Bongo Fury

As it is now January we need to make some progress on deciding where we are meeting and what will be the form of the meet.

I have voted for a pub lunch at the Royal Oak nr Beaulieu. I have gone for this one as it has decent food, car parking, is kid and dog friendly, plus surrounded by open forest. It is also easy to find from the M27 and M3.

The other alternative suggested is to hire the Scout Hut for £50 with camping outside.

For those who want to stay there is Hurst View camping site, between Lymington and Milford on Sea or the possibility of the Scout Hut at £5 a van.

Any other suggestions welcome. We need to know likely numbers as soon as possible.

Royal Oak sounds fine as its more of a day meet than an overnight camping sort of event.

Address of pub is

The Royal Oak
Hilltop
Beaulieu
Brockenhurst
SO42 7YR

i dont live to far from either location,not sure if royal oak do food this time of year i will give them a call and find out
just got to get the head done on the bongo again first

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserRevi ... ml#REVIEWS

Trip Advisor Reviews

Unless it has changed recently it should be fine for food on a Sunday. I chose this one rather than one deeper in the forest for exactly this reason.

If all else fails there is always the Newport in Braishfield Real ale, best ploughmans in Hampshire and enough atmosphere to knock you sideways. Unchanged since the 1940s. Home Guard photos on the wall. Vintage bus seats in the Public, probably with vintage fleas and spectacular outside loos. Dogs but no children though. That place is an experience worth having.

http://www.campingintheforest.co.uk/eng ... s-campsite

Another recommended campsite.

I don't mind where I go, I just love getting out in the Forrest. But I did vote for the oak x

The Newport sounds really intriguing!!

New Forest Terrier wrote:http://www.campingintheforest.co.uk/eng ... s-campsite

Another recommended campsite.

That looks a lovely campsite, might head off there during the week as it's half term

I haven't voted yet. I agree we need to agree. I don't mind what we do but I do need to book a campsite. I do want to book the campsite that other overnighters will use!

How about setthorns? and the nearest pub! Just googled all the suggestions. Wait for responses now as they're all quite far apart from each other!

The Red Lion at Boldre does lovely meals and has a large car park that extends to a grassed area behind. http://www.theredlionboldre.co.uk/. I did just give them a ring to ask if you could camp but the answer was no. The pub is beautiful with real ale and fantastic meals. I visited in August last year and had a lovely meal. Might be worth a look Mary.

The Red Lion is lovely Jilly, but it is not the easiest place to find. For a lunch time meet the Royal Oak is more accessible, just follow the directions for Beaulieu Motor Museum. Also it does food till 6pm on a Sunday, which gives anyone arriving later a chance. It has a great range of real ales and draught cider. Plus shops and cafes in Beaulieu village will be open as the Motor Museum is an all year round attraction.

The Red Lion would be great for a Saturday visit for those staying overnight. It is difficult as there are so many good pubs with just one bit missing from the requirements. For food I would go for the Angel at Lymington, but it built on its car park some years ago. Classic forest pubs are the Royal Oak at Fritham and the Cuckoo at Landford but both are small and need good weather to sit outside. Plus they would be limited on food this time of year.

The Newport is a total time warp and would be great for a meet by the bold. It is very child unfriendly. The garden has of broken play equipment and a lethal looking sea saw. Its great fun and the ploughmans are traditional and perfect but not for a mixed group.

OK I've booked two nights at Setthorns (expensive!) - Fri and Sat then moving on to the meet on the Sunday, presumably at the Royal Oak.

Mary and Cat - I've mentioned I would like to be near you two, when you book.

Anyone else wants to join us? Be brave?

We will be there for the meet on Sunday and maybe an overnight stay.

Jilly... I've not booked yet. You know we sold the bongo and have a big bloody motorhome, so I've just got to build up the courage to drive it on my own down for the couple of nights as Chris has work.

Mary... will there be a place for me to park at the meeting on the Sunday. It's the size of two bongos's put together I would say... oh and very high

Has anyone got kids coming with them?