Teddy's Farm

When your campsite lies in the thick of one of the country’s great national parks, swimming pools, games rooms and onsite entertainment seem wholly redundant. You won’t find any such fripperies at Teddy’s Farm, a cracking New Forest pop-up between Lymington and Brockenhurst. This is camping as it should be, with acres of space for kids to run themselves ragged playing games and building dens.

A refreshingly relaxed atmosphere reigns here, with dogs welcome, campfires permitted, no formal pitches to hem you in and an uncommon sense of space that makes you appreciate what a find this place truly is. As a working sheep farm, kids will love meeting their bleating new friends and may even be lucky enough to catch the resident sheepdog at work. Facilities are basic but more than adequate for a site of this size that only pops-up fleetingly for a month or so at summertime. Best of all, the farm’s very own pasture-fed lamb is available to buy – a fitting and delicious centrepiece for your campfire cookout.

Though titular host Teddy’s family have been rearing sheep at the 170-acre Battramsley Farm since the late 1970s, his family’s farming roots in the New Forest go back over 200 years. So if ever there was a campsite host who can claim to know a thing or two about these parts, it’s Teddy. And with a wealth of walking routes, scenic seaside spots and little-known gems to seek out, there’s no end to the adventures that await beyond the farm gates. The pretty port town of Lymington lies five minutes’ drive away and boasts a plethora of olde worlde pubs and charming chocolate-box shop fronts on its quaint cobbled streets. Henry VIII’s Hurst Castle and the innumerable woodland trails of the national park will capture your interest, while beaches aplenty await – the sandier varieties can be found further west towards Bournemouth, Mudeford and the Christchurch Harbour.