Black Knowl Club Campsite

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Excellent site if you can make it to the entrance!

We've been going to Black Knowl site for about 30 years now and love the new toilet block and hard standings. However, over the last 30 years the approach road has slowly deteriorated, not helped by construction traffic during the revamp, to a point where it really does need resurfacing. There is one speed bump that has unacceptable pot holes either side and the one mile approach road is now a mass of pot holes. Not sure who owns the road, probably the Forestry Commission, but hopefully the Caravan Club (I still refer to it as CC and don't like the new logo!!) can liaise with the owners and come to some agreement.

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thecritic

Reviewed on 03/10/2017 17:29

2 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

The new Black Knowl

Have just returned from site having stayed 2 weeks in September. Read other recent reviews and can only repeat more hard standings as grass was too soft and only resulted in people moving after one night onto a hard standing causing them to lose part of their holiday time and increasing movement on site. Wardens were having to manage the situation and did so in a very cheerful manner. Ladies showers flooded!!!!!! Access road getting progressively worse. Welcome on arrival wonderful. Wardens great. Site so peaceful and relaxing. Site kept in very good condition except for problems with grass pitches. Our fourth visit and met old friends and made new ones as seems to be the way here. Will be back in 2018.

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MikeCrowther

Caravanner from Lancashire

Reviewed on 02/10/2017 14:30

19 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

Great site, but.........

Lovely location, very quiet, except for Members barking dogs, great facilities but not perfect. Having spent loads of Members money on a change of Club name and refurbishment the site still lacks fundamental features for the benefit of Members. The access road to the site is atrocious. It is narrow with LARGE potholes both at the sides, middle and on the driving line. When it has rained there is no way of knowing how deep these are, some must be at least 6". Of course, driving with care at a reasonable speed will ensure that you can get through comfortably at the moment but a harsh winter will exacerbate the problem which does need sorting out whether the road belongs to the Club, or not. I have read of complaints that people are wandering across pitches to get to the toilet block. If suitable footpaths had been put in this would not be a problem. Walking to the block on the site road can be a long way and difficult at night due to poor lighting. The Club must, by now, have refurbished and built may toilet blocks. If they took the trouble to stay on a site for a couple of nights that they would realise that at busy times queues form for showers and toilets whilst the 6 wash basin cubicles and 6 urinals are unused. Cleaning the facilities, which I can say were spotless, commenced at 10am, too early, causing a rush up to this time. This is an expensive site, please give us the facilities we deserve.

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Paulrambler

Caravanner from Northamptonshire

Reviewed on 01/10/2017 22:09

14 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

New Facilities. Yes I am nit picking!

I visited the site last week for 4 nights and it is still one of my favourites. However I was slightly disappointed with two areas. First, the new toilet/shower block is of course wonderful and a huge improvement on what it has replaced but what an opportunity missed for us men! ( I cannot comment on the needs of the opposite sex). Like the majority of men I shave and then like to shower but this is not easy at most club sites. Why? The sink cubicles are separate from the shower ones (not the case with old toilet block!). I shave and then have to gather up my kit etc and look for an empty shower cubicle which in the rush hour is not easy and means you are standing around half naked waiting for one to come free. This happens on all club sites but the club had an opportunity to correct this and failed. A missed opportunity and just annoying. I gave up with the morning ablutions and switched to evening as a result. Second, this site is frequented by many dog owners and again I was looking forward to making use of the new "DOG WASH". This is not a dog wash, its a stand pipe with a hose pipe attached. Nothing more and no different than using the waste water pipe which many of us used in the old days. It's false advertising to call it a dog wash area. There are plenty of camp sites with excellent dog wash areas, mostly covered, with warm water and a shower head. Again the club had a golden opportunity to get this right and failed, miserably. Yes, I still love this site but I am annoyed at the club for making such mistakes on a re-development.

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Andrew20

from Devon

Reviewed on 26/09/2017 23:02

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 5 of 5

Good for families

Love Black Knowl

This was always the best site in the Network and has just got better. Love the new toilet block (ladies shower flooding apart.) Felt that the service pitches looked a bit crowded but who wants one anyway (at least 50% just use their usual aquaroll and wastemaster without connecting up! The weather was very mixed with lots of rain which rendered the grass pitches unusable so why not more hard standings. The wardens were great and our fellow caravaners very friendly, the area is fantastic and the best dog walk in the world right outside the site. Definitely back next year and the next and so on.

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Sugs

Caravanner

Reviewed on 24/09/2017 16:54

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 3 of 5

Good for families

Good but wouldn't want to stay on the grass pitches......

No problems in following the road directions given, they are accurate. We had no issues with the speed bumps and the road conditions that some mentioned, we just look it slow. Check in was a breeze, the wardens were lovely. This is a lovely quiet site with no road noise. Just a couple of potential issues. The central part site appears crowded. It was nearly full whilst we where there (only grass pitches left - perhaps a hint to the Club of what people want?). The site is somewhat bland, it still perhaps needs time to ‘mature’. One idea would be that it needs low level hedging to break up the expanse of the site. Some of the grass pitches were closed having been reseeded, strange considering the site has only just opened. We watched somebody trying to pitch their caravan on grass leaving deep tyre track marks. They ended up moving to another pitch. At the time of writing this review these grass pitches are understandably now closed. As previous reviewer said the Club is missing out on revenue by not having more hardstanding. Others have pointed out the issues with the female showers. Dog walking and cycling straight from the site is excellent. A 35 minute walk took us into Brockenhurst. It's in a great location. If you select a serviced pitch make sure you have a long (25m) water hose and waste pipe system. The WiFi is good (until the evening). Mobile coverage with Three and EE is also good. I must stress in no way should these comments be seen as criticism of the wardens who always had a smile and keep the site in pristine condition. Would we return, yes we would.X

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dwlgll20

Caravanner

Reviewed on 24/09/2017 11:23

7 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

One of the best sites on the network

Really a repeat of previous reviews, the new facilities block is excellent but my wife commented on the flooding problem, one for the snag list in the winter shutdown. We had to use a grass pitch on our first night which was virtually a bog, no criticism of the site staff, they're working with what they've been given, don't say "it was very wet weather" this is England. Why on earth have the club persisted with grass pitches at Black Knowle? We've used this site for 15-20 years and the grass pitches have always been rubbish, the grounds too soft. Some of the new grass pitches had to be roped off and re-seeded whilst we were there, they've only been in use since July! Convert the site to hard standings all over, the grass pitches are always clapped out at the end of the year, with the occupancy rate at this site grass just isn't suitable, the clubs losing income if pitches have to be closed. I don't believe there's any one who would miss out on visiting the New Forest just because they can't have grass between their toes as the step out the van. More full service pitches as well please and a few bushes wouldn't go amiss.! The access road has got progressively worse over the years but I expect the council are dragging their feet on that, bet they happily collect the rates more promptly than they repair the road though! Overall a cracking site and a great place to stay, great facilities and a superb location, we'll be back, highly recommended! PS one for the wardens, 2-3 metres in from the road on pitch 6 there's a large rock or hard patch, managed to bend about 4 rock pegs befor i got some to stay (loosely) in the ground, it would be nice if the gravel could be raked back and it was investigated, forgot to mention it whilst we were there!

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LandB

Caravanner from Nottinghamshire

Reviewed on 20/09/2017 12:38

2 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

1st visit to revamped site

Nice clean site with friendly and helpful wardens, impressed with the modern facilities. Like other comments felt cramped and open to abuse for other members cutting across pitches to get to facilities, together with dog owners allowing there dogs to mess on the pitches which is such a shame. Speed limit not adhered too. Access road is badly pitted and needs to be improved.

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zolly

Caravanner

Reviewed on 16/09/2017 13:51

12 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

Great site but disappointed with renovations

We like this site and were keen to see the renovations. Very disappointing. When using ladies showers your shoes etc get wet as floor not put in correctly, been advised that builders returning end of season to correct floor to ensure water runs away properly. Can't use family bathrooms unless you have children or require assistance. We had lots of rain but many units were getting stuck in grass, and wardens having to cancel bookings. Why didn't they sort out pitches and make majority hard standing whilst they had the opportunity. Access road is still a nightmare. Wardens work hard but one of the lady wardens gives impression that she doesn't really want to be there. Such a shame that after all the money spent all these issues are evident. Great location in forest, and best bakers ever in village.

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gtevs

Caravanner

Reviewed on 15/09/2017 15:50

14 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

Well done - great makeover!!

The old toilet block at Black Knowl had character but was old and out of date. The new one is first class and it's timber cladding and roof blends into its surroundings perfectly. There is an issue in the ladies showers that the floor hasn't enough fall on it resulting in the water not draining away quick enough and a big puddle when you pull the shower curtain back. Great site in a fabulousl location - went to sleep listening to the owls hooting!!

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ECS

Reviewed on 12/09/2017 22:25

12 reviews

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