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42 reviews so far

17/06/2012 07:58am

Helen Saunders

Can I just say what fabulous food we ate at the cafe - we had the squash and feta quiche with roasties and salad, was so delicious I am now researching the recipe!! So nice to see 'proper' food on the menu, and also something a bit different from the average cafe - just what you need after plenty of fresh air!

The staff in the cafe were super friendly and we all (3 generations) had a fantastic time

 

03/06/2012 10:02am

Rob Hunt

We really love the QEP, but please can someone put up some clear signs for a continuation of the South Downs Way (out on the EAST side of the Park) ?

For first timers doing the South Downs Way, through the park, the eastern 'exit' on to the South Downs Way is not that obvious.

QECP replies

We have forwarded this to the South Downs Way Officer for his attention.

South Downs Way National Trail Officer replies

The South Downs National Park' South Downs Way team works in partnership with Hampshire County Council, West Sussex and East Sussex County Councils to oversee the management of the South Downs Way (SDW) National Trail.

We are aware that the signage through the country park is confusing and we are actively working with QECP and the Forestry Commission to improve the route and signage. The SDW currently splits into 2 routes through the the park which adds to some of the confusion. We're looking to unify the routes into one and then resign the whole route, however we are currently waiting to ensure Forestry Commission and QECP are happy that the unified route does not affect future plans within the forest.

 

28/05/2012 06:07pm

Mark and Heather Limb

We would just like to say how fantastic the staff at Queen Elizabeth Country Park have been helping us with our daughter's 40th birthday. We started planning this in Nov 2011 and right from the word go the staff have bent over backwards to help us with our arrangements. We eventually booked Benham's Bushes barbecue site for a hog roast for 100 people, family and friends, ranging from 4 months to 89 years. We were devastated when we went to view the site earlier in May to discover that it was unusable due to the weather and some misuse by previous hirers. Voicing our concerns the Park Staff were fantastic offering us an alternative venue, temporary shelter in case of rain, the use of tables from the visitor's centre and answered all the innumerable queries that we had. We would like to thank the staff in the visitor's centre, the rangers and the park managers for helping us to make what could have been a disaster into a really memorable day. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We all agreed the QECP is a superb venue for this type of event and we, and everyone who was there, would not hesitate to recommend QECP to anyone who wanted run an event like this.

 

14/05/2012 11:38am

Rob Warner

Came up to QE Park Sunday 13th May 2012 for a MTB ride. £2 all day parking EXCELLENT. New trail ORANGE route excellent. 4 of us had an awesome day riding up there the trails are brilliant fun and cant wait to get back up there! Highly recommended as a great days riding!

 

21/04/2012 05:37pm

Dr Malcolm Dye

My wife and I use Butser hill to exercise our springer spaniel who needs a lot of running about to keep her both fit and happy.

Butser is such a good spot for her and for us, so we have had a season ticket for a couple of years. However...... The car park attracts vandals. We have had a car damaged twice in that time(door prised, window broken). We have seen other cars that appear to have been similarly attacked. We would welcome some deterrent, even at higher cost of parking (the cost of repairs is running much higher!). What about a number-plate recognition system for car park charging, as is used in Havant car parks? These vandals almost certainly arrive in a car, and might well be deterred from criminality if they knew that their vehicle number and the time of their visit was recorded. Such a system also gives flexibility to charge according to time spent parked, and in Havant allows cashless payment (phone or internet later that day).

Another aspect of the management of Butser that concerns us is those areas of the hill are used in the winter months to graze sheep and cattle, but with very little information provided about when and where they will be (or have been) on the land. These animals carry parasites that are potentially dangerous to the health of dogs and humans (intestinal parasites in faeces as well as the well-known risk of Lyme's disease from sheep ticks). Our own dog was taken ill this year, and after lab analysis the probability was that the infection was from sheep faeces. The public should be informed when areas of the park land has recently been used for grazing (say within the last month), and warned that there may be some risk of infection for dogs and children (adults are generally more careful about hygiene). The signage that is currently provided at gates and stiles is worse that useless: often out of date and hence untrustworthy and misleading. There was a faded notice on the kiosk about the risk to animals of parasites in dog faeces, but this problem goes two ways!

Lastly: we would welcome any measures to persuade dog owners to be responsible about picking up after their dogs and using the bins. How about a dog-owners season ticket? Bit of discount and some extras such as email notification of grazing plans etc relating to dogs, in return to signing up to a short list of specific good dog ownership promises? Wouldn't be a magic cure, but might help?

QECP replies

We have been made aware of one incident this year where a vehicle has been broken in to and items stolen. Unfortunately this does happen occasionally, both in the Park and the surrounding countryside. The local police are aware and do provide patrols as and when they can. If you do see anything suspicious please make direct contact with the Police, or the Park Centre. We have looked in to the various CCTV options and these are prohibitive in terms of cost. The site is locked every evening at 8pm and opened at 8am each morning to try and reduce the incidence of anti-social behaviour.

We currently have over 200 ewes grazing on the hill, along with their lambs. In the late Summer through to the end of the year there will also be some beef cattle. Where ever the livestock are grazing, all entrances to that particular compartment will be signed to that effect. Butser Hill has just introduced three Dog Control Orders (DCOs) which ensure that owners bag and bin waste, that they can only walk a maximum of 6 dogs at a time, and that all dogs are put on a lead where livestock are grazing.

These new DCOs, the first to be put in place on any Hampshire County Council site, or in the East Hants District, can be enforced by our Rangers and will soon improve the situation.

We are not aware of any current signs which are 'out of date, untrustworthy and misleading'. I do hope that you will be able to provide more details so that we can look in to this matter.

With regard to the health of the QE sheep flock, this is run along organic lines and registered with the Organic Farmers and Growers sector body. The animals are routinely wormed and do not pose a significant threat to humans and livestock. We would be grateful if you could send us the 'lab report' so I can comment further.

The season ticket idea is a good one, and I would suggest signing up to our blog (accessible from the website homepage) as this provides visitors with a good deal of information about all the capital works, routine tasks, wildlife and livestock happenings going on in the Park. Please have a look and let us have some feedback?

We currently offer a £5 discount off the QE season ticket for all owners who have put their dogs through one of the Good companion, Gold, Silver or Bronze, training schemes.

 

18/04/2012 05:26pm

Clare Tilden

Ee visited on Weds 11th April,there were 12 of us: 3 mums and 9 children. Despite the changeable weather that day (the sun shone, it rained and poured and we had thunder and lightening and dramatic hail storm at the end!) we all had a brilliant time. I hadn't been back to QE since I was a child myself, we did the 8 km walk as we had to keep the kids moving to keep them warm - it was lovely and we saw only 5 other people on our walk - despite being in the school easter holidays - brilliant! At the end we all had coffees and hot chocolates that were very reasonably priced and were the absolutely delicious - the children said the hot chocolates were the best they'd ever had and being a dedicated coffee fan I can say the coffee was excellent too - thanks for a great day we will be back!

 

09/04/2012 04:03pm

Kate Fasham

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Queen Elizabeth Country Park and spent all afternoon there for only £2 parking. We walked the 5 mile route which is beautiful and once over the first hill we could no longer hear the A3 and felt as though we were in the country. Our only disappointment was the bags of dog mess discarded at the side of the path. We saw maybe 30 to 40 bags and not one bin. Surely it is better to let it rot away naturally or provide the bins for people to put the bags into? If this one small problem could be addressed this place would a perfect, cheap and family friendly day out.

 

12/03/2012 05:48am

Anne

We have visited here many many times over the years as we are local. Today was a beautiful spring afternoon and we came with out 3 children and new puppy. We had two very contrasting experiences. On ordering a pot of tea and some lollies for the kids we had to wait 20 mins for the tea to arrive and it was presented with no hint of an apology which we would readily accept as the cafe was very busy as to be expected on such a glorious afternoon. On arrival of the tea realised there were no spoons so went to ask at the counter for one and I was presented with one with yet again with no apology or words at all. Then discovered no sugar so scurried around to find some. Then to top it all went to pour the tea and the pot was empty!!!!! Sent my husband inside where it was filled but yet again no apology or words muttered from the staff. We understand it was busy and don't mind waiting but if only there was service with a smile and at least some interaction between us and the staff! To contrast that we spent a lovely time at the pond with one of the volunteers who went out of her way to engage with the children and catch some toads for them to see and discussed the very lively frog spawn filled pond with them. Now this was service above and beyond what we anticipated. The staff inside were also lovely to our 4 year old who was quite taken with the tadpole tank. Just goes to show that contracting out the catering is not always the best move!

QECP replies

We are pleased that the staff in the Centre and the volunteers running the activity provided a good service. With regard to the cafe, the County Council's own caterers have recently taken over from an external contractor and hopefully will soon be on top of things. I will however take the matter up with the catering manager. I do hope that your next visit is a more enjoyable one.

 

09/01/2012 05:21am

Alan Kerry

just to say that with my wife and friends, had a good look around the park and had an excellent meal which was served by a young waitress who was very helpful and efficient and the meal itself was presented to a very high standard. well done.

 

14/08/2011 08:05pm

Lucy Bunnage

I visited Queen Elizabeth Country Park today with my parents we enjoyed a really lovely walk through the woods completing the 8km. The only down side was the amount of dogbags that we saw along the way, mainly being left at sign posts. We hardly saw a dog bin along our long walk and did wonder if you had more dog bins provided along the walks then this wouldnt be such a big problem.

 

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