Black Knowl Club Campsite

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Nice enough considering it’s the Summer Holidays

Site nice and clean with a good variety of pitches. Wardens are lovely and very friendly. Unfortunately it has been pretty much full for the 2 weeks we have been here with lots of children having fun (bikes etc) but it is the summer holidays so i guess that’s to be expected. Toilet block is lovely and new but water pressure is poor in showers. Location is fabulous - right in the middle of the New Forest. Browns Fish & Chip van visits on a Wednesday but don’t bother - they are very expensive and seem to run out if everything! We waited over an hour for ours as you queue first (30mins) and then they cook exactly what you’ve ordered! (If they have anything left which is highly doubtful) which took another 30mins - even then they weren’t very good. Unfortunately no other food offerings (like pizza). It’s a 30 minute walk to Brockenhurst where the nearest pub is so site is only really ok if you cook every night (which isn’t my idea of a holiday). Would we come back?... Maybe. Not our favourite site by any stretch.

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bodsy

Caravanner

Reviewed on 28/08/2019 20:05

1 review

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Lovely clean site

Stayed for one night before my nephews wedding and thought it was a lovely clean site well kept. The wardens were extremely friendly and helpful, marking pitches on a map that were currently free and in a sunny position - saved having to drive round site a few times. On leaving they had a problem with a broken down caravan on a bend , they were helping sort this out but kept in radio contact with staff on site so we could be told when it was safe to leave.

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Reviewed on 26/08/2019 11:52

10 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

CAULKHEAD

Fantastic site, ruined by the fact it turns into giant Velodrome, kids cycling all over the place and at speed, they race in between pitches, they race around the toilet block. The wardens do not give a dam, they will not bother to up hold the Rules. ITs about time that the Rules where issued on the back of your receipt as a reminder to members..

15 replies

andwend

Caravanner

Reviewed on 25/08/2019 21:05

18 reviews

1 Helpful note

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Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Great location - pity about the mower!

We stopped here for the first time on our way back from a music festival in Devon. We chose a grass pitch in a secluded corner - very nice. There were a good variety of birds about, including Buzzards & Woodpeckers, and we saw a deer right by the hedge next to us early the following morning. It was slightly irritating & unnecessary that you needed a security code to access the toilets / showers. The site was not well signposted, but is in a beautiful location with wild ponies right by the entrance & excellent walking / cycling from the site. We will certainly return for a number of days to explore the New Forest. Our breakfast in the sun was ruined, however, by a member of staff choosing, without warning, to mow the grass on our pitch with a noisy & polluting sit - on mower as we were eating, coming within inches of the table & showering our food with dust & grass cuttings! Not good enough, & the second time this had happened at a club site in the same week.

3 replies

tvrdriver

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 24/08/2019 18:48

5 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Our perfect site

Stayed here for five nights in August, in our caravan. The site is slap-bang in the middle of the New Forest, close to the village of Brockenhurst, so it's a trail down some narrow and humped roads to get there. But on arrival it quickly becomes apparent it's worth it. The site is spacious, well laid-out and very modern-looking with immaculate shower blocks even by the high standards of the Club. The reception has a small shop selling some basics plus camping spares and ices (but no booze), for which we were grateful. We had booked a serviced pitch but the water was the wrong side of the 'van on our pitch. We had a hose extension but the connector was broken. Fortunately, the shop sold us a new one for a couple of quid, which saved our bacon. We are empty-nesters, so while I've knocked stars off the family-friendly category this is because there's nothing on-site for kids that I saw. If your kids need a playground this is fair, but the New Forest begins right outside the site entrance so is good for outdoor-sy youngsters (though watch out for cow and pony doo-doo). It's also perfect for dogs, who can, if properly-behaved, roam about under control and chase balls until they drop. The forest is just marvellous with well-defined trails everywhere for walkers and cyclists alike, and the charming Brockenhurst itself can be easily reached by foot, with a choice of supermarkets and local shops for vittals and wine resupply. What a lovely site.

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SteveNE59

Caravanner from Durham

Reviewed on 22/08/2019 22:32

11 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

First time stay....

Having come across this site on a Facebook page we follow we decided to give it a try with a view of perhaps booking a longer stay next year. We stayed in a Caravan & Camping Club site at Verwood many years ago so knew that we'd enjoy the area with its walks etc. Access to the site is good (despite width restrictions) and is clearly set out in the membership book and on the website and the site itself is quite nice. We pitched near the entrance so we could escape to walk the dog etc. easily so didn't really get to look around the site as a whole. There is no dog walking on the site at all (clearly pointed out by the wardens on arrival) but there is a "stop off point" within the site should your dog get caught short or just need a nighttime relief. That said just go for a pitch nearer the entrance and you'll be OK. The kids do ride their bikes around the site a lot and sometimes do forget about other users but it didn't present too much of an issue with us. Just a word of warning for those of you that may get irritated by it. This is the first time I've used the showers on a club site (we generally use the one in our van) and I was extremely and pleasantly surprised as to the cleanliness and quality of the facilities. FIRST CLASS! The location is just superb! To be honest I reckon that's what makes this site SO popular and it's 100% understandable. A short walk and you are in the most beautiful commonland with the famous New Forest ponies, cattle and donkeys around you. The walks in the woods are well marked out and easily accessible and it's easy to see just why the New Forest is a destination UK holiday. I don't know why and couldn't put my finger on it but this wasn't the best site we've stayed at (maybe just the mix of visitors etc at the time - and I appreciate we were there too!) but we certainly will go there again for a longer break and add it to our future short breaks itinerary as well.

1 reply

Paul Ivory

Caravanner from Wiltshire

Reviewed on 21/08/2019 11:54

4 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Lovely Holiday

Stayed here 12 nights lovely clean site very friendly wardens. Can't believe how some members don't pitch up properly the pegs are there for a reason!!!!! Please follow the rules and give everyone safe space

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thomsons

Caravanner from Aberdeenshire

Reviewed on 18/08/2019 12:54

6 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

New Forest at its best!

I have visited the New Forest for best part of 40yrs since I was a child. I will never tire of the beautiful area. Just had a 5 nights stay at Black Knowl and it has to be one of my favourite ever sites. The owners were very friendly and all the guests I spoke to were to. The site was kept immaculate. The toilet block was nearly new and had everything needed. Pitches were a lovely size as well. Can’t wait to come back!!!

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anna170680

Motorhomer from Oxfordshire

Reviewed on 08/08/2019 20:51

1 review

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

5 Star is Not Enough

Stayed on the site July 19 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great reception from jovial, friendly wardens. The floral display when you enter the site is second to non. The toilet and shower blocks are fantastic and spotless. Modern easy MSVP with good access even for big rigs. Local area is brilliant for cycling, walking, birdwatching, horse and animal watching. We cycled 24 miles and 13 miles for our 2 rides in lovely countryside. Fab place and we had great families and couples all around us.

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j9twp

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 31/07/2019 11:00

5 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

A truly wonderful site

We'd stayed at Black Knowl many times back in the mid-90's and at that time we had always loved the place, the surroundings and the New Forest itself. After a 20 year break we returned to caravanning and returned to the newly-renovated site for a week to see if anything had changed. We found Black Knowl still to be as enchanting as ever and our family had a wonderful time there in 2019. The site was very different to how we remembered it, and very much improved with the renovation. Shower blocks were immaculate, grass well tended, wardens very helpful and all in a perfect location. The only slightly negative points were that the pitches seemed to be closer together than we remembered and there was a lack of foliage landscaping to break up the regimented lines of pitches. It seems like whoever designed the site layout had an objective of cramming in as many pitches as possible within the available space. However this didn't overly detract from our enjoyment and we saw it as a sign of the times. Very easy to travel to beaches and other tourist areas if you stay off the main routes and take to the forest roads. Also recommend the New Forest Cider farm in nearby Burley! Read in other reviews that some people had experienced trouble with dogs. This was absolutely not the case during our stay and even if it had been, a gentle word with one of the wardens (or the dog owner) would have sorted it out quickly.

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Barry Dibble

Caravanner from Kent

Reviewed on 29/07/2019 10:31

4 reviews

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