going to isle of wight for next years excursion, which is the better crossing P'mouth or S'ton, picked out Southland camp site, any good? taking the dog, any body know about rules and regs on ferry for him, does he have to stay in car?? and one any thoughts on do's and don'ts of travelling there, coming round M25 and down, which road is caravan friendly which are no no's.
isle of wight
- Thread starter Jayne_5078248
- Start date
Damian
Moderator
Jayne, the crossing from Portsmouth is 30 minutes, from Southampton its an hour. Portsmouth ferries run every 30 minutes, Southampton ferries every hour, so more crossings via Portsmouth.
Both ferry operators now have a restriction on dogs and they either have to remain in the car, or be taken to the top of the ferry, and use the open deck area, they are NOT allowed in the lounge areas, except guide dogs.
Southland site is a good, clean well maintained site, far enough off the main routes to be quiet at night, but close enough to the main holiday towns of Sandown, Shanklin, and handy for all other explorations of the Island.
Despite your ticket saying you have to remove your aerial from the van, you do NOT have to, there is plenty of room for it to pass through the ferry without problems.
From the M25, its easier to stick to the M3/A3 then branch off at whichever route you decide, but Portsmouth is direct motorway all the way, M27, M275.
The Southampton ferry will bring you into East Cowes, which is further away from your destination, but roads are good.
Portsmouth ferries wil bring you in at Fishbourne, again, good roads for the majority of the time.
PLEASE be well aware, the Island roads are VERY different to anything you may have over there, also, the standard of driving here is at best...ABYSMAL,and at worst, downright awful.
Also, be very aware that the Police are very active with mobile speed cameras, as well as the relatively few fixed cameras we have.
Dogs are not allowed on many of the beaches between May and October, so you need to check which you can go on.
One place which has no restrictions on dogs is St Helens Duver, where dogs are ok all the year round, and can use the whole beach area when tides permit, but be aware,at the Point, the tide runs very fast and the deep water channel is a dangerous place when the tide is at full rip.
Anything else, please ask.
Both ferry operators now have a restriction on dogs and they either have to remain in the car, or be taken to the top of the ferry, and use the open deck area, they are NOT allowed in the lounge areas, except guide dogs.
Southland site is a good, clean well maintained site, far enough off the main routes to be quiet at night, but close enough to the main holiday towns of Sandown, Shanklin, and handy for all other explorations of the Island.
Despite your ticket saying you have to remove your aerial from the van, you do NOT have to, there is plenty of room for it to pass through the ferry without problems.
From the M25, its easier to stick to the M3/A3 then branch off at whichever route you decide, but Portsmouth is direct motorway all the way, M27, M275.
The Southampton ferry will bring you into East Cowes, which is further away from your destination, but roads are good.
Portsmouth ferries wil bring you in at Fishbourne, again, good roads for the majority of the time.
PLEASE be well aware, the Island roads are VERY different to anything you may have over there, also, the standard of driving here is at best...ABYSMAL,and at worst, downright awful.
Also, be very aware that the Police are very active with mobile speed cameras, as well as the relatively few fixed cameras we have.
Dogs are not allowed on many of the beaches between May and October, so you need to check which you can go on.
One place which has no restrictions on dogs is St Helens Duver, where dogs are ok all the year round, and can use the whole beach area when tides permit, but be aware,at the Point, the tide runs very fast and the deep water channel is a dangerous place when the tide is at full rip.
Anything else, please ask.
Jayne
Great place for a break! Literally...
Avoid the ice rink. Couple of years ago I had to drive home with a wrist broken in 4 places!
Steve
PS, we loved the place and will be going back. (the ise that is not the ice rink)
Great place for a break! Literally...
Avoid the ice rink. Couple of years ago I had to drive home with a wrist broken in 4 places!
Steve
PS, we loved the place and will be going back. (the ise that is not the ice rink)
Damian
We were also looking to come to the Isle of Wight next year but to Rookley Park as hubby cannot survive without sitting there with a stick in the water
I gather this is a biggish site and likely to be very busy in school hols but as ours are now grown up we are not tied to those dates
Up here in Yorkshire the main summer hols dont start until the last week of July,is that similar down there/
Also any info if you have it on the site would be appreciated
We were thinking of the Fishbourne ferry as they seem to offer a good deal on caravan prices,incl free at certain times,unless you know better
Gill
We were also looking to come to the Isle of Wight next year but to Rookley Park as hubby cannot survive without sitting there with a stick in the water
I gather this is a biggish site and likely to be very busy in school hols but as ours are now grown up we are not tied to those dates
Up here in Yorkshire the main summer hols dont start until the last week of July,is that similar down there/
Also any info if you have it on the site would be appreciated
We were thinking of the Fishbourne ferry as they seem to offer a good deal on caravan prices,incl free at certain times,unless you know better
Gill
Damian
Moderator
Gill,
Rookley Park is becoming a huge site, they are expanding every facility right now, and it looks like it will be very good when they have finished.
There is a large static van site as you enter the park, then the hardstandings for touring vans,of which they can take a limited number at the present time, and then camping areas, but when I called in there last week they had a lot of earthworks going on, with new areas being created.
The Portsmouth /Fishbourne route does have special offers on, and free van passage, usually very late night/early morning, ie 12 midnight to 3am, or thereabouts, just check nearer the time.
As for fishing, they do have a trout lake, and ther are several other freshwater fishing venues around the Island, have to get a permit though!!
Also, of course, there is the whole of the coast to go sea fishing if your husband wants to do that, or even go out shark fishing!!
All the good sites are very busy in school holiday times, and the facilities suffer as a result, as would be expected.
Rookley is a village between Newport and Godshill, and the site is on the main road just as you leave the village, there is a shop in the village, but nearest big supermarket will be Newport, with the choice of Sainsburys, Morrisons, Somerfield, with M&S as well.
Toady Diesel is selling at 99.9 per litre at the S'Markets, but is at 101.9 at some independent retailers.
Because of the state of the roads, and the almost blanket 40 mph speed limits, plus the usual 30's and some 20's, dont expect to get great fuel economy.
The roads which are subject to the national speed limit of 60 are such that it is almost impossible, unless suicidal tendancies run in the family, to achieve this.
The one stretch of Dual Carriageway,all of 3/4 of a mile long has , in one direction a 40 mph limit about 300 yds from the end, and the other direction a 40 followed by a 30 starting about 2/3rds of the way down its length , but in the remaining bit, if you can , you are allowed to do 70,in practice though, its not possible due to the queues.
Rookley Park is becoming a huge site, they are expanding every facility right now, and it looks like it will be very good when they have finished.
There is a large static van site as you enter the park, then the hardstandings for touring vans,of which they can take a limited number at the present time, and then camping areas, but when I called in there last week they had a lot of earthworks going on, with new areas being created.
The Portsmouth /Fishbourne route does have special offers on, and free van passage, usually very late night/early morning, ie 12 midnight to 3am, or thereabouts, just check nearer the time.
As for fishing, they do have a trout lake, and ther are several other freshwater fishing venues around the Island, have to get a permit though!!
Also, of course, there is the whole of the coast to go sea fishing if your husband wants to do that, or even go out shark fishing!!
All the good sites are very busy in school holiday times, and the facilities suffer as a result, as would be expected.
Rookley is a village between Newport and Godshill, and the site is on the main road just as you leave the village, there is a shop in the village, but nearest big supermarket will be Newport, with the choice of Sainsburys, Morrisons, Somerfield, with M&S as well.
Toady Diesel is selling at 99.9 per litre at the S'Markets, but is at 101.9 at some independent retailers.
Because of the state of the roads, and the almost blanket 40 mph speed limits, plus the usual 30's and some 20's, dont expect to get great fuel economy.
The roads which are subject to the national speed limit of 60 are such that it is almost impossible, unless suicidal tendancies run in the family, to achieve this.
The one stretch of Dual Carriageway,all of 3/4 of a mile long has , in one direction a 40 mph limit about 300 yds from the end, and the other direction a 40 followed by a 30 starting about 2/3rds of the way down its length , but in the remaining bit, if you can , you are allowed to do 70,in practice though, its not possible due to the queues.
hi just been reading the messages about isle of wight.. we have just returned from there spent 2 weeks at the orchards.. nice site but evening entertainment was zilch.. we enjoyed it tho.. especially us that liked the idea of fishing on its own pond/lake.. we never hit any kind of traffic probs whatsoever and it all the 2 weeks of travelling about during the day we only ever saw a flashing board that showed the speeed you were travelling at.. i cant even rememeber seeing a police car.. we travelled from yorkshire to lymington and had more waiting on roads than on all of our our holiday..
if you are looking for a place to eat one night i can thoroughly reccommend the pub called caulkheads in sandown.. the meals are fantastic.. we went a few times and never was let down once.. another tip.. if you travel to the needles save the money on the cable lift down to the beach and walk instead, then spend the money on a boat trip instead.. better value.. we will definately be going back to the isle of wight again, whether it is the orchards or another site ( will have to look at rookley) enjoy your hol as we did daz
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