Family In:site into New Forest Centenary site

The New Forest Centenary site is one of those Caravan Club sites that you must stay at. Primarily because there is so much to do in the area; Dorset and neighbouring Hampshire are beautiful counties with outstanding areas of beauty and a wide variety of landscapes from the Jurassic coastline to the woodland. It's "centenary" title also adds prestige; this was the site where a time capsule was placed marking the Caravan Club's 100th anniverary. 

On the first day of arriving we bumped into friends from Nottingham, where we used, who have been coming to the site for three years. The girls immediately had another play mate and weren't to be seen when we were at the site because they were either at the playground or playing games beside one of the caravans.

We did explore the area but spent a day at the site for the Play Day, an event celebrated nationally but also at numerous Caravan Club sites.

 

Places to see and visit:

 

The New Forest Caravan Club site is as its name suggests in the New Forest and one of the best ways to explore it is by bike. There are various cycle companies offering hiring services if you haven't brought your own. We hired from New Forest Activities, who are based in Beaulieu, a very attractive town a few miles away. After collecting our bikes, we headed down the road and were soon in the forest. The map we purchased was useful to keep track of which routes to take as we ventured from Beaulieu to Lyndhurst and back. This added some mileage to our 500 Fresh Air Mile challenge (link). 

 

There is over seven miles of award- winning beaches nestled beneath a magnificent cliff line, near Bournemouth and during the summer holidays people flock down to the beach to swim, sunbathe and hire beach equipment. For those that don't want to spend the day on the beach, there are plenty of walk in the area. We borrowed a leaflet from one of the wardens at reception that listed about 6 different walks of varying lengths (1 or 2 miles to 6 and half) along the coastline. The one that was recommended to us was the one at Boscombe which takes in part of the town and a cliff walk down to the beach.

 

The Seacity museum tells the story of Titantic focussing on the stories of the people associated with it; many of the crew members on board were from Southampton therefore large areas of the city were affected after the tragedy. The exhibition shows the variety of jobs crew members carried out and artefacts and recordings from survivors bring the events to life. It is organised into three sections: the first section explains about the making of the ship, what was onboard and the people who got jobs as crew members; the second section follows their stories in more detail and focusses on the daily life and routines; the final section is a court room and dissects the reasons behind the cause of the tragedy. Overall this is a fascinating exhibition and it certainly brought to life an important history event.

 

Poole Harbour is further along the coast from Bournemouth and ideal for a day since there's plenty to do. The Heritage Cycle route, printable from the Internet provides a good way to explore the area. It is 7 and a half miles long and could be done by bike, foot or scooter.

 

Hengistbury Head was a recommendation that we received. This spit of land is another popular destination for beach goers. A wonderful and impressive selection of beach huts line the sand bank as families play on the beach and splash in the sand. You can get to Hengistbury head by ferry from Mudeford or a car park further inland. A land train takes visitors to the spit but the distance isn't far so walking is easily an option. If walking, the headland provides a lovely view over to the Isle of Wight on a good day.

 

Although Stone Henge is over an hour's drive away it is well worth a visit if you are in this neck of the woods. This English Heritage site is extremely popular and tourists flock there on a daily basis. Even the road that passes alongside the stone circle has traffic crawling along it, to get a good view. The New Visitor centre gives a sophisticated and thorough insight into what is understood about Stone Henge and an audio tour reveals relevant information about points of interest at the stone circle. The visitor centre is a mile away from the main attraction and regular buses shuttle between the two. 

 

We didn't have time to visit the Isle of Wight this time and gazed longingly across the channel at it from Hengistbury Head. If we had had time we were hoping to catch a day ferry and explore the island by bike. Ferries run from Portsmouth to Fishbourne or Ryde and Lymington to Yarmouth. The latter is closer to the site and a shorter journey. From Yarmouth there are cycle routes that take you to the far west of the island to see the Needles. We'll have to return another time in order to go the Isle of Wight.