Haldon Forest Park - Forestry England Reviews Summary

Facilities

Pros:

• "Really well signposted centre with good toilets and water filling station."
• "Full toilet facilities, cafe and play area."
• "Great facilities here, clean toilets and a cafe, ice cream area, sand pit and more play areas for children."
• "The facilities at the site are good. Plenty of toilets, a cafe, bike hire and a rangers office."
• "Good facilities including cafe."
• "Family and dog friendly facilities, including playground and picnic area."
• "Facilities are great and there is plenty of walks available as well as cycle paths."

Cons:

• "It did seem quite a small cafe and limited toilets for the amount of car parking and size of park."
• "Toilet facilities could be cleaned more often."
• "The cafe needs to invest in staff that smile, aren't rude and to busy trying to tidy early before closing and making customers feel uncomfortable for coming in half an hour before closing."
• "Coffee shop expensive, bring your own flask and snacks."
• "The queue at the cafe was a mile long! so take your own food and drink, the cafe it's expensive."
• "The wash facilities need looking at showers just dribble water may just need looking at..."
• "Not able to find easily, 3 sat navs not heard of it. Expensive parking, 40 minute wait for food from far less than adequate cafe."

Parking

Pros:

• "Membership is very reasonable and gets you free parking."
• "Plenty of space to park."
• "Good parking."
• "Ample parking except on super busy weekends."
• "Parking is reasonably priced."
• "They have a GoApe which is close to the (ample sized) car park."
• "There's also a large carpark with plenty of spaces and even a bike rental shop."

Cons:

• "Very popular so can be busy making a car parking space a premium."
• "I thought the parking was a BIT steep and there weren't enough spaces last time we came, with cars circling round for a space."
• "Parking was the only problem. Lots of boards telling you the charges, but only one outbuilding where you pay."
• "The only niggle as always is the expensive parking."
• "Parking price a little steep."
• "Parking can be a bit frustrating during busy times and you do have to pay."
• "Parking is a bit expensive, £4 for up to 2 hours."

Trails and Activities

Pros:

• "Just a lovely place to walk and take in the peace and quiet of the Forest."
• "Amazing place for hiking and activities such as Segway, biking and some fun on the zipline with GoApe!"
• "Great nature walks and raptor watching. Den building and rustic play equipment."
• "Different levels of walking trails, well signposted."
• "Great trails for walking, running and mountain biking."
• "The tracks are hard pack gravel or mud and are clearly marked and separated based on skill level."
• "A fantastic place to go with the family, or for any cycling or walking enthusiasts."

Cons:

• "It's OK, but could be much better. There is some play equipment, but it isn't very interesting and is not suitable for small children."
• "No chance of seeing any wildlife or having a sense of getting away from it all with the droning noise of zip lines spanning part of the route."
• "Mountain bike trails not quite as fun as some other similar forest parks I've visited."
• "To me it feels like they have ruined the natural beauty of the countryside in their attempts to monetise it."
• "Walks spoilt by inconsiderate dog owners walking dogs off leads."
• "Too many trees have been chopped down, and the ambience has disappeared compared to when those trees were in place."
• "Not for Mountain Bikers. The trails are in some serious need of maintenance and some drainage."

Accessibility

Pros:

• "Great place to bring the whole family including disabled persons."
• "The added 'Highway Rat' points on the discovery trail make it ideal for younger children."
• "Very wheelchair and pushchair friendly for a forest, the pathways are excellent."
• "Mobility scooters are also available to hire to enable people with disabilities to enjoy the area and walks too."
• "I used a Tramper mobility scooter designed for rough terrain, it was brilliant."
• "Beautiful forest with various walking tracks with far reaching view points, pathways are level gravel so therefore accessible to all."
• "It's a stunning forest with organised paths and a good selection of varying length trails to choose from."

Cons:

• "Lovely area but I phoned at 7am to book a mobility scooter they called back just before 10 as we were arriving, to say they have issues with scooters and only down to 2 and both booked for the morning and not available till 1 pm."
• "The only thing they need here, is more (& more visually marked) disabled parking bays."
• "Although the area is beautiful, it's always so overcrowded, and parking is at its limits by midday."
• "Only downside is bikes are allowed on the footpaths so you constantly moving out there way and they will jot slow down."
• "Very busy, now with electric bikes, and segways making it quite difficult for walkers and smaller dogs to stay safe."
• "Would be nice if the walkers stuck to the walking tracks, it's not pleasant riding through dog waste on the 3 designated trails mountain bike trails."
• "Two things that were a bit of a pain were people walking in bike only parts and dog owners who feel they can let there dogs run riot."

Value

Pros:

• "The cafe is good value and the play area is a hit with my little one."
• "You only have to pay for the parking which means that it's quite good value overall."
• "We spend the £35 every year to get the parking ticket and it's worth every penny."
• "If you're a regular yearly permit probably worth it."
• "Note: the car park is pretty expensive however it goes towards a spectacular area."
• "A great place to visit, plenty to do for all the family and the tracks and trails are well maintained so that you are able to ride/walk all year round."
• "The cafe is really good with super friendly staff and great coffee and food."

Cons:

• "Lovely but expensive!"
• "The parking charges are excessive. If you go more than 5 times in a year get an annual pass £35 it's petty that they bind it to your registration so you have to go in the same car or can't give your remaining ticket to someone else."
• "lovely woodland, but could someone sack the person in the finance dept who think it's clever to raise funds by charging £8 to park?"
• "Car park prices stop the 5th star."
• "The cafe/takeaway was a little overpriced."
• "The cafe does get very busy and isn't cheap for food."
• "There is a hefty fee for the car park and meters are often 15 minutes ahead of the actual time."