Arrived just after twelve on the Monday and the site in general looked OK. The site was a bit uneven in general so tent positioning is critical. As the name suggests, the place is full of trees and subsequently is sheltered from the wind (not good for flying kites!). The owner was sat upon a rocking chair by the entrance and on payment would get up and open the gate for you, I thought I heard a faint noise in the background, almost like duelling banjos! We pitched the tent on the ridge as instructed and left for the first of our trips - Aldeburgh beach.
The owner encourages campfires and sells barrow loads of firewood for £15, this leads on to the only rule at The Orchard "Do not bring firewood onto the site" I guess he loses money if you do.
The toilets were realtively clean and although there is only six toilets and three showers, there was seldom a queue.
For the kids there was a ping-pong table and play area. The play area is designed for children younger than 10, but was used by older children as there was nothing else if the ping-pong table was being used.
As well as the main field there was a wooded area full of tents, and beyond that a field at the bottom that looks as though it should have tents in it. This bottom field also had a river "running" through it. I say running but it wasn't running very fast!
The town of Wickham Market was a short walk via a footpath opposite the main entrance, the cows in the field are quite friendly, where you will find Indian and Chinese cuisine aswell as a CO-OP and fish and chip shop. The village hall has a play area for larger kids.
The other places we visited were:
The only down side to our trip was the weather, still nothing the owner could do about that!
A good site, well worth the two hour drive.
Bottom field View from tent
  River at bottom of the site
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<<<< Wow! what a site! Well signposted off the A4022 (or something like that) 1.5 hours from home, this site is situated on the edge of the Cotswolds. An enormous site with exceptional facilities including; pool table, table football, air hockey, table tennis, giant chess and draughts, three play areas, well stocked shop, tourist information centre, tennis court & skittle alley. There were numerous taps dotted around the site so it was not far to fetch water. The toilet facilities are well maintained and clean, warm water in the shower and a bath for the ladies!
There is a boundary walk if you have a dog or just fancy a romantic stroll with the woman or man of your dreams and a farm trail. The Farm trail takes you past horses, ponies, pigs, chicken, sheep and, the wife's favourite, a Donkey.
Excellent site for kids and grown-ups alike.
The weather was brilliant with temperatures up to 36°C. I will be visiting again.
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<<<<<< extra thumb for the weather!!
Review #2
Now this is what it's all about. A truly enjoyable camping experience, whether you're an experienced camper or not. There's just so much for families to do yet you never feel rushed - a great place to relax and enjoy the terrific surroundings. The pitches seemed spacious whilst trees and bushes offered privacy. The rabbit area was a big hit with our children and the warm summer evening woodland walks went down a treat with me and the missus - oh yes! Whilst not cheap you get what you pay for and we felt that this was excellent value for money.
The site is well maintained and seemed to bring out the best behaviour from the campers. At night it was the quietest campsite I've ever known!
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<<<<<<<<<< Scene of the 2008 Campfest. Unfavourable weather forecast meant that the site was nearly empty apart from Campfesters, Cowboys and kids. Indeed the Campfest Crew made full use of the play area and the wide open spaces. Very basic facilities with nowhere to wash up but flat ground (good to soft going) and a shop that sold all that you could need. Ideal for large parties or parties of large campfesters. Thumb rating <<< First inaugural, original, premier, earliest, initial, maiden, primary, pioneering campfest took place at dower house touring park. An excellent site for the not so hardy camper who likes a life of luxury and warm water to wash in the morning.
Plenty of stuff to do for kids and big kids alike. Playground for the grown ups and a bar for 13 - 14 year olds.
Would recommend this site to anyone.
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You'd think being in the New Forest this would be a nice place to go, probably is if its not chucking down with rain.
Toilets were strewn with toilet paper (kind of puts you off a bit)
would recommend this site because of its location, but you need to have very good weather.
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Ashurst Forest website
A brilliant site, right next to Grafham Water - pride of Perry. It was an undulating site with plenty of scope to camp in a circle.
This was a good site for many reasons:
1. Plenty of activities at Grafham Water for adults and kids alike
2. Gave rise to some excellent whinging from a certain Father who was forced to drag 16 children round the lake on tricycle. I think he has stopped coughing up blood now.
3. Weather was superb.
4. Second meeting of the gasbags!
Unfortunately I believe that they are no longer accepting tents :-( Caravans only, apparently they are a better class of camper.
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<<< Would have been more if we could go back
Top End Farm
Just spent 2 nights at this local campsite, and had a wonderful weekend away. Great site, loads of room, playground for the kids (my are 5,5 & 4) and they spent most of their time there without me as I could see them from my pitch. Toilets not too bad considering it is a small portacabin, did not use the on site shower, but plenty of others did, we have booked 4 more weekends here over the summer, as it is only 10miles from home, but could have been 100 miles. On site shop sells everything, and Tesco only down the road in St Neots / Eynesbury. In all great site and had fun, credit to the owners. Thumb rating
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