Romsey family campsite runner-up in national competition

Gambledown Farm, on Gambledown Lane, was named a runner-up in the best family campsite category in the southeast by Campsite.co.uk.

Tamara Arnison-Newgass, who runs the campsite along with her husband Richard, said that receiving the runner-up status was a “lovely commendation”.

She told the Advertiser: “We have been trading for 10 years as a campsite after evolved from Featherdown Farms – we have been independent for five years.

The Gambledown Farm team (Image: Gambledown Farm)READ MORE: Romsey business named as second best family campsite in the South East for 2023

“We have always really enjoyed families coming to stay because we are a working farm, and it really appeals to people, especially families with young children who want to go to the countryside. We are close to Paulton’s Park, which is a big draw for people too.

“We are a working farm, and we wanted to diversify. My husband and I have lived in Tanzania, in the wilds, and we really enjoyed the idea of living under canvas. The opportunity to do this on the farm and have people enjoy the experience of living in nature is what appealed to me as a business.”

Tamara said that she wanted to offer her thanks to the employees of Gambledown Farm.

She said: “We are a really small team, and every member of our team works incredibly hard, from the lady who does the cleaning to our meet-and-greet team.

“Our whole team is worthy of a mention; Rachel, Darren, Martina and another woman who is also called Tamara.

Gambledown Farm (Image: Ben Meirion-Williams)SEE ALSO: New drains installed to ease persistent flooding on Botley Road footpath

“We use lots of local suppliers, and we try to support the local community as much as possible.”

Despite the recognition, Tamara said that she and Richard do not have any big future plans at this moment, wanting to instead focus on what is already working. She said: “We’re going to stick with what we’re doing. We love welcoming guests from April to October – we have spring feeding for lambs which is very popular, we have woodfire pizza nights, we have yoga and corporate retreats and weddings.

“So, all in all, we’re kept very busy with all of those offerings!”