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42 reviews so far

10/09/2012 09:13am

We stumbled on Lepe quite by chance this week,and had a delightful afternoon,what a lovely spot,and the dogs loved it too!

15/08/2012 07:02am

Lepe is a beautiful and peaceful place to spend a day, and have spent many like this. You could walk, buy ice cream, sunbathe and swim in peace, bbq lunch and picnic supper before going home.

Sadly its now all changed...PAY to park, NO bbq allowed so PAY to eat, way too commercial, £4.80 to park.

Lepe repiles

Ever since Lepe has been a country park there have been parking charges.

Although the land is managed by Hampshire County Council is is owned by private landowners who charge rent. In order to pay this and to maintain and improve the facilities income has to be generated and the main source of this is car parking money. Fees for the car park have been held at the current rate for 2 years and are reduced in the winter months, there is also a reasonably priced season ticket which people can buy if they visit regularly.

The 'no barbecues' rule is a condition of our lease and is mainly to prevent wildfires.

31/07/2012 09:23am

Very disappointed to learn yesterday that the cafe and kiosk can only offer ice creams produced locally. New forest ice creams have been produced in a factory with nuts and as I have a six year old who is extremely allergic to nuts its very difficult bringing him to lepe on a hot day. When cafe was privately run there was much more variety and covered everyone's needs dietary needs.

Lepe replies

The ice cream produced by New Forest Ice creams is actually made in their nut free factory and so are safe to be eaten by any nut allergy visitors. This includes both the whipped ice cream and tubs of ice cream.

The ice lollies are made for New Forest Ice creams and whilst the products are nut free the environment they are made in cannot be guaranteed.

The cafe offers an good range of products and we feel it caters for the majority of dietary needs. However if customers have a special request we will always try and oblige where we can.

29/07/2012 03:33pm

Just back from a visit to Lepe and was very pleased to see that cones have been put out in car park allowing good access to the cafe/shop for pedestrians, wheelchairs and pushchairs, and also cycles. A move long overdue. I might add that it wasnt particularly easy to exit the lower car due to cars being parked across the central exit zone

30/07/2012 12:34pm

I have a gas BBQ attached to my motorhome, and can not understand why I can't use it at your country park to further enjoy my visit. Please don't tell me it is a fire risk, as you would be going against all the rules and regulations of the land, health and safety included. I also have fire extinguishers in my motorhome!

Lepe replies

Provided that the gas barbecue is used on a hard standing area of the car park there is no reason why you cannot use it.

The signs saying no barbecues are to discourage use of portable barbecues on the grass and beach - not only is there a true fire risk with these, especially when the vegetation is dry, but the use of them is not allowed within the terms of our lease. You may not know that most of the land at Lepe Country Park is not owned by the County Council but is leased from private land owners.

14/07/2012 02:53pm

Just to thank you for a fantastic day last Saturday, even in the non stop, pouring rain! My Beaver Scouts loved running around and being down on the beach hunting for shells and animal life.

We also enjoyed the D Day re enactments with the war time signing and the New Forest Band. The best part for them was the skirmish in the bushes behind the car park and being able to collect the spent cartridges from the actors afterwards. Please thank the re-en-actors for us for putting on the show in the pouring rain. The Beavers really enjoyed that and spent the rest of the evening playing soldiers in the mud at camp! I am afraid that we did not stay to have our fish and chips in the park, due to the non stop heavy rain, but returned to our rather soggy camp to eat them and have the camp fire. Thank you for the little Logos too, they were also much appreciated, even though they can not be sewn on a camp blanket!

We shall be down again in the near future either as a colony camping or as individual families.

25/06/2012 12:03pm

Shirley Fiamingo

We hired the small BBQ area at Lepe Country Park on Saturday June 23rd 2012. We are a group of people, parents and friends of former Olympic Hockey Players. What a fantastic time was had by all, and what a great service we received from the gentleman who came to show us the area to the gentleman who was there when it was time to leave. The area was well sheltered from the wind and the sun shone not a drop of rain. So again thank you to everyone who made our day so perfect

25/06/2012 12:06pm

Shirley Colgar

What excellent service in the Cafe! All the girls were smiling and the service is so quick and friendly, even though it was packed in there. A great range of cakes and the prices are cheap compared to other local places. I would definitely recommend the Rocky Road slice, calorie free of course, quoted from one of the girls! I will pop down with my husband next week for the Lepe Beach Breakfast.

21/06/2012 03:58pm

What an interesting afternoon the Bournemouth and Beyond Group had on Tuesday! Our guides were Alison and Lesley who were great. We were shown all the D day remains and were told all about the history and wildlife of the park. We shall be telling all our friends to visit! Thank you very much.  

21/06/2012 03:54pm

Lepe Country Park - lovely.

Cafe - not impressed. We visited on June 12th and went to the cafe for a meal at 4.15pm. Two ladies were sweeping the floor so I asked if they were closing but was informed no they weren't but just tidying up. We ordered 2 ploughman's and while we were eating it half the lights were turned off at 4.40pm and the board with opening times on taken in at 4.45pm. Supposed to be open until 5.30pm with last orders at 5.15pm but we felt so uncomfortable we decided not to order two drinks after the meal and left at 4.50pm. If the staff want to get home early perhaps the cafe should shut at 5pm. Not happy!

Lepe Cafe replies

Please accept our apologies if you felt you were made unwelcome. It is a difficult balance serving customers as well as ensuring that we keep the café clean and tidy. To keep the disruption to a minimum we try to complete the cleaning later in the afternoon. I understand a part of the café was sectioned off for cleaning at the time of your visit leaving an area open so customers could eat and drink without being disturbed. This procedure will be reviewed with the staff. We work hard to ensure our catering team provide the highest standard of service. You are a valued customer and we hope you will visit Lepe Café again .

Review Ref. 347250

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