Island View Holidays are offering relaxing Christmas holidays in their exquisite home-from-home style cottages at Rookley Country Park on the Isle of Wight.
Choose from a short break holiday (22nd to 26th December) from just £459 for a whole family, or a full week (20th to 27th December) from £499. A family can include up to eight people.
Christmas packages include accommodation, complementary mince pies and mulled wine, three course Christmas lunch (for up to 4 people, £25 per extra person), and "all you can eat" Boxing Day breakfast (for up to 4 people, £5 per extra person).
New Year packages are also available and include a complimentary bottle of bubbly and tickets for the New Year's Eve Party.
For more information 'phone 01983 898916, or e-mail info@islandviewholidays.co.uk.
Reproduced with acknowledgements to The Holiday Zone.
Showing posts with label Island View Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Island View Holidays. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Isle of Wight - Home of British Watersports
The Isle of Wight is not only home to a myriad of UV craving sun worshippers, it is also home to hundreds of wind surfers, kite surfers and even land yachters. The end of August marks the return of these thrill seekers to Yaverland's crystal crescent of sand on the Isle of Wight for the ‘White Air Festival'. This festival is currently Europe's largest extreme sporting event. Surf kayakers, mountain boarders, gravity racers and paramotor enthusiasts join this intrepid bunch for a week of partying and competitions.
You might think that these sports are only for the young men and women with spiked, dyed and primped strands of hair, tattoos of every variation and clothes that seem a few sizes too large, but the fact of the matter is, these sports are enjoyed by people from every age group and ability and they are there not only to compete, but to have fun in an almost community atmosphere. When you are tired and need a respite from the competitions, a grassy hilltop overlooking the competitions one can find a myriad of tents that are filled with bars, live bands, tune spinning DJs, stalls and arenas.
If the view out to the ocean is clear of windsurfers and the water is calm and undulating, you can turn your attention to the mountain boarders who are proficient in daredevil style jumps on exceedingly steep ramps. If you wish to look to a smaller version of this sport, you may want to peek into the skate ramp tent, where you can take a respite from the sun. All of these sports are going on simultaneously in every area around, be it on water or land. The commentators are fun and clever and are extremely entertaining in themselves.
If you are tired of being a spectator and would like to get your feet wet either literally or figuratively speaking, most of these sports offer sessions geared for the newcomer. They are always a big draw and it is a wonderful way for the sports to pull in new enthusiasts. You may find yourself in some interesting or embarrassing positions in your attempt to recreate what you have seen throughout the event, but it's all in fun and every one of those participants were new to it at one time or another and will know just exactly what you're going through, they will cajole you through your perceived perils and teach you how to interact with the sport in a more skilled way.
This article was written on behalf of Gurnard Pines a Isle of Wight Holiday Parks perfect for taking an Isle of Wight Holiday. It is reproduced with acknowledgements to Jainsachin Articles Directory.
You might think that these sports are only for the young men and women with spiked, dyed and primped strands of hair, tattoos of every variation and clothes that seem a few sizes too large, but the fact of the matter is, these sports are enjoyed by people from every age group and ability and they are there not only to compete, but to have fun in an almost community atmosphere. When you are tired and need a respite from the competitions, a grassy hilltop overlooking the competitions one can find a myriad of tents that are filled with bars, live bands, tune spinning DJs, stalls and arenas.
If the view out to the ocean is clear of windsurfers and the water is calm and undulating, you can turn your attention to the mountain boarders who are proficient in daredevil style jumps on exceedingly steep ramps. If you wish to look to a smaller version of this sport, you may want to peek into the skate ramp tent, where you can take a respite from the sun. All of these sports are going on simultaneously in every area around, be it on water or land. The commentators are fun and clever and are extremely entertaining in themselves.
If you are tired of being a spectator and would like to get your feet wet either literally or figuratively speaking, most of these sports offer sessions geared for the newcomer. They are always a big draw and it is a wonderful way for the sports to pull in new enthusiasts. You may find yourself in some interesting or embarrassing positions in your attempt to recreate what you have seen throughout the event, but it's all in fun and every one of those participants were new to it at one time or another and will know just exactly what you're going through, they will cajole you through your perceived perils and teach you how to interact with the sport in a more skilled way.
This article was written on behalf of Gurnard Pines a Isle of Wight Holiday Parks perfect for taking an Isle of Wight Holiday. It is reproduced with acknowledgements to Jainsachin Articles Directory.
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Back at Rookley - and Small Hope Beach...
Can't believe it's been so long since I last posted (pressures of work) but I was back at Rookley at the weekend with the family, or part of it at least.Once again there would seem to have been a bit of a shuffle at the top. The mystery of Simon's departure remains and now Danni has gone too, but Charlie is back and seems to be running the entertainment side of things. One particularly good sign is that Island View seems to be holding on to its staff, suggesting that it knows how to look after people which, let's face it, is always good news for the customer. The site also now boasts a tidy fish and chip shop where the little grocery shop used to be.
Another fine carp was landed at the small lake, albeit only 5lbs this time but it put up a tremendous struggle. Sadly I picked the only windy and rainy day from an otherwise glorious weekend to venture forth.
If out and about in Shanklin or Sandown and in the mood for a walk I recommend the two-mile stroll between the two along Small Hope Beach (pictured above), where there are numerous cafés and, if you want to hang around for the day, hundreds of beach huts for hire at about £10-£12 a time.
We're looking to liven this blog up again with regular contributions and features, so if you have anything you'd like to submit, either for review or in the form of an article, then please do let us know.
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Where We've Stayed (Part Three) - Rookley Country Park
The third place they sent us to was Rookley Country Park, in the town of Rookley which is a little inland of Ventnor.
My feelings were mixed. We had kind of adopted Thorness Bay, and this was completely different. Smaller, and independent - the bar was more of a pub than an entertainment complex, indeed one section was largely inhabited on most evenings by locals enjoying the Real Ale rather than by holidaymakers.
On the plus side, for me, there was a fishing lake. Rather, there were two fishing lakes, but one was the sole preserve (no pun intended) of the serious carp anglers, those anoraks of the thousand-quid rods with the irritating alarms and apparently limitless patience.
I had been quite a good angler as a kid, but hadn't found the time to pursue my interest into adulthood. Shortly before my first stay at Rookley I had made a half-hearted attempt to rectify this omission by purchasing some cheap tackle, but I had never been a carp angler at the best of times. For my first few visits to Rookley I contented myself with the relatively untaxing pursuit of small roach, rudd and perch.
Anyway, the site itself then comprised a few rows of caravans. We were impressed, on our first visit, by the size and cleanliness of the one that had been allocated to us. Despite it allegedly being a Bronze Standard model it ranked amongst the best that we had stayed in.
The site, even then, boasted a swimming pool and a pitch and putt course. In the bar, where as it turned out there was indeed nightly entertainment (including an Elvis impersonator called Simon who was resident on the Island), there was also a pool table. The bar area was sectioned in such a way as to create an entertainment area for visitors and a smaller pub-like area, as mentioned above, for the locals.
We have stayed at Rookley several times during the years that have passed following our first visit. It is now a considerably bigger operation, with a few dozen holiday homes having been constructed where the caravans used to be, and the caravans themselves relocated (in greater number) elsewhere on the site. Owned by the Island View Holidays chain, it now boasts a small shop, a fine restaurant-cum-lounge bar as well as a spruced-up entertainment bar (the Midnight Bar), a children's play area and a very modest mini crazy golf course. By an apparent twist of fate, Simon/Elvis is now the manager!
Last year I stayed at Rookley twice on my own (working holidays, when The Sun gave us dates that were inconvenient to us as a family), and once with the clan. On the latter occasion we were lucky enough to have been allocated one of the new holiday homes, which are simply magnificent. The entertainment is often of a very high standard - on one of my solo visits there was a Madness tribute group (the highly-rated Ultimate Madness) which, despite there being a small entrance charge, provided for a really excellent night.
This upgrade in overall quality, as it happens, has been mirrored (again no pun intended) in my fishing, where despite the cheap tackle and light line which I still use I have somehow managed to land several carp - including fine specimens of 11lbs, 13.5lbs and 20lbs successively - as well as innumerable green and golden tench and not a few crucians.
Rookley has long become one of our preferred ports of call on our frequent visits to the Island, and seems to be going from strength to strength.
My feelings were mixed. We had kind of adopted Thorness Bay, and this was completely different. Smaller, and independent - the bar was more of a pub than an entertainment complex, indeed one section was largely inhabited on most evenings by locals enjoying the Real Ale rather than by holidaymakers.
On the plus side, for me, there was a fishing lake. Rather, there were two fishing lakes, but one was the sole preserve (no pun intended) of the serious carp anglers, those anoraks of the thousand-quid rods with the irritating alarms and apparently limitless patience.
I had been quite a good angler as a kid, but hadn't found the time to pursue my interest into adulthood. Shortly before my first stay at Rookley I had made a half-hearted attempt to rectify this omission by purchasing some cheap tackle, but I had never been a carp angler at the best of times. For my first few visits to Rookley I contented myself with the relatively untaxing pursuit of small roach, rudd and perch.
Anyway, the site itself then comprised a few rows of caravans. We were impressed, on our first visit, by the size and cleanliness of the one that had been allocated to us. Despite it allegedly being a Bronze Standard model it ranked amongst the best that we had stayed in.
The site, even then, boasted a swimming pool and a pitch and putt course. In the bar, where as it turned out there was indeed nightly entertainment (including an Elvis impersonator called Simon who was resident on the Island), there was also a pool table. The bar area was sectioned in such a way as to create an entertainment area for visitors and a smaller pub-like area, as mentioned above, for the locals.
We have stayed at Rookley several times during the years that have passed following our first visit. It is now a considerably bigger operation, with a few dozen holiday homes having been constructed where the caravans used to be, and the caravans themselves relocated (in greater number) elsewhere on the site. Owned by the Island View Holidays chain, it now boasts a small shop, a fine restaurant-cum-lounge bar as well as a spruced-up entertainment bar (the Midnight Bar), a children's play area and a very modest mini crazy golf course. By an apparent twist of fate, Simon/Elvis is now the manager!
Last year I stayed at Rookley twice on my own (working holidays, when The Sun gave us dates that were inconvenient to us as a family), and once with the clan. On the latter occasion we were lucky enough to have been allocated one of the new holiday homes, which are simply magnificent. The entertainment is often of a very high standard - on one of my solo visits there was a Madness tribute group (the highly-rated Ultimate Madness) which, despite there being a small entrance charge, provided for a really excellent night.
This upgrade in overall quality, as it happens, has been mirrored (again no pun intended) in my fishing, where despite the cheap tackle and light line which I still use I have somehow managed to land several carp - including fine specimens of 11lbs, 13.5lbs and 20lbs successively - as well as innumerable green and golden tench and not a few crucians.
Rookley has long become one of our preferred ports of call on our frequent visits to the Island, and seems to be going from strength to strength.
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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