Forge Meadow Caravan Site

Rated 5 of 5

Overall rating

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Rye week's stay

Visiting friends who live in Winchelsea we chose this site to stay for a week, not having been before. We loved it, so quiet, so good for the dogs with an excellent dog walk through the field. Facilities were great, the grass well cut and the info hut with games and books was a bonus. Would definitely come back.

Reviewed on 09/09/2021 09:02

6 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Charming site

We have stayed at this site several times and it is a charming site with friendly helpful owners. The owners have mown a special path in their large field for dog owners to walk their dogs. It is truly in the countryside but with lots to do nearby. There is a good information room well stocked, and everything is kept clean and tidy. Looking forward to another visit very soon

EdCoXon

Reviewed on 01/09/2021 18:07

1 review

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 4 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 1 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Noisy, unwelcoming and not very dog-friendly

Level field behind/beside a working farm. Each pitch has a 16A hookup and its own water tap. Grey water goes into the adjacent hedge. Satellite TV reception is difficult because of the high hedges. There's a menagerie of animals adjacent which make quite a lot of noise, especially the shrieking guinea fowl, and attract millions of flies (or maybe that was the smelly loo emptying facility). Not hugely dog-friendly as you have to take them to a separate field to chuck a ball. The owner never attempted to say 'hello' and ignored my email saying I'd paid her by bank transfer. The whole place seems a bit over-regimented. Got the distinct impression from the various notices dotted around that she was a seaside landlady in a former existence. A few plants and trees and a wooden hut with leaflets and loads of unwarranted petty rules do not a CL make.

Response from the Club:

The CL owner has been in touch as she works really hard to ensure everyone has a wonderful stay at this lovely CL Site and as such wants to address your concerns.

Please be assured there is no working farm next door. The gentleman there has about 5 acres which is well looked after; he keeps some sheep and a few guinea fowl and sells the eggs to the local community.  A local girl keeps her ponies there. Sometimes the guinea fowl do make a noise, just like chickens or geese would. But please be assured it is occasionally and not constant. The site is renowned for being peaceful.

The owner has assured us that there are are not millions of flies and the site is inspected by the Club. The lidded chemical waste point is regularly cleaned and disinfected. It does not smell although sometimes if someone has had a a bit of spillage the site would address this. 

They are also very dog friendly. They love dogs and have had dogs themselves.  Although dogs need to be kept on a lead on the site, in a very short walk, the site opens out immediately after the 5th caravan (not even a gate to walk through) straight into a beautiful grassy meadow of about 25 acres where dogs can run and play with their owners.  3 footpaths lead off this field for further walks.  When the grass is grown for hay the CL owners even take the trouble to mow a path all the way round.

The CL owners are really friendly and helpful and would have been happy to assist with your satellite if they were aware you were having issues. No one has had a problem with this in the past. In non-Covid times they meet and greet people on their arrival and they plan to be going back to this next year, but despite this, they are on the site quite a lot and currently always happy to stop to chat where wanted.

Apart from the welcome notice at the entrance which includes a diagram how to pitch, there is a notice going through to the open field asking if people could pick up after their dogs, one over the waste recycling listing the things that can be recycled and one over the chemical waste requesting people not drive up to the chemical waste (put up after a person drove over someone’s awning lines).  At the time there was also a Covid notice in the information room window. The information and these “rules” are on their website and in the information that they send out with booking confirmations, so if anyone is not happy with these then they can decide not to stay. 

We hope this address your concerns. As you can see from other review the CL owner does her very best to work hard to ensure her site is beautifully maintained and everyone has the best possible time with them. 

 

 

 

zscale

Reviewed on 25/08/2021 15:07

13 reviews

1 Helpful note

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Still our favourite

We have been visiting Forge Meadow since 2013 and loved it from the very start. We reviewed this beautiful site after our first visit and haven’t changed our opinion at all, it is still one of our favourites. We have just returned from another relaxing 4 night break. Mel and Paul are wonderful hosts and welcome everyone with a smile, they are always kind and helpful should you have a problem. They keep the site beautifully maintained and this year they have added water points to each pitch. There are now also small flower beds between each of the spacious pitches which is a lovely touch. Being an adult only, it is always peaceful, just the sound of sheep, birds and sometimes the guinea fowl. You can sit watching the buzzards circling above the trees and may also spot other wildlife from the comfort of your lounger. Each pitch has its own folder which contains lots of useful information for your stay. The whole area is beautiful having many walks straight from the site. It’s just a short drive to Rye or Tenterden where there are plenty of fascinating shops and places to eat. There are also many places of interest to visit without having to drive too far. Over the years we have been visiting we have met some lovely people who have become good friends. I’m sure if you book a stay at Forge Meadow you will find yourself returning time and time again, just like we do.

PitstopJohn

Caravanner from Kent

Reviewed on 23/06/2021 22:49

5 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Superb

One of the top CLs anywhere! An example of how it should be done. New this year is water at every site.

dadredge

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 04/05/2021 07:31

14 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Perfect stay

Just returned home on 31.7.2020 from five nights at Forge Meadow Caravan Site - and wish we could have stayed a little longer. The site itself is small (just five pitches), in totally rural surroundings - and in a beautiful part of Kent. Lovely Rye and Tenterden are equidistant and the Camber Sands Beach easily reached in 20 mins drive (best in the late afternoon/evening at this time of year). We found a really super farm shop about 10 mins drive away (Gibbet Oak Farm, TN30 7DH). Highly recommend this site if you want an adult-only get away, with your partner and dog.

SEZaal

Caravanner from Norfolk

Reviewed on 02/08/2020 12:32

1 review

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Fantastic CL

This Adult only CL is smashing, one of the best we have visited, long field with plenty of space between units, quiet and peaceful, overlooks field and trees, grass is cut and collected, very helpful information shed, OS walking maps to use, a bonus, there are lots of footpaths from site if you enjoy walking, the bus stop and village shop are a 15 minute walk away, buses go to Rye and Tenderden they go every 2 hours. We were there for 4 nights in May wish we could have stayed longer. Will definitely be back when we are visiting this part of the country again, thanks for a wonderful stay Bub and Mos

MosandBub

Reviewed on 15/08/2019 13:53

9 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

All good

Its always a good sign when a site has as many reviews as this one. There were too many to read but I agreed with all those that I did read. I'll only add some detail that wasn't included in all of them. The local pub in Wittersham has closed but there is a movement to reopen it. There is a well stocked open all hours village shop in easy walking distance and a good bus service north to Tenterden and south to Rye and both are well worth a visit. Tenterden has a Tesco and Waitrose. Smallhythe NT property is less than an hour's walk through fields from the site. Lamb House NT in Rye also worth a visit. Bodium Castle NT is a short drive away. We didn't use the Bodium to Tenterden steam RW but it looked good. Appledore is an attractive local village. There is plenty of opportunity to explore by bike on quiet roads and off-road. The owners provide each pitch with a folder containing all the information you need and check you in on the evening of arrival. There is nothing to fault and its so peaceful.

Caraman123

Motorhomer from Wiltshire

Reviewed on 13/08/2019 20:58

69 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

One to Return To

We stayed on this CL for 8 nights during June. Don't really want to tell anyone else about it because we may not be able to get a pitch when we want one but that's not fair to the owners who work very hard to keep it in such lovely condition. This is an adults only site with easy access behind closed gates, with views across open fields where there may be horses grazing and also across a huge meadow with its abundance of wild flowers and grasses. Whilst we were there Mel mowed and picked up the grass on the campsite which was already in better condition than some sites we have visited. This is a great campsite for peace and quiet. There is a large meadow directly accessible which our dogs appreciated as they were allowed off lead as long as we picked up after them which of course everyone should! However, dogs must be kept on leads on the CL. At the time the grass in the meadow was quite high in preparation for cutting hay but a wide path had been mown all the way round for ease of walking. Mel welcomed us on our arrival and was non-intrusive afterwards although we could contact her if required as the owners live in a house adjacent. The campsite pitches are level, some have boundary planting; there are 3 fresh water taps throughout the site with an area for bins {which are emptied daily}, toilet emptying etc in a corner near the well stocked information hut. Grey water may be emptied into the hedgerow or used to water the trees. This CL is kept immaculate and is a credit to the owners. We have booked to go back later in the year.

campa

Motorhomer from East Sussex

Reviewed on 07/07/2019 11:40

17 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and tranquility

Rated 5 of 5

Access to local places of interest

Rated 5 of 5

Beauty of surroundings and scenery

Rated 5 of 5

Ease of arrival/welcome

Well worth the wait

We've been trying to visit Forge Meadow CL for a couple of years now but it has always been full. This time I booked on 3 Jan for the bank holiday week. I can quite see why it is so popular. It's an absolutely lovely, well maintained site (with regularly mown grass - Mel and Paul are caravanners themselves). Lovely outlook and so peaceful (the loud birds, it transpired, are Guinea fowl!). A really good information room and well though out waste, water and rubbish facilities - the latter emptied daily unlike some places we have been. Certainly the best CL we have stayed on. It is easy to access although I think some satnavs struggle a bit - our wanted us to go down a private road but just follow the directions and you will be fine. Mel and Paul are extremely helpful and kind. We had a 'water issue' when we arrived (as in it was pouring out from under the sink). We were offered tools, a lift to the local dealer and even a pizza from Mel's freezer. Just to note that, although it is a long drive to Maidstone, the staff at Lee Davey caravan dealership are incredibly helpful and, hurrah, we managed to fix the problem. There is a great deal to do in the local area. If you have a dog, the huge field attached to the site is brilliant for a good walk. All they ask is that you clear up after Rover and quite right too. Lots of footpaths, the beaches are quite close, fresh fish to buy in Rye, plenty of places to visit. And that's if you can tear yourself away from sitting outside the van enjoying the peace. We thought the burger and pie place at the top of the road was a bit pretentious and the beer was expensive, but there are loads of lovely pubs in the area. We had a fantastic stay and really will be back.

Rotor47

Caravanner from Surrey

Reviewed on 09/09/2017 21:11

27 reviews

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