IOW Camping Trip 27th Nov - 1st Dec 09
To make some use of the 14 days holiday left, I decided to go to the IOW, hadn’t been there for a while, so looked at ferries, campsites etc. Then by chance, Andy, of Bushpig fame phoned as said he’s got 3 days holiday left, do you want to go camping, and so it was………
We meet up on the M27 and headed towards Portsmouth to catch the 05.00am ferry to Fishbourne, why so early, cost, it must be the most expensive stretch of water in the world, that said Portsmouth/Fishbourne is one the cheapest.
We arrived half asleep, and drove down the East side of the island looking for a cafe, and breakfast, so we drove through Ryde, Brading, Sandown, Shanklin and arrived in Ventnor about 1 hour later, before 07.00 hrs and still dark, with most places still closed, obviously at this time of the morning.
It’s surprising how small the IOW is when there’s little traffic on the road, so not wanting to see the whole Island within the first few hours of getting there, and getting hungry we headed back on our route, to find a Asda supermarket with no cafe and not open, but a kindly Lady pointed us in the direction of a Morrisons which opened at 08.00hrs, excellent! No it didn’t, it opened at 09.00, and so with nowhere else to go, we opened the Landys and put the kettle on and waited.
After a fine cooked breakfast, a trip to the toilets, we were on our way just before 10.00 towards our campsite at Apse Heath and to see the pitch and confirm all is ok. Unfortunately, after a huge amount of rain, the ground was sodden, but the site was open, although basic.
So we set of for a tour of the roads and areas we had done in the dark, back to Shanklin, Ventnor, doing the coasts roads etc, a bit of shopping and a cup of tea in Ventnor. And the weather wasn’t too bad either.
We left Ventnor and did a bit more touring, some grocery shopping, we decided to get back to the campsite early afternoon, set-up tents, awnings, bbq’s, fires etc early, and do some relaxing before it gets dark at about 16.00. This we did, without a problem, and enjoyed fresh bread, brie, pate salad and wine etc for a late lunch.
All was well, and after a quick afternoon nap, to make up some lost sleep the night before, we lit the bbq and fire, and filled tumblers of wine, got a Landy mag and sat down, great!
And then it started to rain, and then it got windy; so after a good meal, we huddled around the fire for a couple of hours, we decided to turn in early, hoping the weather would improve tomorrow.
About 22.00 it started to rain heavily and then got windy, very windy, must have been gusting 30/40+mph and in our roof tents, sat at the end of the campsite (the only pitch left, all the rest taken by caravans) it was like being in a wind tunnel, every hour or so I was woken up with a thunderous shake of tent, and the battering of the rain, and it was cold. The joys of camping in a UK winter!?
It wasn’t light until about 08.00hrs in the mornings at this time of year, so it was going to be a long night, but I was dressed right, my ¾ sleeping was warm, so I did get some sleep. I got up about 07:30, expecting to see me in my Howling Moon tent and the 110 in the field below. But no, all was ok, and apart from some condensation inside the tent, no leaks and intact outside.
But, soon my happiness changed, because Andy having brought his new Hannibal roof tent on this trip, had leaked through the front zip, so he was not a happy bunny, and with his mattress soaking up the water, it made the inside of the tent wet, and anything in it’s way, also wet!
But life goes on; it wasn’t raining now, so after the customary visit to the toilets, a wash, a lovely cooked breakfast, cups of tea, the world seem better.
We packed the tents and equipment away and set of to see Godshill, a stunningly pretty little village just down the road, after some shopping and sightseeing, we headed towards the coast and Niton, Blackgang Chine (closed), Chale, up to Brighstone, Shorwell, Carisbrook Castle and Newport. Taking in sights and taking photos along the way. A good day, but after last night, Andy decided to change his ticket and go back early on Sunday, I also changed mine.
Back to the campsite early, to set-up camp, and yes it started to rain even earlier, even heavier, and then the wind picked-up again. What joy! Bed early again, and now the practised holding on to the tent frame occasionally to stop it being bent or worse, I got through the night, until I heard the awning hitting the side of the Landy at about 04.00hrs, so got up, and in the rain put the awning away, climbed back into bed, and hoped for the best.
Wet, windy through the night again, got up but a bit later than normal to find Andy unhappy, after a few adjustments last night, his tent had still leaked.
So after breakfast, we set off towards the Needles; I wanted to stay until Tuesday really, the weather looked good for Monday and Tuesday, but the campsite wasn’t that good, and the ground was a mud bath, so I had to find another campsite.
After quite a few small lanes, we arrived at the Needles, great view, made our way to Freshwater, then Yarmouth where we stopped for a bite to eat and a cup of tea, a great cafe overlooking the pier. It was here I made a few call to other campsites I’d found on the internet and which were open this time of year, all said we’re closed or closed to tents, because the ground is sodden.
The last call was to The Orchards campsite, not far from Yarmouth in nearby Newbridge, but she said the same thing, closed for tents but had hardstanding, when I explained I’ve a roof tent and could make do with hardstanding, she was none the wiser. So as she was on the way to Fishbourne, to get Andy’s 13.00hrs ferry, we decided to stop and sure enough after explaining the roof tent she was happy to me to stay, so I changed the return ferry again and booked 2 nights there.
Well what a difference, a great campsite, well laid out, plenty of space, nice hot showers and even an indoor pool if you wanted. And only 10 quid per night. Excellent value, and in a beautiful setting! I could tie the rear 2 tent guide ropes to the ladder, so no problem there, and with hardstanding no trending around in mud! So with a spring and feeling happier, I set of to Fishbourne and see Andy off. I tried to persuade him to stop one more night, but with a wet mattress, he was still not his jovial happy self, he wanted to get it sorted, which I understood.
Saw him of at the ferry, and ambled back to the campsite, set-up camp without the awning and sat around the bbq, rubbing my hands as you do. After a fine meal, and a glass or two of wine, tucked in for the night, no rain or wind yet, great, until about 05.00hrs, then it rained, and the wind swung around so it was behind me, but nowhere near as bad as the previous nights.
Woke up, a nice shower, eggs and bacon, cup of tea, pack up and set off, this time to do the lanes between Yarmouth and Cowes, had a decent drive around, took the coast road into West Cowes which was a mistake because it was covered in sea water been thrown over the footpath and sea wall. Drove around West Cowes a bit and out towards Newport, where I picked up the Yarmouth road, I stopped at the Parkhurst forest, cooked some soup, and had lunch.
As the Landy was covered in Salt water, I decided to go down some lanes and find the odd puddle or 3, which wouldn’t be that hard after the amount of rain we’ve had, so I splashed through all the puddles I could down some lanes and headed back to the campsite. At this time the sun actually broke through and was a reasonably sunny, but chilly afternoon.
Got back, set-up camp, this time I turned the Landy around and found a better hardstanding pitch, in case the wind got up, but it didn’t, nor did it rain, just a lovely clear, cold night; and a frosty sunrise, beautiful.
Got up early, packed the tent away, had a hot shower, breakfast and tea, and was away by 08.00hrs. I wanted an early start, the ferry was at 13.30hrs, and I had much to see. I whisked my way around Newport in the morning rush hour, down to East Cowes to find Osbourne House closed, so back up to Newport and took a lane to Arreton down.
What a beautiful sight in the morning sunshine this part of the island is, Arreton down, Brading down, see for miles, made a cup of tea and enjoyed the views. Drove down through Brading passed the zoo and up to Culver down and battery, yet another beautiful sight and glorious views of the coastline, drove into Bembridge, stopped at Bembridge point and Bembridge harbour. Has got to be, one of the prettiest parts of the island.
Through St Helens, Nettlestone and into Seaview, still a pretty place, probably haven’t been her for about 40yrs, my grandparents used to live here. Went to Puckpool Park, where I wandered around, and made some tea. Off to Ryde, and the boating lake on the seafront, a lot of changes here, but is a prime location. With time getting on, I started to head fro the ferry.
Arrived at the ferry terminal, checked in, and was about to board an earlier (13.00) ferry, when I was stopped and told to fill up my jerricans (I carry 4 on my roof rack, they came with the Landy and I haven’t bothered to take them off) with water or leave them here! I said I came over with them on, and I was here on holiday, after some chat to the ferry’s crew, they said ok, but loaded me last, but I was on. And on my way home.
Great trip, shame about the weather, but enjoyed it all the same.
To make some use of the 14 days holiday left, I decided to go to the IOW, hadn’t been there for a while, so looked at ferries, campsites etc. Then by chance, Andy, of Bushpig fame phoned as said he’s got 3 days holiday left, do you want to go camping, and so it was………
We meet up on the M27 and headed towards Portsmouth to catch the 05.00am ferry to Fishbourne, why so early, cost, it must be the most expensive stretch of water in the world, that said Portsmouth/Fishbourne is one the cheapest.
We arrived half asleep, and drove down the East side of the island looking for a cafe, and breakfast, so we drove through Ryde, Brading, Sandown, Shanklin and arrived in Ventnor about 1 hour later, before 07.00 hrs and still dark, with most places still closed, obviously at this time of the morning.
It’s surprising how small the IOW is when there’s little traffic on the road, so not wanting to see the whole Island within the first few hours of getting there, and getting hungry we headed back on our route, to find a Asda supermarket with no cafe and not open, but a kindly Lady pointed us in the direction of a Morrisons which opened at 08.00hrs, excellent! No it didn’t, it opened at 09.00, and so with nowhere else to go, we opened the Landys and put the kettle on and waited.
After a fine cooked breakfast, a trip to the toilets, we were on our way just before 10.00 towards our campsite at Apse Heath and to see the pitch and confirm all is ok. Unfortunately, after a huge amount of rain, the ground was sodden, but the site was open, although basic.
So we set of for a tour of the roads and areas we had done in the dark, back to Shanklin, Ventnor, doing the coasts roads etc, a bit of shopping and a cup of tea in Ventnor. And the weather wasn’t too bad either.
We left Ventnor and did a bit more touring, some grocery shopping, we decided to get back to the campsite early afternoon, set-up tents, awnings, bbq’s, fires etc early, and do some relaxing before it gets dark at about 16.00. This we did, without a problem, and enjoyed fresh bread, brie, pate salad and wine etc for a late lunch.
All was well, and after a quick afternoon nap, to make up some lost sleep the night before, we lit the bbq and fire, and filled tumblers of wine, got a Landy mag and sat down, great!
And then it started to rain, and then it got windy; so after a good meal, we huddled around the fire for a couple of hours, we decided to turn in early, hoping the weather would improve tomorrow.
About 22.00 it started to rain heavily and then got windy, very windy, must have been gusting 30/40+mph and in our roof tents, sat at the end of the campsite (the only pitch left, all the rest taken by caravans) it was like being in a wind tunnel, every hour or so I was woken up with a thunderous shake of tent, and the battering of the rain, and it was cold. The joys of camping in a UK winter!?
It wasn’t light until about 08.00hrs in the mornings at this time of year, so it was going to be a long night, but I was dressed right, my ¾ sleeping was warm, so I did get some sleep. I got up about 07:30, expecting to see me in my Howling Moon tent and the 110 in the field below. But no, all was ok, and apart from some condensation inside the tent, no leaks and intact outside.
But, soon my happiness changed, because Andy having brought his new Hannibal roof tent on this trip, had leaked through the front zip, so he was not a happy bunny, and with his mattress soaking up the water, it made the inside of the tent wet, and anything in it’s way, also wet!
But life goes on; it wasn’t raining now, so after the customary visit to the toilets, a wash, a lovely cooked breakfast, cups of tea, the world seem better.
We packed the tents and equipment away and set of to see Godshill, a stunningly pretty little village just down the road, after some shopping and sightseeing, we headed towards the coast and Niton, Blackgang Chine (closed), Chale, up to Brighstone, Shorwell, Carisbrook Castle and Newport. Taking in sights and taking photos along the way. A good day, but after last night, Andy decided to change his ticket and go back early on Sunday, I also changed mine.
Back to the campsite early, to set-up camp, and yes it started to rain even earlier, even heavier, and then the wind picked-up again. What joy! Bed early again, and now the practised holding on to the tent frame occasionally to stop it being bent or worse, I got through the night, until I heard the awning hitting the side of the Landy at about 04.00hrs, so got up, and in the rain put the awning away, climbed back into bed, and hoped for the best.
Wet, windy through the night again, got up but a bit later than normal to find Andy unhappy, after a few adjustments last night, his tent had still leaked.
So after breakfast, we set off towards the Needles; I wanted to stay until Tuesday really, the weather looked good for Monday and Tuesday, but the campsite wasn’t that good, and the ground was a mud bath, so I had to find another campsite.
After quite a few small lanes, we arrived at the Needles, great view, made our way to Freshwater, then Yarmouth where we stopped for a bite to eat and a cup of tea, a great cafe overlooking the pier. It was here I made a few call to other campsites I’d found on the internet and which were open this time of year, all said we’re closed or closed to tents, because the ground is sodden.
The last call was to The Orchards campsite, not far from Yarmouth in nearby Newbridge, but she said the same thing, closed for tents but had hardstanding, when I explained I’ve a roof tent and could make do with hardstanding, she was none the wiser. So as she was on the way to Fishbourne, to get Andy’s 13.00hrs ferry, we decided to stop and sure enough after explaining the roof tent she was happy to me to stay, so I changed the return ferry again and booked 2 nights there.
Well what a difference, a great campsite, well laid out, plenty of space, nice hot showers and even an indoor pool if you wanted. And only 10 quid per night. Excellent value, and in a beautiful setting! I could tie the rear 2 tent guide ropes to the ladder, so no problem there, and with hardstanding no trending around in mud! So with a spring and feeling happier, I set of to Fishbourne and see Andy off. I tried to persuade him to stop one more night, but with a wet mattress, he was still not his jovial happy self, he wanted to get it sorted, which I understood.
Saw him of at the ferry, and ambled back to the campsite, set-up camp without the awning and sat around the bbq, rubbing my hands as you do. After a fine meal, and a glass or two of wine, tucked in for the night, no rain or wind yet, great, until about 05.00hrs, then it rained, and the wind swung around so it was behind me, but nowhere near as bad as the previous nights.
Woke up, a nice shower, eggs and bacon, cup of tea, pack up and set off, this time to do the lanes between Yarmouth and Cowes, had a decent drive around, took the coast road into West Cowes which was a mistake because it was covered in sea water been thrown over the footpath and sea wall. Drove around West Cowes a bit and out towards Newport, where I picked up the Yarmouth road, I stopped at the Parkhurst forest, cooked some soup, and had lunch.
As the Landy was covered in Salt water, I decided to go down some lanes and find the odd puddle or 3, which wouldn’t be that hard after the amount of rain we’ve had, so I splashed through all the puddles I could down some lanes and headed back to the campsite. At this time the sun actually broke through and was a reasonably sunny, but chilly afternoon.
Got back, set-up camp, this time I turned the Landy around and found a better hardstanding pitch, in case the wind got up, but it didn’t, nor did it rain, just a lovely clear, cold night; and a frosty sunrise, beautiful.
Got up early, packed the tent away, had a hot shower, breakfast and tea, and was away by 08.00hrs. I wanted an early start, the ferry was at 13.30hrs, and I had much to see. I whisked my way around Newport in the morning rush hour, down to East Cowes to find Osbourne House closed, so back up to Newport and took a lane to Arreton down.
What a beautiful sight in the morning sunshine this part of the island is, Arreton down, Brading down, see for miles, made a cup of tea and enjoyed the views. Drove down through Brading passed the zoo and up to Culver down and battery, yet another beautiful sight and glorious views of the coastline, drove into Bembridge, stopped at Bembridge point and Bembridge harbour. Has got to be, one of the prettiest parts of the island.
Through St Helens, Nettlestone and into Seaview, still a pretty place, probably haven’t been her for about 40yrs, my grandparents used to live here. Went to Puckpool Park, where I wandered around, and made some tea. Off to Ryde, and the boating lake on the seafront, a lot of changes here, but is a prime location. With time getting on, I started to head fro the ferry.
Arrived at the ferry terminal, checked in, and was about to board an earlier (13.00) ferry, when I was stopped and told to fill up my jerricans (I carry 4 on my roof rack, they came with the Landy and I haven’t bothered to take them off) with water or leave them here! I said I came over with them on, and I was here on holiday, after some chat to the ferry’s crew, they said ok, but loaded me last, but I was on. And on my way home.
Great trip, shame about the weather, but enjoyed it all the same.