Sandy Balls 3.88

Sandy Balls is 120acre of woods and parkland in the New Forest in Hampshire, England. Located between the village of Godshill and the town of Fordingbridge, it is bounded on the western edge by the River Avon. Now run as a holiday centre, Sandy Balls is owned by Away Resorts.NameThe estate's name has been traced as far back as the reign of Henry VII. It appeared on maps and other documents of the time as "Sandyballas," which is the description given to the dome-shaped sand and gravel outcrops on the western boundary of the site. Many of these outcrops remain, including ones called Good Friday Hill and Giant’s Grave.Due to the estate's name having a humorous sound in Modern English colloquial usage, Sandy Balls has been used in various jokes and comedies.On the comedy panel show Have I Got News For You, guest host Alexander Armstrong introduced a promotional video for Sandy Balls that made fun of the resort's name.HistoryIn 1919 the estate came up for sale to pay for death duties which arose on the death of Sir Edward Hulse in the first World War. Ernest Westlake, an anthropologist stimulated by the ideas and work of Ernest Thompson Seton bought the land as a site for his newly formed youth movement the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry. After the death of Ernest his son Aubrey Westlake carried on his ideas and the forerunner of Forest School Camps was established. The first Head master was Cuthbert Rutter, Aubrey’s cousin.