Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park in Bembridge, Isle of Wight are organising "spooktacular" family fun activities and themed entertainment for Hallowe'en.
Activities during the half-term break include pumpkin carving, face painting, gruesome food making, Laser Zombie Tag, crafts and ghost stories.
Plus there is, as always, lots to do elsewhere on the Island - including the Isle of Wight's first Festival of Light at Robin Hill and the Autumn Walking Weekend.
Dogs are allowed on the holiday park in selected accommodation and on the touring field. For more on Whitecliff Bay's programme for October please click here.
Reproduced with ackowledgements to The Holiday Zone
Showing posts with label Whitecliff Bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whitecliff Bay. Show all posts
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Where We've Stayed (Part Seven) - Whitecliff Bay, Bembridge
The seventh and final (so far) holiday park that we've been consigned to on the Isle of Wight was Whitecliff Bay which, as the name suggests, is on the coast at Bembridge.
We arrived late in the evening as we'd had to collect our kids from school before setting off. However I'd done a recce on the site a week before whilst staying at Rookley and so I'd familiarised myself with the site. But in the dark it was different, poorly-lit around the chalets where we were staying and overrun by rabbits (very cute, if you like rabbits).
The site has a bit of a Park Resorts feel to it, but is actually independent. It has a wide range of facilities including a large shop, swimming pool, pub/restaurant (very relaxing in the evening if you prefer peace and quiet), games room, play areas, snack bar, hairdresser, laundrette and a lively entertainment bar. Unusually for such a place, one can enjoy a pint of real ale whilst listening to the cabaret. On our third night we were lucky enough to watch a comedy act which was one of the best we'd seen on the Island, a West Country man whose name sadly escapes me. Apparently the park hosts a number of theme weekends throughout the year, although unfortunately ours wasn't one of them.
By day those of an energetic bent can walk down onto the beach which, with the cliffs to the rear, forms one of the Island's most beautiful seafronts. Here one can collect many of the different coloured sands for which the Island is famous. There are two beach cafés where a surprising variety of food is on offer, as well as most of the conventional beach merchandise for swimming, paddling, sandcastling and planting silly flags.
Due to the proximity of Bembridge Airport planes frequently fly low overhead, but with them being mostly single props it hardly compares with life under the Heathrow flightpath.
I'd definitely go back to Whitecliff. The chalet was compact but adequate, the staff are polite and the whole operation really makes the effort. Yet another Isle of Wight holiday park to add to our approved list.
We arrived late in the evening as we'd had to collect our kids from school before setting off. However I'd done a recce on the site a week before whilst staying at Rookley and so I'd familiarised myself with the site. But in the dark it was different, poorly-lit around the chalets where we were staying and overrun by rabbits (very cute, if you like rabbits).
The site has a bit of a Park Resorts feel to it, but is actually independent. It has a wide range of facilities including a large shop, swimming pool, pub/restaurant (very relaxing in the evening if you prefer peace and quiet), games room, play areas, snack bar, hairdresser, laundrette and a lively entertainment bar. Unusually for such a place, one can enjoy a pint of real ale whilst listening to the cabaret. On our third night we were lucky enough to watch a comedy act which was one of the best we'd seen on the Island, a West Country man whose name sadly escapes me. Apparently the park hosts a number of theme weekends throughout the year, although unfortunately ours wasn't one of them.
By day those of an energetic bent can walk down onto the beach which, with the cliffs to the rear, forms one of the Island's most beautiful seafronts. Here one can collect many of the different coloured sands for which the Island is famous. There are two beach cafés where a surprising variety of food is on offer, as well as most of the conventional beach merchandise for swimming, paddling, sandcastling and planting silly flags.
Due to the proximity of Bembridge Airport planes frequently fly low overhead, but with them being mostly single props it hardly compares with life under the Heathrow flightpath.
I'd definitely go back to Whitecliff. The chalet was compact but adequate, the staff are polite and the whole operation really makes the effort. Yet another Isle of Wight holiday park to add to our approved list.
Friday, 9 January 2009
It's that time again
The Sun newspaper is running the first of its regular £9.50 holiday promotions for this year as I write.
For us unless we are lucky enough to secure a half-term week that means a short weekend, leaving London on Friday afternoon after the kids have finished school, and returning on Sunday night in time for them to go back on Monday. I always feel a tad cheated when this happens, missing the last night of our booking, but one mustn't be selfish.
This time we decided to let the kids choose and interestingly both of them opted for Landguard, a neat little site in Shanklin of which more another time. Other choices (one is required to list a minimum of four) were Fairway, Rookley Country Park, Thorness Bay and Whitecliff Bay.
There was a time when I felt disappointed not to draw our site of choice out of the hat. Now we feel at home at any of them.
Our tokens go off in the post next week and all will be revealed soon, no doubt.
For us unless we are lucky enough to secure a half-term week that means a short weekend, leaving London on Friday afternoon after the kids have finished school, and returning on Sunday night in time for them to go back on Monday. I always feel a tad cheated when this happens, missing the last night of our booking, but one mustn't be selfish.
This time we decided to let the kids choose and interestingly both of them opted for Landguard, a neat little site in Shanklin of which more another time. Other choices (one is required to list a minimum of four) were Fairway, Rookley Country Park, Thorness Bay and Whitecliff Bay.
There was a time when I felt disappointed not to draw our site of choice out of the hat. Now we feel at home at any of them.
Our tokens go off in the post next week and all will be revealed soon, no doubt.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
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.
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.
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