Fernwood Glamping

We had booked a long weekend stay this June unsure of what to expect. The weather wasn't great but this didn't matter in fact added a charm to the experience, what a lovely, idealic setting with breakfast delivered at a time of your choice, a beautiful summer house to enjoy. Just a delightful stay, that we would highly recommend.

We stayed here with our 2 year old son and had a great time. The hosts have thought of all the small touches, like making sure there was a sleeping bag, and plastic beaker for our son. The compost toilet is the best I’ve ever visited, you wouldn’t even know. There is loads to do around and Rachel has created a great book to give you lots of ideas. We visited Moors Country Park, Monkey World and the Wildlife Park which were all fantastic experiences. The gypsy caravan is deceptively roomy, and we surprised that we managed to fit in the bed but we did and managed to have that all important peaceful sleep (even a bit of a lie in).

We had a splendid couple of nights in the old Sheppard’s hut. Rachel & Johnathan really have thought of everything - the attention to detail is wonderful. The hut itself is really lovely - comfy bed, little side sofa, drawers etc. and a fab wood burner that really gave off a lovely heat and was super easy to get going. Welcome card and sweets on arrival, nice fresh towels, excellent shower/toilets (inc. the composting loo which was the best composting loo I've ever come across!), camping chairs, fire pit, loads of wood to take, a lovely summer house filled with everything you want (fridge, kettle, tea/coffee/biccies, guides, maps, warn ponchos etc. etc.). Good for wildlife (saw an amazing white stag!), easy to find as well. Lots of nice pubs nearby and walks in the forest. What's not to love? Hope to be back soon!

We spent a wonderful long weekend at Fernwood, in the gypsy caravan. Absolutely fabulous place to stay! Rachel and Jonathan have created a wonderful bubble of cosiness. The caravan is beautifully decorated, with hand paintings, rose fabric, fairy lights and amazing wood burner. All of this makes you feel super, super cosy.The bed was comfy and warm. We felt warm even during quite a cold night. We loved our welcome card, and complimentary snacks. Rachel has made an effort to get us vegan ones. The same with milk for coffee/tea: we had plant milk provided, which was super cool! The octagonal summer house is lush too. You can seat in or outside, wrapped in soft poncho if it’s chilly. A lot of magazines, games and local guides in there to keep you occupied whilst having your morning coffee. The garden, where the caravan is placed, is huge, with a lot of trees, bushes and a pond. Behind the property there is a field with deer being frequent visitors. We didn’t see any during our stay, but we saw a fox early in the morning, which was great! The place was quiet and we had a lot of privacy. The guest bathroom was superb too. So was the compost toilet in the garden. Such a great idea! You don’t have to walk too far from the caravan, which is very useful in the middle of the night ;) All the places: caravan, compost toilet, bathroom, summer house were super clean. Towels and bedding fresh and smelled nice. In general: everything was top notch! I highly recommend staying at Rachel and Jonathan’s to anyone who wants to feel welcomed and comfortable during their quiet time away. They are warm, very approachable people, who definitely know how to make their guests happy.

The Shepherds hut is an oasis of calm and comfort in a beautiful setting and very convenient to get to. We were treated so well with marshmallows provided and a breakfast hamper on our first morning. Thirty minutes from Brockenhurst in the new forest and the beach you really are in a fab location. I’d recommend this place to everyone

Amazing family week at Fernwood in the Gypsy caravan. All amenities needed including lovely shower room and power. Basics such as milk and coffee provided. Rachel & Jonathan couldn't do enough for our 2 children and made their stay magical. Ideal location to explore he beautiful new forest. Will definitely be returning!

We had an amazing stay at the gipsy caravan for the last 2 nights. Our 3 year old boy Simon had so much fun crossing the small river, melting the marshmallows at the campfire, playing at the treehouse and getting to know the animals in the back garden. Rachel and Jonathan were incredibly welcoming and helpful. Denitely coming back in the future xx

Just returned home from a fantastic weekend in the shepherds hut with my 10yr old son. Thank you to Rachel and Jonathan for creating this idyllic place and sharing it with others. And for the delicious breakfasts, with home made muffins and all. We stayed for 2 nights and woke up to snow on the second morning. The wood burner in the hut still warmed us up nicely and an unexpected bonus to be lent two sledges ! Thanks again, we’d love to come back

My 4 year old son and I had a great time here. Rachel had provided everything we might need, and was a very thoughtful and attentive host. We loved toasting marshmallows by the camp fire and the trampoline and treehouse kept my son occupied for hours. The breakfast hamper was fantastic, with more than enough for us. Facilities such as the compost toilet and shower were immaculate. Would definitely return and would highly recommend, especially for those with children.

I spent two nights in the shepherd's hut at Fernwood, with my three children. It's a really quirky place to stay but also very comfortable; Rachel has thought of everything you might need, so straight away you feel pampered and like you are on holiday. This is far more luxurious than camping and the hut very cosy and warm. The garden is beautiful; the children spent so much time on the big trampoline and playing in the deer hide. They couldn't believe the breakfast hampers; a huge breakfast, presented with loads of thought. Although you are essentially sharing a really big garden with the family, they all were very welcoming and the hut felt very private. We'd love to go back but next time hire the gypsy caravan too!

We wanted to add our amazed thanks for the magic Rachel and Jonathan pull off at Fernwood - off grid but with all mod cons, authentic, but cosy and completely comfortable, right in the heart of the forest but everything spotlessly clean. It is a stunning find! Even when it rained it was magnificent: we lit the wood burner, made a pot of tea, and read books. The attention to detail in the Shepherd's hut was so appreciated. Thank you both!! We also both love Kiera the collie cross, hiding under large plants in the garden from rain-fear. Would whole heartedly recommend. x

Just a short review as we want to say a massive thank you for a lovely holiday to Fernwood, Rachel and Jonathan were brilliant they were very welcoming and helpful. We had the beautiful gypsy caravan for 3 nights, it was so peaceful and quiet. We had some lovely bike rides through the new forest with the help of Jonathan’s navigation and some brilliant days out at peppa pig world (25 mins drive) and moors valley (30 mins bike ride). Also the breakfast hamper were scrumptious  Ollie, Fern & Indiana

What a great find! Rachel and Johnathon are incredible hosts for this idyllic glamping experience. We are a family of four- 2 girls under the age of 5 and we stayed in their Gypsy caravan for 2 nights. Rachel and Johnathon thought of all the small details to make our first glamping experience a great one! Such as marshmallows to toast on a fire come the evening, snuggly rugs,a gorgeous tea set for a morning cup of tea and fairylights to light up the inside of the caravan after dark. We even saw deer from the forest grazing in the field behind. As novice campers we were a little nervous of the compost toilet but they kept it really well- no smell and a nice clean environment. They were ideally located right in the New Forest so we went for a wonderful walk and saw the wild horses and cattle roaming. We also went off to the beach for the day which was a short car journey away. We would truly recommend for a wonderful stay.

We had a perfect time in the very cozy hut! Rachel & Jonathan are great hosts and they provides us with all the info we needed. Our two boys loved the spacious garden, the lovely dog, jonathan's beautiful lizards (!) and the trampoline was a big and sensational surprise! Highly recommended!

Rachel, Jonathan and their three children live in a fairy tale location, and we were lucky enough to stay with them in the end of June. We are a family of four adults and we traveled from California to the UK for a three week holiday. The magic began when we made our first stop after the airport at Stonehenge. The ancient stones were a convenient diversion on our way to the New Forest. Our first night would be spent at the lovely village of Ringwood. Our beds were split between a Rustic Shepherd’s Hut and a Gypsy Caravan in the back garden of this gorgeous property located in the village of Ringwood. We couldn’t believe our luck! We soon discovered was that this was not going to be camping in some smelly old shelters, no, this was Glamping at its BEST!! We would bed down in a charmingly decorated shepherd’s hut and gypsy caravan. Our daughters decided that we should have the hut, they took the caravan. The caravan was about 20 yards from the hut, also beautifully appointed, and our lucky daughters were the inaugural guests! Rachel and Jonathan had just purchased the caravan and worked overtime to get it in shape; it was gorgeous! We were exhilarated but tired after the ten and half hour journey. The long flight from California and eight time zones that we passed through meant that we weren’t going to be awake too late and be able to take advantage of the fire pit. But before we took to our beds, we asked for food recommendations. Rachel provided us with a few local options. We chose the Alice Lisle because it was close and sounded appealing. We found it to be delightful, and we enjoyed a tasty, fresh meal, good local beer, and a gorgeous view as the pub sits at the edge of a lake. Feeling full and happy, it was time to head back to the hut and caravan and get ready for sleep. Let me tell you a bit more about the accommodation. Now this is marketed as rustic, but that should only apply to the fact that there is no electricity nor running water. Everything else that we needed was there including tea and coffee making facility; clean, fluffy robes tied with raffia; and an assortment of crocs for walking around the property so as not to get your shoes wet, or for the middle of the night run to the toilet. The hut and caravan are amply lit with fairy lights and the beds were invitingly adorned with cozy comforters and pillows. We even had teddy bears sitting on our pillows waiting for their bedtime story ;-) And as an extra courtesy there are light wands and torches available to use for reading or going to the loo. There is a clean odor-free composting toilet with a cleverly rigged sink in a structure located quite close to the hut and caravan. (There is also a shower available next to the onsite apartment, or in the house, as well.) We used the facilities and were cleaned up and ready for bed! It was the end of June and still a bit chilly in the New Forest especially for our thin California blood. But not to worry, we had a pot belly stove and wood for heating in the hut. In reality we didn’t need this once we got under the warm bedding! Oh, that bedding! We were all extremely comfortable! In fact, the bed in the hut was the most comfortable one that I had ever slept on, better than ours at home, too! The next morning we had opted to purchase breakfast from Rachel. This she served to us in a lovely basket brought to the summer house which overlooked the pond. Breakfast included pastries, cereals and yogurt with fruit from Rachel’s garden, and tea, coffee and juice. It was scrumptious! Sadly, we were only spending one night here. But before we left, we explored the garden where the breakfast fruit had clearly come from, and then I snuck a peek from the deer hide, which sits poised to observe the wildlife in the field behind and looks just like a treehouse. On our way out Rachel gave us directions to where we might be able to see some of the wild ponies. Truly a magical spot! And very welcoming hosts. We highly recommend a stay here!! PS - We found some wild ponies, and they were sweet, especially the foals!

We stayed in the hut (with our 2 and 4 yr old) at Fernwood as a compromise to camping in a tent given the recent weather conditions.  It was a very last minute arrangement, but Rachel was very accommodating and welcomed us despite not giving her much time to prepare for our arrival. On arrival we were shown to the Shepherd's hut which is beautifully designed with a rustic earthy feel. The wood burning stove, fairy lights and little candles make for a magical feel and the little extras (tea, coffee, fruit, marshmallows etc) make it instantly homely and welcoming. You can really tell that so much thought has gone into the place, they really have thought of everything! From robes to crocs, blankets to teddy bears and high quality bedding to top it off. There wasn't a great deal of space for a family of four but it was very very comfortable.....especially the bed. The kids were also warm and cosy in their thick sleeping bags.

The compost toilet was a few steps down the garden...two toilet seats with one 'resting' and the other in operation. The children were fascinated that they didn't need flushing but instead you throw a scoop of sawdust down. All very clean and quirky, lit with fairy lights and quotes from the Dalai Lama on the wall to get you thinking about how to get the best out of life!

We lit the fire pit and sat round it for the evening which was lovely knowing that a pack of marshmallows were sitting waiting for us in the hut.

Our wonderful breakfast  had been left in the summerhouse across the garden. Full of delicious goodies all beutifully presented in a wicker hamper....we sat and had our breakfast looking out to the pond and then after played a few of the games that were on the shelf in there. 

The children loved running  around the big garden, jumping on the trampoline and swinging on the little rope swing. When we left they asked when we could go back! Altogether a lovely place and I would recommend to anyone considering staying here.