Many of us will be taking a holiday in the UK this year, and Debbie Bennett samples what’s on offer in the heart of the New Forest.

A cute donkey wanders up for a hug, birds sing from the trees, ponies lazily munch on dewy grass, unfazed by a family of rabbits, and young deer nervously twitch their ears before leaping out of sight.

No, this isn’t a scene from Disney’s Snow White. Nor is it a day out at the local wildlife park.

This is the New Forest in Hampshire, where wild ponies live freely among the gorse which sweeps endlessly across the county’s moorland landscape.

I expected the odd rabbit or deer in these parts, but the ponies are everywhere – tame, if a little unpredictable – and the donkeys are simply adorable.

I stumbled across them on a recent stay at a Hampshire holiday park with the amusing name of Sandy Balls.

Sniggers aside, Sandy Balls is actually derived from the term “sandy ballasts” -bizarre mounds of sandstone some 30-ft high which have been part of the forest for thousands of years and can be found on an easy woodland walk, between the holiday park and the flood plains of the River Avon nearby.

Sandy Balls is an ideal base for exploring the surrounding area. The small but well-established holiday complex has all the basics in place for the perfect self-catering holiday – and remarkably celebrates its 90th birthday later this year.

There’s a wide variety of wooden lodges of various berths, as well as hundreds of static caravans to choose from. Check-in is quick and efficient, with staff on hand to greet new arrivals as they turn up at guest services.

Our accommodation for the week was a luxury four-berth Beech Retreat lodge, all of which have a dishwasher, DVD player and claw-foot bath. A large private decking area outside as well as garden furniture and a barbecue await residents during the warmer evenings. The park is mostly geared up for families with young children, with indoor activities running all day at various prices.

The on-site Woodside Inn has a fully licensed bar and is open all day for snacks and meals, while the bistro offers different set menus every evening, often with a continental theme.

A small supermarket and an amusement arcade with pool tables and free table tennis are useful features of the park.

For those craving a little pampering, Tempus spa has a huge range of therapies, massages and treatments, while for the more outgoing, there’s a superbly-equipped cycle hire centre where families can get kitted out with the perfect bike for each member, along with pumps, safety helmets and maps.

It cost my clan just under £50 for a full-day’s hire of two mountain bikes and two “comfort” bikes for the whole day, which we spent pottering around the quiet country lanes, meeting the ponies and donkeys, and sampling the local ales at various remote inns.

On other days, the kids spent a few hours at the indoor pool, which was completely free to residents.

Sandy Balls is located just five minutes drive from busy Fordingbridge. Straddling the River Avon, the small town has a large supermarket, shops and food outlets, plus a spacious car park.

The New Forest is superb for exploring on bikes or on foot, but its location also makes it convenient for the south coast port towns of Southampton and Portsmouth as well as the seaside resort of Bournemouth, all about 40 minutes’ drive away.

And 12 miles north of Sandy Balls is the medieval city of Salisbury with its magnificent cathedral and historic buildings, while the mysterious Stonehenge is just another 10 minutes drive further.

Other ways to stay at the park:

If you want to get away from it all and fancy something a little bit different, Sandy Balls offers alternative forms of accommodation.

First of all, there’s the ready tents. From as little as £150 for a mid-week break in May, there’s everything you would need to get that little bit closer to nature.

Each tent is set up for up to six people and includes blow up beds, a fully-equipped kitchen with camping stove, fridge, crockery and cutlery, plus a dining area.

All you’ll need to bring is a sleeping bag each.

And new for this year are the teepees, Sioux-style tents, but perhaps a little more basic. Each one sleeps up to six people, and has an outdoor fire pit to use for cooking, plus you’ll get a bag of charcoal as well as a box of cooking pots, utensils, plates and mugs. Prices for the teepees start at £120 for a mid-week break in May.

Factbox:

• Sandy Balls is at the western end of Godshill village, near Fordingbridge on the B3078.
• Call 0845 2702248, or email post@sandy-balls.co.uk for details. Alternatively, visit www.sandy-balls.co.uk.
• Prices for a four-berth Beech Retreat start at £199 for a weekend in January to £975 for a full week in August.