A31 Closure: How to Reach Harry’s Campsites in the New Forest

Many of you will have seen the news about the recent fire alongside the A31 in the New Forest, which started following a vehicle fire on Sunday 9 August.

The A31 is currently expected to remain closed until at least Thursday 20 August with diversions in place.

Harry’s Campsites remain open

The wider New Forest and our three Harry’s Campsites – Harry’s Field, Harry’s Meadow and The Old Airfield all remain open.

The incident was some distance away from our three campsites, and we continue to welcome guests as normal. We have not experienced smoke from the fire at any of our campsites, which we hope provides additional reassurance to guests, particularly those who may have respiratory conditions such as asthma.

We do have some restrictions in place to protect the safety of our guests and of our beautiful landscape including:

• No fires or BBQs are allowed
• Cooking is permitted using a gas camping stove provided that it’s high off the ground
• Gas BBQs are permitted provided they are more than 50cm off the ground

How to reach Harry’s Campsites during the A31 closure

Please follow the official diversion routes as advised by National Highways.

Guests are advised to follow the official diversion rather than relying on satnavs, which may direct you along narrow New Forest roads. This can contribute to congestion on unsuitable routes and bring additional traffic into areas where free-roaming livestock such as our much-loved New Forest Ponies may be present.

Please check the latest traffic and travel information before beginning your journey.

Allow extra time for your journey

Your holiday still awaits you, please just leave extra time for your journey to and from our campsites.

The New Forest remains open

While the fire has understandably attracted significant media attention, it’s important to remember that the wider New Forest remains open.

Please continue to support the local businesses, many of whom rely on visitors like yourselves.

Top tips:

• We recommend checking Forestry England’s website for details of any car park closures in the forest.
• Please avoid the area affected by the fire, north of Ringwood.

Businesses such as Beaulieu, Hurst Castle, Lepe Country Park and many more remain open. The New Forest website has lots of information on places to visit, food and drink and the New Forest towns and villages which remain unaffected by the fire.  

A big thank you

Thank you for helping us protect this special area.

And a big thank you to the firefighters and other emergency services involved in protecting our beautiful forest.