep, which when you are living in flip-flops as the weather is good, it isn't the easiest to walk through as it's pretty crunchy. I don't mind this type of grass and I really am not expecting high quality on a campsite, but please give it a mow!
There was mention of a coffee van but during the weekend, we saw nothing, so plan for this. Taking everything into account, our group of 12 gave it between a 2 or 3 out of 10 and wouldn't return.
Site's response
Hi Georgina, thank you for your constructive feedback which we take seriously. The toilet cleaning situation, you talk about during your stay back in July when it first opened has already been addressed with dedicated time slots morning and evening check all is okay and replenished.
Regarding the grass, as we are a farmers field, it needs a tractor to do this, so we have to wait until the quieter midweek point to have this done for us. Unfortunately for your stay, this happened just after which we apologise for.
The water pressure is something we are working on with the water company as its a problem throughout the whole area so we are not alone in this, frustrating as it can be from time to time.
Kind regards - Rob.
Quiet camping field
Recommends site
Summers Camping is ideally located for trips to the New Forest and to the beach. It has some basic facilities (compost toilets, hot showers and drinking water) which are of course very useful for your stay. The site manager, Rob, checks on the site daily and was very helpful with directions and recommendations for local activities and places to visit. This is a great pop-up site.
Would not recommend
Large Tent - Non Electric Grass Tent PitchesJul 2024Really not happy with our stay. The toilets were awful and snapped on me and cut the back of my legs. No step to help anyone up, as way to high. Also, did not state that the bar and coffee shop was not open during our stay.
Quiet
Recommends site
Lovely location, there is a little corner shop and a pub within walking distance. We didn't see anyone from the campsite, just drove on and pitched.
The showers were clean and functional - not super hot but very useable. The toilets were composting toilets with sawdust and perhaps could have done with some instructions for users. I have used composting toilets without issue before, but these ones weren't in the best condition through people using them wrong. 2 toilets may not be enough if the field is busy.
