Park Resorts on IOW - Part Two: Lower Hyde

The second location in our Park Resorts series is Lower Hyde, one of two parks situated in the popular seaside town of Shanklin.

Lower Hyde Holiday Park is of a similar size to Nodes Park, but is situated close to a major Island town - an easy walk both to the shops and down to the beach. As such it is an ideal retreat for families and seaside dwellers.

The star attraction is maybe the popular heated outdoor pool, open between May and September. As well as the pool itself an attractive patio area is provided for lounging. For those who prefer the warm ambience of an indoor swimming pool this is shared with neighbouring Landguard Park, with modern facilities and overlooking bar and food area.

As with all Park Resorts venues Lower Hyde boasts some great evening entertainment at the Squires Showbar. There is also an amusement arcade which has been recently refurbished.

Great news is that the park is now open all the year round, albeit with some curtailment of facilities during the short former closed season in winter. Holiday home ownership is available as on all sites and caravans can be purchased from just £16,995.

Remember the Early Holiday Booking Offer in which you can save up to 30% on all 2015 Holidays when you book before the 31st January.

Reproduced with acknowledgements to The Holiday Zone.

Buying your own Caravan - Park Resorts offering up to 30% off all stock!

Holiday park leader Park Resorts has announced its "Blue X Sale", with up to 30% off all its holiday homes.

New caravans are available from £12,995 with pre-owned stock going for as little as £7,995 and deposits starting from a mere £750. Guaranteed finance is also on offer.

The Isle of Wight plays host to four Park Resorts parks - Thorness Bay (near Cowes), Nodes Point (near Ryde), and Lower Hyde and Landguard (both in Shanklin).

Click here to see what is on offer, to view the terms and conditions and to arrange a visit online.

Park Resorts late offers from £111 for four nights

Park Resorts have a number of late caravan holiday offers available at their four parks on the Island - Languard, Thorness Bay, Nodes Point and Lower Hyde - starting from £111 for four nights (Monday to Friday).

Click here for more information or to make an instant booking online.

Family Vacations on the Isle of Wight

By Travis OI

Family vacations are always an inspiring and challenging feature of our lives. They often create those long and lasting memories containing bright and vivid images of the things accomplished. There are a few families that do not care when going on holiday about such a ghastly thing as how much money they spend! They are the rich set and spend money without thinking for one second can they afford it. For big families that live in the real world taking care of the money spent on a family holiday can often turn into a challenge.

Though, it is important to have a holiday, it is also important not to break the bank doing so. However, there are some alternatives to having an exciting vacation on a budget that is affordable...

First of all, look around and review the great variety of options in the UK for family vacations. With the Euro so strong you can now save your money and have a great holiday in your own country. Look for example on the Isle of Wight. It is an ideal place for an enjoyable family adventure. At the moment research has shown that the Isle of Wight is one of the leading regions for people like to have good family vacation. Why not discover for yourself the golden sandy beaches and miles of unspoilt natural beauty as well as splendid panoramic views. There are so many nice parks and places to visit for all the family on the IOW.

Once such place to stay with the family is Thorness Bay Park, which is situated very near Cowes. Hidden within a green wood, ideally suited for warm sea swims and walks as well as lots of suitable attractions for the family plunge you all plunge into a fairy-tale break. Adults can relax on terrace while children playing games or enjoying swimming pool. The evening cabaret shows and nightly excursions all add up to making this resort a fabulous time to remember in the coming winter months. Lower Hyde in Shanklin also waits for its guests for non-stop, uncontrolled, crazy and superb amusement and leisure distractions. There are so many indoor and outdoor activities for kids that your children will not have any spare time or energy left. Parents may relax with a nice drink at Hudsons Bar.

If you like a bit more of an active leisure time then you are welcomed at Squires Showbar. Here you have to get ready for shows, discos, dancing and competitions! Further to the North East of the Island is Nodes Point ii is also one of the most favorite locations and destinations in Ryde for family travelers on a budget. Spectacular views of Bembridge Bay always remain in memory. Make time to stunning walk along the stunning coastal paths, while the Sparky Krew provides the little ones with a magic fun and games afternoon.

This is just a drop of the ocean. You can have a great Isle of Wight Holiday, choosing any time and any one of the parks available. Opt for an Isle of Wight Hotel and start your exciting journey now!


About the Author

Isle of Wight is a super place to take a superb vacation. If you consider to voyage Isle of Wight, then you shall all necessary information re this island. Check what you can find our Island Eye portal.

Late offers from Park Resorts

Even during the peak season, it's usually possible to find offers at Park Resorts. Just a quick search today told me they were offering £40 off selected chalets and caravans at Thorness Bay and £50 off a chalet at Lower Hyde, for a three night weekend stay starting on August 21st.

Visit the site and follow the instructions to the special offers. Even at this time of year, they are more affordable than you might think.

Where We've Stayed (Part Six) - Landguard, Shanklin

When we learned we were going to Landguard, we were curious as to what this little site just along the road from Lower Hyde had to offer. We were on the Island anyway enjoying a break that we'd booked earlier, so we decided to pop along and take a look.

The first surprise, of course, was the abundance of Park Resorts flags flying in the wind at the entrance to the park. We had been told it was independent. We were informed at Reception, however, that Park Resorts had taken them over only two weeks previously!

This knowledge came in handy when we strolled into the coffee shop by the pool and were asked to produce our pass cards. Quick as a flash (if I say so myself) I produced the Park Resorts passes which we had been issued at Thorness Bay, where we were staying. That should do nicely...

Landguard is the smallest of Park Resorts' four parks on the Island. Neat rows of caravans in such locations as "F4" and "G3" (as opposed to the "Bluebell" and "Oaklands" clusters at Thorness Bay) overlook, from left to right, the Reception, shop, café, main bar and swimming pool/bar. It is a very clean and peaceful site, and the caravans are impressive.

Even more impressive are the wooden cabins at the rear of the site, if you are lucky enough to book one. These are luxury to the point that I could happy live in one. Really superb.

On a fleeting visit this year I noticed that club passes could also be used at Lower Hyde, about half a mile along the road, and vice versa. I'm not sure whether this means some "sharing" of entertainment.

When the offers arrive and we come to deliberate which park we wish to list as our first choice both our kids now invariably say Landguard. Serene, tidy and with good facilities and easy access to the old town of Shanklin, one could do much worse.

Where We've Stayed (Part Four) - Lower Hyde, Shanklin

The fourth park we were located to on the Isle of Wight was Lower Hyde, in Shanklin. Lower Hyde was at the time one of three (now four) holiday parks on the Island that was owned by Park Resorts.

Having only stayed the once at Lower Hyde, for three nights, my memory of the site does not afford great detail. I suppose the best way I could describe it would simply be to say that it is in many respects a smaller version of Thorness Bay. The entertainment, as I recall, was particularly good, although as immediately after our stay we moved on to Thorness Bay for another four nights we saw much of it again, as when Park Resorts brings acts to the Island they often "tour".

One big plus point for some would be that Lower Hyde, unlike Thorness Bay, is not in the middle of nowhere. For those visitors who don’t have their own transport, at Lower Hyde one is not stranded on site for the duration. The park is just a short walk to the charming old town of Shanklin, with its quaint thatched cottages, and a slightly longer but very downhill walk to the equally charming seafront (of course, it’s uphill on the way back!).

For those who like Shanklin, or shopping (there is Lidl and a Somerfield within yards of the site), Lower Hyde is well worth considering.

A dedication to my Island bolthole

The Isle of Wight has long held a special appeal for me. Ever since the mid 1980s, when I helped a couple of friends move away from my home town in London to start a new life in Ryde, it has served as a kind of sanctuary for me whenever I want to escape for a few days from the pressures of work and everyday life. Maybe it is the psychological impact of crossing water that instills in one a sense of liberation, but being on the Island relaxes me in a way that I don't quite achieve whenever I stop at the South Coast.

Back in those days I would travel across on my own, or with my late friend and drinking partner. More recently I have married and become the father of two children, and thus most of my visitations now are family affairs.

As a family, the Isle of Wight became our regular holiday destination about ten years ago. We enjoy staying in holiday parks in a chalet or a caravan, often on a cheap Sun holiday but also at times on a private booking whenever we are given to venture across in peak time. Now that the kids are a bit older, I even manage to get across on my own once or twice a year for a spot of fishing.

The first park we encountered was Fairway in Sandown. A smallish but well-kept independent site, Fairway has for many years enjoyed the services of talented resident entertainer James Matthewman, who basically takes care of every aspect of the evening's programme, from singing and telling jokes to calling the bingo. The last time we visited the site he was performing an impromptu double act with Bruce Jones, better known to some as Les Battersby from Coronation Street, who himself holidays at the park.

After a couple of years at Fairway we were offered a Sun booking at Thorness Bay, a large Park Resorts site near Cowes. We found we liked Thorness, which boasts some splendid views over the sea and a pleasant coastal walk, and this became our "base" in the few years that followed.

Other parks we have stayed at have included Lower Hyde and Landguard in Shanklin, both Park Resorts although the latter only recently so, and Orchards in Newchurch. Lower Hyde is essentially a smaller version of Thorness. Landguard is smaller still, but classy and with a personal touch. Orchards, independently owned, is a nice, pleasant site but with little for socialites such as us to do in the evenings.

This year, for the first time, we founds ourselves at Whitecliff Bay in Bembridge. The chalet was modest but fit for purpose, and we found that we were very impressed with the site and its facilities, as well as its location at the top of a quite beautiful beach which boasted two lively cafés.

Although we found that we were sad to leave, we didn't as it happens have far to travel because I had booked us an extra four days at Rookley Country Park, which is really the jewel in the crown of Island View Holidays' portfolio of sites. This year I have had the pleasure of staying at Rookley no fewer than three times, and it seems to have edged its way to the top of our list of choices. It has been seriously upgraded and improved since we first visited it a few years back; the newly-built bungalows are actually superior to the much-heralded executive villas at Center Parcs, where we spent a few days back in March, and it boasts two superb fishing lakes. When a two-bit occasional angler such as myself can land a 20lb carp on what is essentially Woolworth's tackle, you know you are in a good place.

Some of my friends think we are unadventurous, even cheapskates, for spending most of our holidays in the modest environs of Vectis. We don't agree. We visit other places, we even have a timeshare on the Algarve, yet when I'm stressed and overworked it's always the Isle of Wight that is calling.

This blog is dedicated to my peaceful and unspoilt bolthole on the opposite side of the Solent. Long may it remain that way.