Bembridge Farm
Whitecliff Bay
Isle of Wight

Site visited: May 1999

Fortnights stay in the van.

Directions on booking with Camping and Caravaning Clubs North Warwickshire’s D.A. Easy access. July 97

This was our first visit to a ‘temporary holiday site’ arranged by the Camping and Caravaning Club, and we did not know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised. A large field, with only one water point, one waste point, and one chemical disposal point (a large hole in the ground with a hose, and a tin lid ) at first seems very spartan, but the field is flanked by two large commercial sites, and the facilities at both are available, including limited access to the swimming pool at one of them. The beach is only a short walk away, with no roads to cross, although, a steep descent, the ascent being the problem! The field is reasonably level, with ample space to pitch, as and where you like.
Alongside the site is Bembridge air-field, depending on your viewpoint this is an added attraction, or a pain in the ~~~~ , flights were infrequent, and we found interesting to watch, especially, as we unwittingly had pitched in line with the runway, and the first sight of a plane taking off that we had, was as it crested a slight rise in the ground, and appeared to be heading for our front window!!!
The main bonus from this holiday, was that we got a fortnight, on the Isle of Wight, high season, for considerably less than £100. This included ferry crossing!!!!! Going again? you betcha life!!! it’s worth joining the Camping and Caravanning Club just for this one site!

Roger Barker. ICQ. May 1999

Brighstone Holiday Centre
Military Road
Brighstone
Isle of Wight
PO30 4DB

Phone/Fax: 01983 740 244

Email: sue@brighstone-holidays.co.uk
Website: www.brighstone-holidays.co.uk/

Let me state from the start I haven’t stayed on this site, but we visited in April 2006 to size it up for a future visit.

They are, as the name suggests, a Holiday Centre, not just a campsite. There are brightly coloured Hi-De-Hi style, self-catering chalets around the edge of the site and the camping pitches are in the middle. There are 3 hardstandings, the rest of the pitches are grass. They also do B&B.

Sited on top of the cliffs, it has good views, but can also get quite breezy!
This site, as with all others along this coast, has lost land to the rampant coastal erosion - I think one of the toilet blocks fell victim to this :-((. The coast road keeps getting re-routed as it gets too close to the edge...... The toilets etc we saw weren’t particularly posh or pretty but they worked and were clean.

Reception was bright and cheerful and is attached to the breakfast room - breakfast is available to all, not just those booked in B&B. I forget how much breakfast cost but it didn’t sound a bad deal for what you got! The owners were friendly and helpful when we visited.

Swimming pool from Easter I think.

The village of Brighstone is about a mile away with a post office, shops, churches, pubs and bus stops.

Will we actually go and stay there? Quite possibly, it had certain appeal although it certainly wasn’t a standard campsite.

Myra Sears. CLIC. February 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Added by CLIC member John Atkin. 25/02/07
To anyone visiting the Brighstone area, may I recomend a couple of pub/restaurants? The Sun at Hulverstone and the Countryman near Brighstone, both excellent.
John also supplied the link to this site Photos of the Isle of Wight

Grange Farm - - - - - Second report below
Military Road
Brighstone
Newport
Isle of Wight
PO30 4DA

Tel: 01983 740 296
Fax: 01983 741 233

E-mail: Via the web site
Web site: www.selfcatering-directory.co.uk/

Site visited: Not known

A good overall view of the site --- Another similar view

Camping and caravans in three fields overlooking Brighstone Bay. Beware of pitching close to cliff edge as erosion is continuous.

Static’s on a lower level approached by steep access road also giving access to sand/shingle beach.

Family site but, even in mid-summer, noise not excessive at any time of day.

Featured in BBC Dinosaur Isle programme in 2001.

Two touring/camping pitches at a more secluded intermediate level with superb views of the bay and the Chine (River valley emptying into the sea - Gorge or Glen in other contexts).

Shower and toilet areas adequate and clean if a bit weatherworn.

Small shop with essentials, shops in Brighstone 1 mile.

Good for walking, cycling or beach.

Ian Willis

Grange Farm Caravan & Camping
Military Road
Brighstone Bay
Isle of Wight
PO30 4DA

Tel: 01983 740 296
Fax: 01983 741 233

E-mail: Via the web site
Web site: www.selfcatering-directory.co.uk/

Big Sites Book 196/210---- Arial view of site

Site visited early April 2006

60 grass pitches, open March to November.
BSB shows 3 hardstandings but they haven’t got any - when we phoned they said they had a gravel area they could put us on, but on arrival we were told to find the driest bit of field we could and they would tow us off if we got stuck - given it rained hard several times we spent the week expecting to get bogged down. Several times we had 3 wheels in mini lakes but fortunately the doormats under the wheels did sterling service and we never actually got stuck.

Quite a pleasant site, very quiet when we were there because the season hadn’t really started.
Great views due to being on top of cliffs - drawback is that top of cliffs can be pretty windy (and it was!!)

Children’s play area looked more interesting than many I have seen, but didn’t have any youngsters with us to give their verdict.
There are assorted animals on site for accompanied children to look at - horse, pony, donkey, water buffalo, llama, pig, etc. etc.

Facilities were clean and functional although not quite as posh as on some sites - there is even a bath (pay meter for hot water). Showers etc. were free.
The shop/reception was in a portakabin and very limited as they were in the process of building a new one - this should be open now.

The bus that used to stop outside the site has been cancelled as from beginning of April, so you now have to walk a mile into Brighstone village to catch a bus.
Village has couple of shops, pub, churches etc.

Would we go again ? - probably not due to the lack of hardstanding, but apart from that we might well have done.

Myra Sears. CLIC. July 2006

The Isle of Wight Railway Co Ltd
The Railway Station
Havenstreet
Isle of Wight
Hampshire
PO33 4DS

Tel: 01983 882 204
Fax: 01983 884 515

E-mail: havenstreet@iwsteamrailway.co.uk
Web site: www.iwsteamrailway.co.uk/

GR: 556898

Fees: £4.50 per unit/night 2 adults & 2 children
£1 per extra person/night
£1.50 per night for hookup

C&CC CS (Members only)

Visited - May 2002

We had considered staying at this site, but changed our mind. Having visited the site whilst at the railway we felt that we had made the right decision.

The site is described as "part of a large field with childrens play area". What this does not say is that the play area is for the children of visitors to the railway. Apart from a rope between the site and some retired carriage bodies used as magazine sales kiosks there is nothing to indicate that the caravans are not part of the play area. In other respects the site has been well equipped, with WC’s and telephone box (on the station), Chemical Disposal Point, water point and hook-ups. There is a buffet on the station, which serves good food.

Although I am a steam buff, we would not stay on this site in it’s present form.

John & Jean Haseltine. CLIC. June 2002

Ninham Country Holidays
Ninham Farm
Shanklin
Isle of Wight
PO37 7PL

Tel: 01983 864 243
Fax: 01983 868 881

Email: wpage@ninham-holidays.co.uk
Web site: www.ninham-holidays.co.uk

UPDATE: November 2003

This site used to be under the franchise of the Camping & Caravanning Club.
Due to a rift between the owners and the C & CC they have parted company and the site is now run independently by Derek & Veronica Harvey

The report below was written early in 1999 while this was a C & CC site. I have been assured that things have changed, so the my words in ’99 need to be taken with a pinch of salt :o).
Ian SL

Site visited: May 1999

One our arrival, we did notice that the warden and his wife seemed to be a little offhand and officious. We dismissed that as us being strangers. We were shown to our pitch which we found gave us a problem with setting up, but on looking around the site, later, we discovered that there were very few better pitches, all were steep slopping.

We didn’t use the toilet facilities for the first few days, because we got up late and reasoned that they would be busy. This didn’t worry us as we had all the things we needed in the ’van. When we did use the toilet/shower block, we found it to be old. It was cleaned every day, but it was tatty from age.

Later we learned that the swimming pool that had been advertised for use by clients was no longer available. There had been a dispute between the club and the owner of the pool. I did wonder if the rift had been caused by the warden and his wife, I felt that they could be capable of this.

On the first morning of our stay, we had friends come to see us. They called in at the site office to let them know they were ’on site’ and were charged £1.10 for the privilege of picking us up! They were charged the £1.10 later in the week, doing the same thing! just calling in to collect us.

This was our first visit to the Isle Of Wight. We had been once before for a long weekend in March a few years ago. We were not prepared for the crowds. The whole place had been quiet last time. We liked the laid back approach to driving, everyone ambled everywhere, there was no rush to do anything.

We found that there was plenty to do at a price. We did visit Blackgang Chine with our friends and their children, but found that the whole place was aimed at the 5-15 age group. Lyn and I preferred to go for walks, and there were plenty of those.

As to when we would be returning for another visit, we would have to look at the cost of getting over there. We managed to get a special deal with the Caravan Club, getting our costs down to £48 return, but I believe that the standard cost would be around £60 for car and caravan.
As to whether we return to Willow brook, that is unlikely, due to the attitude of the warden of this CCC site. We may well look for another site.

22/08/97

Ian SL. CLIC. May 1999

I have recieved a mini report on Nineham from Chris Potkin.....Chris writes.....

I have just returned from Ninam. The wardens are members of the Auto-Trail owners’ club and made everyone welcome and acted as stewards for the 5 day gathering, this on top of their normal duties as site wardens.

I found that doubling up on my blocks still would not make me level, and adding anymore to a 24ft Motorhome would make it unsafe.
Although I found that most ATOC members found it easier to level off if you pulled across the pitch.

The toilets have not changed, although clean. The entrance road had some pot holes making for a bumpy ride.

Would go back so long as a decent pitch available.

Chris Potkin. Internet. July 2004

The Orchards CC affiliated site--- Second report below
Main Road
Newbridge
Yarmouth
Isle of Wight
PO41 0TS

E-mail: info@orchards-holiday-park.co.uk
Web site: www.orchards-holiday-park.co.uk/

Tel: 01983 531 331 or 01983 531 350
Fax: 01983 531 666

Caravan Club associated (but not owned/managed) site.

Mixture of hardstanding and grass pitches, some superpitches, some statics in separate area at entrance to site. Pitch size was considerably smaller than on CC sites, although there was still a reasonable gap between units.
The site has quite a slope on it - some attempt has been made to level the hardstanding pitches but we still needed to use ramps.

Facilities were all very good - heated loo shower/block - 3 blocks in peak season but only 2 open when we went. Covered dishwashing.

No motorhome service point as such, but there is a water point where you can park beside it to fill up.

Outdoor swimming pool open in main season (free) and indoor pool open all year (charge). Looked nice but didn’t try it. Paddling pool.

Table tennis, pool, tv room, few arcade-type machines. Boules pitch, playing field, dog-walking areas.

Licensed shop was well stocked with basic groceries as well as holiday stuff and not badly priced for a campsite store.

Small takeaway/food bar with covered outdoor seating only. Food was delicious and reasonably priced.

Overall a nice site and I would happily stay again but not in peak season because I prefer sites with a more spacious feel.

Bus stop outside site, service not that frequent but seemed reliable.
Post office opposite site entrance which had some basic groceries, but the site shop was better.

Myra Sears. CLIC. September 2007

The Orchards CC affiliated site
Main Road
Newbridge
Yarmouth
Isle of Wight
PO41 0TS

E-mail: info@orchards-holiday-park.co.uk
Web site: www.orchards-holiday-park.co.uk/

Tel: 01983 531 331 or 01983 531 350
Fax: 01983 531 666

Site Report:
The Orchards is a commercial holiday park as well as an affiliated site for the Caravan Club.

Situated in the small village of Newbridge, the facility buildings are all around the entrance to the site. Behind these are static and holiday vans, with the touring park on gently sloping ground looking across the valley.
All pitches either slope slightly or are terraced to be flat.
The reception building is the first on the left next to the shop which is quite extensive. There is also a takeaway, a games room, TV room and children’s play area in the vicinity.
The newly built indoor swimming pool is next to the outdoor pool.

The star of the show though has to be the toilet block opened in 2009. The shower cubicles in here are huge and each also contains a wash hand basin, mirror and razor point. The whole block is kept immaculate by the staff. There is also a laundry room and washing up room in the building.

The Orchards is quite a large park, with 175 pitches with a good mixture of grass or hard standing. On checking in you are escorted by staff to your allocated pitch.

Ed. note: David is a member of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club.

David Cuff. CLIC. September 2010

Perreton Farm--- Second report below
East Lane
Arreton
Isle of Wight
PO30 3DL

Tel: 01983 865 218
Mrs Taylor

Site visited: 13 June to 1 July, 2001

April 2005
Perreton Farm used to be a Caravan Club CL. It is now a small commercial site taking a max. of 10 caravans.

A view of the site --- Our pitch --- The view from the site

It’s approached down a ¼ mile track

with pronounced speedhumps, but with a good wide left turn into the site itself.
Once in the site, which is long and very narrow, with a "limited" view if you park your van logically
there’s a reliable 16 amp hookup for each pitch, but only the first three are level, the gound then sloping quite steeply away from the entrance. There’s a small toilet and wash/shower room, and nothing else, but an easy 15 minute walk east on the footpath that runs right through the farmyard takes you to Arreton Village, with it’s post office cum off licence cum late shop.

TV and mobile phone reception is excellent, and the cycle shop at the farm sells rather nice ice cream.

The real bonus with this site is the location. Almost everywhere on the island is within 12 miles of the site. 4 miles east is Lake, on the outskirts of Sandown, with a supermarket (Safeways) with petrol and coffee shop, Sandown itself being another couple of miles. 4 miles the other way is Newport, and everywhere else is a comfortable dawdle.

There are plenty of good guidebooks to the Island, and the free ones on the ferries are among the best, so I shant go into too much detail. A couple of things, though. If you’re into watching the big liners, there’s a nice café on the esplanade at East Cowes that keeps a departures board, and doesn’t mind how long you sit at watch them. We had a first class view of the finish of the BT Challenge while enjoying a very leisurely, very late, breakfast there.

If you take a dog, bear in mind that most of the good beaches are closed to them between the end of April and the beginning of November, although most long beaches have rougher sections where they don’t mind dog-walkers.

There are several golf clubs, but no public 18-hole course, several 9-hole and 12-hole ones though, even if some are little more than pitch-n-putt. There are several fishing lakes over the island, but sorry Gray, no firsthand experience.

We sailed from Lymington having booked the el cheapo after 1900 hours crossing (£58 return), but turned up several hours early so they got us out of the way by 1530, saving us 4 hours and double the fare. And the same happened on the way back, too. So you can get lucky, and the ferry staff, like almost everyone we met there, were genuinely nice and eager to please.

There’s always one exception, and unfortunately it was the pub nearest to the site, the White Lion, whose food was both poor and dear, and where we were made to feel that we were intruding.

All in all, the stay was excellent, undoubtedly helped by the weather, only 1 grey day in 18, but I think we’ll be returning to the Isle of Wight, we left far too much unseen, and a lot more nice people to meet. And yes, we’d return to Perreton Farm.

Susan and Nik Dennis. CLIC. July 2001

Perreton Farm
East Lane
Arreton
Newport
Isle of Wight
PO30 3DL

Tel: 01983 865 218
Mr J R U Taylor

GR: SZ533855

Date visited: 10th to 27th May 2002

April 2005
Perreton Farm used to be a Caravan Club CL. It is now a small commercial site taking a max. of 10 caravans.

Fees: £5 per night (2 adults + awning)
£1 per extra adult/night
£1.50 per night for hook-up
In June to August the cost increases to £6, & £1.50 per extra person.

The site is a small area adjacent to some old farm buildings, which look as if they once held livestock, but are no longer used for this purpose. There are cereals growing adjacent to the site, and while we were there some sheep were moved onto an area at the end of the site. There is a small block at the site entrance with a WC, basin and shower. The shower was 30p (honesty box) and tended to go cold very quickly. Water was from a tap on the outside of this building, and chemical disposal was in a manhole at the front. There was an aroma of stagnant water in this location.

The route to the farm turns off the main road, at a sharp bend, into a narrow lane with a couple of passing places. If you turn into the wrong lane, carry on, then turn left into Bury lane, then left into East Lane, not doing as we did and trying to turn round !

The farm is reasonably central for any part of the island, there is a footpath into Arreton, where there is a pub, and a post office/convenience store. Ice cream can be obtained from the ’Cycle Shed’ on the farm (Bikes for sale up to £1000).

Would we go to this site again - Yes.

John & Jean Haseltine. CLIC. June 2002

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