Hampshire

Last checked November 2026.

Hampshire has the New Forest, the Solent coast from Milford-on-Sea to Hayling Island, Winchester, and the ferry ports of Portsmouth and Southampton for France, Spain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight. For a campervan the New Forest is the big draw, but overnight parking is tightly controlled. Wild camping isn’t allowed anywhere in the New Forest, the Forestry England car parks close from 11pm to 4am, and council car parks from the New Forest to Portsmouth ban sleeping. Portsmouth has no overnight parking for motorhomes at all, and Hayling Island’s seafront car parks ban them at night. Plan your nights on campsites; there are plenty in the forest.

Where you can and can’t stay overnight

There’s no general law in England against sleeping in a van that’s legally parked on a public road, but local rules are common and you have to read the signs. Car-park orders, traffic orders and public spaces protection orders can all ban it; since 26 October 2026 councils can set the fixed penalty for breaking a public spaces protection order at up to £500. A council can also direct people living in a vehicle on a roadside or other land to leave; ignoring the direction, or coming back within three months, can mean a fine of up to £1,000. There’s no right to wild camp in a vehicle anywhere in England: you need the landowner’s permission. The National Trust doesn’t allow overnight parking at any of its places. More in wild camping and free camping.

The New Forest

  • Forestry England looks after much of the forest and runs 129 car parks there. Wild camping isn’t allowed anywhere on its land, and the car parks are closed from 11pm to 4am: park in one during those hours and you can get a £50 parking charge notice (£25 if paid promptly). By day, every vehicle pays, from £1.50 for an hour to £8 for over 4 hours, at the machine or by RingGo. Park only in the car parks, never on the verges or in gateways.
  • New Forest National Park Authority: “Wild camping is not allowed in the New Forest and this includes no overnight stays in Forest car parks.”
  • New Forest District Council (Lymington, Milford-on-Sea, New Milton, Ringwood, Lyndhurst and the rest): you can’t sleep overnight in its car parks.
  • On the coast roads: Hampshire County Council has moved to ban motor caravans overnight, from 8pm to 8am, on the clifftop road at Barton-on-Sea and on the lanes at Keyhaven, with pay-and-display parking by day. Look for the signs.

Forestry England’s summer 2026 trial of booked campervan stopovers didn’t include the New Forest, and it has ended. For the night, use one of the forest campsites.

Councils elsewhere in Hampshire

  • Portsmouth City Council: there’s no overnight car park and no overnight street parking in Portsmouth for motorhomes, campervans or caravans, and motorhomes and caravans are restricted overnight along the seafront. By day, the council recommends the Seafront D-Day car park on Clarence Esplanade, PO5 3NT, and there’s parking without height limits all along the seafront. You can’t use a diagonal bay if your vehicle is longer or wider than it. The Park and Ride has a 2.1 m height barrier and closes at night.
  • Havant Borough Council (Hayling Island): motorhomes, or any vehicle adapted to sleep in, can’t park in any of the Beachlands seafront car parks from 10pm to 6am, every day of the year. By day, motorhomes pay £20 for any length of stay between 6am and 10pm.
  • Southampton City Council: its car park orders ban using a parking place, or a vehicle in it, for sleeping, camping or cooking.
  • Winchester City Council: its 2026 car park order bans using a vehicle for sleeping, camping, eating or cooking. Motorhomes too big for a bay can park by day in the Worthy Lane coach park, and there are motorhome bays at the St Catherine’s and South Winchester Park and Ride sites.
  • Gosport Borough Council: it doesn’t allow sleeping in any of its car parks. Pebble Beach car park at Stokes Bay has motorhome bays outside its 2.2 m height barrier, charged from 8am to 7pm at £3.60 an hour or £18.70 for over 4 hours.
  • Fareham Borough Council: sleeping in a vehicle overnight isn’t allowed in its coastal car parks, even with a coastal parking permit.
  • Test Valley Borough Council (Andover, Romsey and Stockbridge): its car park order bans sleeping or camping overnight.
  • Other councils: in the car parks run by East Hampshire, Hart, Rushmoor, Basingstoke and Deane, Eastleigh and the rest, read the tariff board before you stay.

If you do stop on a road, park facing the direction of traffic at night, use your parking lights on roads with a limit over 30 mph and in their lay-bys, and don’t block anyone.

The old free spots have mostly gone. The Forestry England car parks, Bull Hill near Lymington among them, now close at night, Hayling’s seafront car parks ban motorhomes from 10pm, and Winchester’s coach park is covered by the council’s ban on sleeping. The country park on the A31 near Ringwood, now Avon Heath Country Park, is over the border in Dorset, and its car park is locked from 7.30pm to 8am.

Campsites

Ten of the New Forest’s campsites are Forestry England sites, run since 2023 by Camping New Forest (the New Forest Agricultural Show Society), which has taken over from Camping in the Forest. Book all ten, and the society’s own Long Meadow site, on 01590 631641. All of them take motorhomes, but they’re simple: only Holmsley and Setthorns have electric hook-ups, and Aldridge Hill, Denny Wood, Matley Wood, Longbeech and Setthorns have no toilets or showers, so you need your own chemical toilet. Ashurst and Denny Wood don’t take dogs, and Longbeech is adults only. Check in from 1pm to 8pm; the gates are shut from 10pm to 7.30am. New Forest ponies wander through some of the sites: don’t feed, touch or approach them.

The forest sites don’t allow sleeping in cars or unconverted vans. A converted van has to be built as living accommodation, with a fixed bed and mattress, built-in ventilation (open windows don’t count), drop-out vents if it has gas, an emergency exit from the living area and curtains or blinds. Staff check on arrival, and a van that doesn’t qualify is turned away without a refund, so if you’ve converted your own, email photos before you go.

The Caravan and Motorhome Club has four club sites in Hampshire: Black Knowl in the forest is for members only, while Centenary, Rookesbury Park and Morn Hill take non-members. Members of either club can also use their small certificated sites, which take up to five vans and are often on farms. Since 2023 pop-up sites in England can open for up to 60 days a year and take motorhomes and campervans as well as tents. Brit Stops members can stop a night at farm shops, pubs and other places that host self-contained vans.

Seasons are for 2027 where the site has published them.

Area Campsite Details
Brockenhurst Hollands Wood (Camping New Forest), Lyndhurst Road, SO42 7QH, 10 minutes’ walk from the station Tel: 01590 631641. 19 March to 30 September. Toilets, showers, motorhome service point. Don’t use the postcode for satnav
Brockenhurst Roundhill (Camping New Forest), Beaulieu Road (B3055), about 2 miles from the village Tel: 01590 631641. 19 March to 30 September. Toilets, showers, motorhome service point
Brockenhurst Aldridge Hill (Camping New Forest), SO42 7QD Tel: 01590 631641. 28 May to 7 June and 26 June to 6 September. No toilets. Follow the site’s route: there are width limits on the way
Brockenhurst Long Meadow, off the A337, 20 minutes’ walk from the village Tel: 01590 631641. March to 1 November. Hook-ups on grass and hardstanding; takes large motorhomes
Brockenhurst Black Knowl Club Campsite (Caravan and Motorhome Club), Aldridge Hill, SO42 7QD Tel: 01590 623600. To 4 January 2027, then 26 February 2027 to 3 January 2028. Members only. Up to 9 m
Sway Setthorns (Camping New Forest), BH25 5WA Tel: 01590 631641. Open all year. Hardstanding and hook-ups, no toilets. Railway bridges with height limits; set the satnav to Sway
Burley Holmsley (Camping New Forest), BH23 7EQ Tel: 01590 631641. 26 March to 2 November in 2026. Hook-ups, showers, shop, motorhome service point
Ashurst and Lyndhurst Ashurst (Camping New Forest), Lyndhurst Road, SO40 7AR, 5 minutes’ walk from Ashurst New Forest station Tel: 01590 631641. 19 March to 30 September. Toilets and showers. No dogs
Lyndhurst Denny Wood (Camping New Forest), SO43 7FZ Tel: 01590 631641. 19 March to 30 September. No toilets. No dogs. Don’t follow satnav
Lyndhurst Matley Wood (Camping New Forest), SO43 7FZ; check in at Denny Wood Tel: 01590 631641. 19 March to 30 September. No toilets. Two-night minimum
Fritham Ocknell (Camping New Forest), SO43 7HH Tel: 01590 631641. 19 March to 30 September. Toilets but no showers, hardstanding, motorhome service point
Fritham Longbeech (Camping New Forest), SO43 7HH Tel: 01590 631641. 19 March to 30 September. Adults only. No toilets
Ringwood Red Shoot Camping Park, Linwood, BH24 3QT Tel: 01425 473789. 1 March to 1 November in 2026. Overhead barrier at the gate: arrange in advance if you’re leaving early or back late
Bransgore New Forest Centenary Club Campsite (Caravan and Motorhome Club), Forest Road, BH23 8EB Tel: 01425 673638. 19 March to 31 October. Non-members welcome. Up to 10 m
Lymington Hurst View Leisure, Lower Pennington Lane, SO41 8AL, between Lymington and Milford Tel: 01590 671648. Open every day of the year. Campfires allowed
Milford-on-Sea Lytton Lawn Touring Park (Shorefield), SO41 0TX Tel: 01590 643339. Ring for dates. Vans up to 8 m; bring a 25 m hook-up cable
Hayling Island Fishery Creek Touring Park, 100 Fishery Lane, PO11 9NR Tel: 023 9246 2164. 1 March to 31 October. 2.1 m height barrier at the entrance, shut from 9pm to 7am
Portsmouth ferries Rookesbury Park Club Campsite (Caravan and Motorhome Club), Wickham, PO17 6JR, 12 miles from the port Tel: 01329 834085. 19 March to 1 November. Non-members welcome. One-night ferry pitches
Portsmouth and Southampton ferries Dibles Park, Dibles Road, Warsash, SO31 9SA Tel: 01489 575232. Open all year. Eleven gravel pitches, all with hook-ups; set up for early departures and late arrivals. Ring to check it takes your van
Winchester Winchester Morn Hill Club Campsite (Caravan and Motorhome Club), Alresford Road, SO21 1HL, 3 miles east of the city Tel: 01962 869877. Open all year. Non-members welcome. Up to 10 m. Don’t follow the brown signs or satnav
Stockbridge Stockbridge View, SO20 6HS, just off the A30 Tel: 01264 874465. Ring for dates
Isle of Wight, near Fishbourne Kite Hill Farm, Wootton Bridge, PO33 4LE Tel: 01983 883261. March to October; reopens late March or early April 2027
Isle of Wight, Ryde Whitefield Forest Touring Park, Brading Road, PO33 1QJ Tel: 01983 617069. Closed in winter. Motorhomes over 6 m must book a serviced hardstanding
Isle of Wight, Sandown Southland Club Campsite (Caravan and Motorhome Club), Newchurch, PO36 0LZ Tel: 01983 865385. 15 April to 1 November. Non-members welcome. Up to 8 m
Isle of Wight, Freshwater Heathfield Farm Camping, Heathfield Road, PO40 9SH Tel: 01983 407822. 9 May to 19 September in 2026
Isle of Wight, Yarmouth The Orchards Holiday Park, Newbridge, PO41 0TS Tel: 01983 531331. Ring for dates

There’s no touring campsite in Portsmouth itself now; Southsea Leisure Park sells only holiday homes and lodges.

Getting there and driving

Main roads. The M3 runs from London past Basingstoke and Winchester to Southampton, and the M27 runs along the coast from the New Forest at Cadnam, past Southampton, to Portsmouth, where the M275 runs down to the ferry port. From Cadnam the A31 crosses the forest to Ringwood and Dorset; the A337 runs from Lyndhurst through Brockenhurst to Lymington, and the A35 from Lyndhurst to Christchurch.

New Forest roads. The forest’s ponies and other animals roam freely and wander onto the roads, so drive with care, especially at night. Some routes to the campsites have width limits or low railway bridges; follow the directions on the campsite websites rather than your satnav.

Portsmouth Clean Air Zone. Private cars, vans and motorcycles aren’t charged in Portsmouth’s clean air zone, but some larger motorhomes are classed as lorries by the DVLA, and a lorry that doesn’t meet the emissions standard (Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol) pays £50 a day. Check your registration on the gov.uk vehicle checker before you go, and pay within six days; otherwise you get a penalty charge of up to £120 on top. Portsmouth International Port is outside the zone if you come in on the M275. The Wightlink car ferry terminal in Old Portsmouth is inside it, and there’s no way round. Southampton has no charging clean air zone.

Speed limits. A motorhome or campervan up to 3.05 tonnes unladen can do the same as a car. Over 3.05 tonnes, it’s 50 mph on single carriageways and 60 mph on dual carriageways, with 70 mph on motorways.

Ferries from Portsmouth. Portsmouth International Port, at the end of the M275 (George Byng Way, PO2 8SP), has ferries to Caen, Cherbourg and St Malo in France, Santander and Bilbao in Spain, and Guernsey and Jersey. Brittany Ferries’ Le Havre route closed in autumn 2026, and its Poole sailings to Cherbourg moved to Portsmouth. If you’re on an early morning sailing, the port lets motorhomes park along the yellow fence line after 10pm; report to Security when you arrive. Allow time for the EU’s Entry/Exit System checks, in full use at EU ports since April 2026. See ferries.

Crossing to the Isle of Wight

Three car ferry routes cross the Solent:

  • Wightlink, Portsmouth to Fishbourne: from the terminal on Gunwharf Road in Old Portsmouth, inside the clean air zone. A levy for the government’s Emissions Trading Scheme is added to each leg: £1.50 for vehicles under 5 m and £1.75 for 5 m or longer.
  • Wightlink, Lymington to Yarmouth: the quickest car ferry, 40 minutes, from the edge of the New Forest to West Wight.
  • Red Funnel, Southampton to East Cowes: about an hour.

You pay for the space your van takes up, so fares depend on its length and height as well as the day and time. Book as a motorhome if it’s built or adapted for sleeping with fitted seating and a kitchen, and give the true maximum length and height, including bike racks and roof boxes. On Red Funnel’s 2027 touring packages, which combine the ferry with a campsite, a van over 2.7 m high pays £14.75 a leg extra, and one over 6 m long £8.25 a leg for each extra metre. Wightlink sells refundable Standard tickets and cheaper Economy ones you can’t cancel. The hovercraft from Southsea and the fast catamarans are for foot passengers only.

On the island, the council’s car parks don’t allow sleeping or camping, by day or night, and the National Trust’s car parks are for day visits only. Book a campsite.

The New Forest

The New Forest is a lovely place for a campervan, with open heath, ancient woodland and roaming ponies, and villages such as Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst, Burley and Beaulieu. From Lymington, follow the road to Beaulieu and you’ll find a Forestry England car park on the left at Bull Hill, with several others in the area, if you don’t mind nosy cows. They’re for day visits only now: the car parks close from 11pm to 4am. Brockenhurst makes a good base, with four campsites close by and trains on the main line.

Lymington, Keyhaven and Milford-on-Sea

Lymington is a sailing town with the Wightlink ferry to Yarmouth. Keyhaven, west along the coast, is the start of the shingle spit to Hurst Castle; New Forest District Council’s car park there is short stay, and the county has moved to ban motor caravans from the lanes at night. Hurst View, between Lymington and Milford, is open every day of the year, and Lytton Lawn is at Milford.

Barton-on-Sea and New Milton

The clifftop at Barton-on-Sea looks out to the Needles. The county has moved to make parking along Marine Drive pay-and-display by day and to ban motor caravans there from 8pm to 8am. The Centenary club site at Bransgore and the Holmsley and Setthorns forest sites are the nearest for the night.

Southampton

A port city, with Red Funnel’s ferry to East Cowes and the cruise terminals. The city council’s car parks don’t allow sleeping. Stay at Dibles Park in Warsash, or in the forest at Ashurst, five minutes’ walk from the station, and take the train in.

Portsmouth and Southsea

Portsmouth has the Historic Dockyard, Gunwharf Quays and the Spinnaker Tower, and Southsea has the seafront and the D-Day Story. Use the Seafront D-Day car park by day; there’s no overnight parking for motorhomes anywhere in the city. In 2011 Darren drove up from Cornwall to catch the ferry and arrived after midnight at Whale Island Way, said to be a good place to sleep before a sailing. It turned out to be the dead-end road onto a well-guarded naval base, and a security van pulled up while Darren was still on the phone. Today the place to wait for an early ferry is the port’s yellow fence line, or Rookesbury Park, 12 miles away, which has one-night ferry pitches.

Hayling Island

Hayling Island has a long seafront facing the open sea. The Beachlands car parks along the seafront ban motorhomes from 10pm to 6am. Darren found a few places near the bridge onto the island that motorhomes used, such as the car park shared with the Ship pub at Langstone, on the mainland side, and a disused bit of road on the Hayling Billy Trail, screened from the main road by trees. None was official or quiet, but at least there was a nice view in the morning; read the signs today, and watch out for the tide by the bridge, especially on a high spring tide. Fishery Creek, on the island, is the campsite.

Gosport and Stokes Bay

Stokes Bay looks across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. Pebble Beach car park has motorhome bays by day, but Gosport’s car parks don’t allow sleeping.

Winchester

Winchester has the cathedral, the college and the Great Hall. The council’s coach park on Worthy Lane, north-west of the centre in front of the Winchester Hotel, is only five minutes’ walk from the city centre and takes motorhomes too big for a car bay by day, but you can’t sleep there. Better still, stay at the Morn Hill club site, open all year, and use the Park and Ride.

Fleet and Tweseldown

From junction 5 of the M3, take the A287 to the south of Fleet, turn left onto the B3013, head down Beacon Hill and turn right at the Tweseldown pub. Past the Tweseldown racecourse there are clearings and small car parks, one on a rutted slope, so take care. The surrounding area is Ministry of Defence land open to the public, great for walking, running and mountain biking, but steer clear of any military exercises. It’s for day visits: as anywhere in England, you’d need the landowner’s permission to stay the night.

Isle of Wight

The island has chalk downs, the Needles, and long beaches at Sandown and Shanklin. The National Trust car park near Blackgang Chine and the one on Culver Down, south of Bembridge, where the road has a width restriction, have good views but are for day visits only. Stay at Southland near Sandown, Whitefield Forest near Ryde, Kite Hill Farm near Fishbourne, or Heathfield Farm and The Orchards in West Wight.

Darren’s trips from Hampshire

More on England

Sources: Forestry England (New Forest parking, camping, New Forest Code and campervan stopovers); New Forest National Park Authority; New Forest District Council; Hampshire County Council traffic order notices; Camping New Forest; Portsmouth City Council motorhome parking page, civil parking enforcement code of practice and Park and Ride; Cleaner Air Portsmouth and gov.uk clean air zones; Portsmouth International Port; Havant Borough Council Beachlands parking; City of Southampton (Off-Street Parking Places) Order 2021; Winchester City (Off Street) Parking Places Order 2026 and parking pages; Gosport Borough Council; Fareham Borough Council; Test Valley Borough Council Off Street Parking Places Order 2022; Isle of Wight Council car park terms; National Trust; Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014; Highway Code; gov.uk speed limits and Entry/Exit System; Brittany Ferries; Wightlink; Red Funnel; Caravan and Motorhome Club; Natural England; Brit Stops; campsite websites. Checked November 2026. Know of a change? Tell us in the comments below.

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