This site is in a superb location.
We stayed here for four nights in September.
There is a half mile track to the site. Halfway along this track we wondered if we were in the right place! The signpost on the road needs improving.
The CL field had really long grass. We were told that it was cut last week. (Clearly not)
All five hardstandings were in a very poor state. Vertually disintegrated. They had not been maintained.
The other four caravans had chosen not to put up there awnings because of the mud and general poor state of the pitches.
Parts of the field were waterlogged and therefore churned up by cars.
There was another field that the owner let out to non caravan club members. (The grass in this fiels was short!) They had use of the shower and toilets also.
With a fair amount of investment, this site could be wonderful.
Sadly, there is no way we would return.
Had the previous reviews been more accurate, we would not have chosen this site.
Such a shame.
We stayed here for a week in August and had a wonderful stay. The site is spacious and the views and countryside nearby are delightful.
The facilities on the site are (IMO) good for a CL, the toilets were basic but always clean and the showers more than adequate.
For those wanting a flavour of the site I've made a short video which I hope you'll find useful.
https://youtu.be/OmuvFWJ2Mwc
This is a beautiful site, extremely well maintained and with excellent facilities for a CL. We arrived after prolonged wet weather and the grass was indeed very wet. This was not a problem for our small campervan but if you have a large caravan or motorhome, it may well be worth checking conditions with the owner before arriving! We just wanted to escape for a few days and this was a perfect choice.
A perfect woodland CL. Absolute peace and quiet save for the birdsong and faintly audible and gentle burbling of the mill stream. Ditto all the previous positive reviews. Access to the site and manoeuvring my 6.5m m/home within the site and onto the hard surfaced stone chip pitch was absolutely no problem.
Facilities excellent.
A glorious 15 min easy walk between trout lakes and through woodland and a meadow brought me to the village store and post office, returning in a loop and the mill stream on a second woodland path via Alderholt Mill (Cream teas Sat and Sundays only!). A haven of beauty and peace not to be missed.
Before waxing lyrical about the good bits, let's get the slight problemette that prevented five stars out the way first...
Being at the bottom of a hill and next to a river, the grass areas of the site were extremely wet during our stay. Okay, so this wasn't a problem in and of itself, but the combination of this and the narrow nature of the road through the site meant that getting the van positioned and extracted was a "challenge" for anything other than a proper 4x4. No doubt the site would be a lot drier in the summer, but if you're not too confident when it comes to moving the van around and lack a 4x4 then it might be worth avoiding this site in the wetter months (or checking if the owner can be on hand to give you a helping hand on arrival, which he did do for a neighbouring van who had similar issues).
That said, boggy ground aside, this place is cracking. The location itself is very sheltered being at the bottom of a valley, and is about as "miles from anywhere" feeling as you're going to get in the area, with the only thing likely to shatter the night time peace being the owl population (and, in our case, Fergus the Field Mouse who paid our awning a visit on the last night attracted by a rogue Shreddie). The general appearance of the site was excellent, with neatly (considering the dampness) cut grass and hedges, and a lovely backdrop of the river at the bottom of the field and woods on the far bank. The farm itself was populated by a selection of geese, sheep, ducks, peacocks, and cows, with numerous visiting pheasants.
Facilities were more than adequate, with two lovely hot showers and two loos, all of which were nice and clean at all times despite the mud. Chemical disposal was clean and easy to use and water points easily accessible. The owner provides environmentally friendly toilet chemical bottles which are left topped up for you to take to your van and return when empty.
In short, Hawkhill Mill Farm is a lovely spot and well and truly worth a stay... just bear in mind it can be a bit of a maneuvering challenge in the wet!
This is a hidden treasure. It is remote, tucked away off the beaten track but it is only five minutes away from Fordingbridge and 20 mins from Ringwood. The site is beautiful next to a stunning scenic stream and Mill. It is as quiet as any site I have stayed at. There are shower and toilet facilities which are always clean and fresh. The wildlife is superb: finches, owls, peacock, chickens, turkeys, sheep, cattle, trout, swans, deer, ducks, pheasants...I could go on and on. If all you want is to relax and be a part of the countryside this is the place for you. Just lovely.
A little gem, a bit tricky to find but definately worth it. We had a warm welcome, the CL had only just re-opened for the season and was lovely. You are part of the farm, with a very picturesque clear trout stream running along the side of the field. The CL site has one wc, plus the disabled one, a shower and washroom in what could be a farm shed across the field, but this all added to the charm of the place and was perfectly adequate for the 5 permitted vans/ motorhomes. You get welcomed by the turkeys as you walk up the path, then the chickens, peacocks and cows as you walk up the lane. The farmer brought down the sheep for lambing whilst we were there, just wish we went a week later so we could have seen the lambs as well.
My husband took advantage of the fishing and caught a carp in the small lake also on the farm.
There was a footpath leading from the farm along the stream to a village pub a short walk away (about 30mins walk), which is definately worth a visit and is dog friendly.
The only thing to note is, if you use your own van loo onsite then you need to just use a disinfectant instead of pink and blue chemical if you are going to need to empty it whilst you are staying on the farm. The farmer kindly provides this as his treatment tank can't cope with the chemicals, this wasn't an issue for us as we enjoyed the potter across the field to the loo provided, but is something to note. We will definately be returning here in the future.
This was our first visit to the site and will not be our last! We just loved it so much we extended our stay twice. It's the type of setting you expect in a Beatrice Potter book; the country lane dropping down to the farmhouse and mill, the ponds, the lovely wooden arch and stepping stones to the wooden toilet/shower area, the beautiful entertaining geese, the two picnic tables thoughtfully positioned. It's all just so quaint. The owner is extremely friendly and highlights all the facilities on arrival. The toilets and showers are cleaned daily between 7 - 7.30 am. The site is centrally located with the New Forest being only five miles away. If you love peace and quiet in a gorgeous setting, this is definitely the place to be.
Being a novice at the whole campervan experience (it's only my 2nd time), I was very impressed with this site. It is certainly off the beaten track and if you want peace and quiet, then you won't do better than Hawkhill. The owner was very welcoming and extremely helpful. The loos and shower were basic but perfectly adequate and clean, although probably using them in the winter would be a chilly experience as I didn't see any sign of heating. It's a great base for discovering the New Forest, Salisbury, Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch. I would definitely stay here again.
Exactly how a CL should be: rural, remote and removed from everyday life. Booking was easy and Mrs Clarke is very organised, none of this "we'll have to check x,y,z". The day prior to departure we had a phone call warning us that, due to recent heavy rains, we may have some difficulty getting onto the pitch, but that Mr Clarke would be on hand with the Landrover to render any assistance.
The site is remote and all the better for it. Access is down an unmade track (which has less potholes than the roads here locally) before becoming tarmac for the final stretch, so no problems for anyone really.
The quietness is deafening, no traffic or aircraft noise, just birdsong and the burble of water. There are two toilets, two shower rooms and they are immaculately clean. Water and waste disposal is easy, the electric hook up is straightforward.
Mobile phone coverage (if that is what floats your boat) is weak. EE is OK, but no 3G, whilst O2 was non-existent.
Plenty of walking locally, Pubs, Mill Shop and Fordingbridge is 10 minutes by car.
Please don't let this review encourage you to visit though, we'll be coming back and we wouldn't want the site becoming too popular!