We visited Holmsley campsite on the second bank holiday in May. First thing to know is that the site is ABSOLUTELY HUGE, with something like six or seven hundred pitches.

Usually with Forest Holidays sites it's great to be able to pitch anywhere, but on the may bank holiday we got there and there weren't many pitches which meant driving round for ages pitching up.

Holmsley is an old WWII airfield, so there are quite large expanses of tarmac throughout the site, but this does make car access easy. Also, if you go when it's not too busy you can pitch hidden away amongst the trees in some really idyllic pitches.

We pitched our Outwell Hartford L in the far corner of "heath plains" Right next to the forest. We were able to go over the fence to walk the dog, and had some lovely times meeting the new forest ponies.

Good things: despite size, the site is divided into relatively small areas, so you won't have too many people near you. The site is flat on the main fields (some slopes though). You can get straight into the forest. Close to the beach. Lovely location.

Bad things: Our pitch was almost five minutes walk from the toilet block. They lock the washrooms at 10pm. The shop is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. Iceblock exchange was £2 a block! Drainage on the site (especially given the site's history) leaves a lot to be desired. On our last night the heavens opened and there was considerable flooding caused by standing water. However, having seen the rest of the new forest on the news when we got home we realise that we weren't badly off, but we were disappointed with the poor drainage.

Overall we had a lovely time. I think for a cool camping experience it's probably better to go to a smaller campsite, but we would definitely go back if we couldn't get in to our favourite sites.