Camping in the West Wight

In short: the West Wight is the Island's far western end: Yarmouth, Freshwater, Totland, Colwell Bay and the chalk downs that run out to the Needles. We list 10 campsites here, from a five-van members' site on a golf course to holiday parks above Colwell Bay, and every one is within a few miles of the Lymington to Yarmouth ferry.

What the West Wight is like

West of the River Yar the Island narrows to a chalk ridge, and the land is almost all downs, fields and coast. Tennyson Down and Headon Warren rise behind Freshwater and Totland, the Needles stand off the end, and the north side looks across the Solent to Hurst Castle and the New Forest. The south side faces open sea.

For campers that means two different kinds of trip. The north-facing bays at Colwell and Totland are sheltered, sandy at low tide and good for children. The downs and the south coast are exposed, quieter and better for walkers. Freshwater, the biggest village, sits between them with supermarkets, pubs and buses, so you are never far from supplies.

The villages each have their own page: Yarmouth, Freshwater, Freshwater Bay, Totland and Colwell Bay. You can also see every West Wight campsite together.

Where to camp, village by village

Totland and the Needles end

Stoats Farm is the westernmost campsite on the Island, on Weston Lane below Tennyson Down with the Highdown Inn opposite. It has around 100 tent, touring and serviced pitches, a heated amenity block, a shop and cafe, a fenced Bark Park for dogs and fire pits to hire. Footpaths go straight up onto the down from the site.

Freshwater and Freshwater Bay

Heathfield Farm is a flat, quiet touring park on the northern edge of Freshwater with 81 marked pitches, a handful of Premier View pitches looking over the Solent, a wildflower meadow for dogs and a bus stop at the gate. It runs a short summer season and has no shop, but Freshwater's shops are under a mile away.

The Bungalow CL is a five-van Caravan and Motorhome Club site beside Freshwater Bay Golf Course with sea views. There are no toilets, showers or hook-ups, so it is for self-contained vans only. Glamping The Wight Way has four big off-grid safari lodges in car-free meadows by the Yar estuary, each sleeping up to eight. The Freshwater Camp Equipment Trust field is not a public campsite: it is a fully equipped camp let to youth groups a week at a time in summer.

Colwell Bay

Two holiday parks sit above the beach. The Bay Colwell is a small Away Resorts park of cottages and beach lodges with an indoor pool and many private hot tubs. Linstone Chine lets two-bedroom bungalows next to Fort Victoria Country Park, with free pitch and putt and tennis; its beach path has been affected by erosion, so check access before you go.

Yarmouth and Compton

Lucketts Farm is a small Camping and Caravanning Club site at Bouldnor, just east of Yarmouth, with the bus at the gate: a handy first or last night off the ferry. Tapnell Farm has the widest choice of glamping in the area, from safari tents and domes with hot tubs to budget shipping-container bunks, with free entry to the farm park for most guests. Out on the Military Road, Compton Farm is a simple farm field about a quarter of a mile from Compton Bay, with every pitch facing a wildflower meadow.

Beaches

• Colwell Bay: a long, gently shelving beach with sand at low tide, beach huts and a sea wall walk to Totland. The most sheltered swimming in the area.
• Totland Bay: next door to Colwell, quieter, with the old pier and views to Hurst Castle.
• Alum Bay: below the Needles, known for its coloured sand cliffs. The chairlift from the Needles Landmark Attraction is the easy way down.
• Freshwater Bay: a small shingle cove under the chalk and the start of the walk up Tennyson Down.
• Compton Bay: a long sandy beach under crumbling cliffs, popular with surfers. At low tide you can find dinosaur footprints near Hanover Point.

Walks and rides

This is the best walking country on the Island. The classic loop goes from Freshwater Bay up over Tennyson Down to the monument, on to the Needles and the National Trust's Old Battery, then back past Alum Bay and over Headon Warren. Stoats Farm and The Bungalow CL are both a short walk from the down.

• The Coastal Path runs right round the area: 9 of the campsites here are within a mile and a half of it. See the Coastal Path guide.
• The Tennyson Trail follows the chalk ridge from Carisbrooke to Alum Bay.
• The Freshwater Way links Yarmouth with the south coast near Compton, and the Tapnell Trail makes a loop from Freshwater.
• The Hamstead Trail crosses the Island from Brook Bay to the north coast.
• The old railway line along the Yar between Freshwater and Yarmouth is a flat, car-free path for walking and cycling, and the Round the Island cycle route comes through Yarmouth and Freshwater.

Pubs, shops and things to do

Freshwater has the main shops, including a Co-op and a Tesco, and pubs including the Red Lion by the church near the Yar. Totland has a small parade of shops on the Broadway, and the Highdown Inn sits opposite Stoats Farm. Yarmouth is a small harbour town with several pubs (the George, the Bugle, the King's Head and the Wheatsheaf), and cafés.

Off the beach: Yarmouth Castle, Fort Victoria Country Park, Dimbola, the former home of the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron at Freshwater Bay, and Tapnell Farm Park. For more, see campsites near the Needles, Alum Bay, Freshwater Bay and Compton Bay.

Getting there and getting around

Take the Wightlink car ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth. Every campsite here is within about three and a half miles of the terminal, so a late boat on a Friday is no problem. See taking a tent on the ferry and the campsites near a ferry port.

Without a car, Southern Vectis route 7 runs from Newport through Yarmouth, Freshwater and Totland to Alum Bay, and route 12 comes round from Newport via Shorwell, Brighstone and Freshwater Bay. In summer the open-top Needles Breezer links Yarmouth, Freshwater Bay and the Needles. Heathfield, Lucketts and several others have a bus stop at or near the gate.

Who the West Wight suits

• Walkers: the downs and the Coastal Path start from the campsite gate.
• Families with young children: Colwell and Totland bays, Tapnell Farm Park and the holiday parks with pools.
• Dog owners: 7 sites take dogs in some form. See dog-friendly campsites and the dogs guide.
• Anyone wanting a view: browse sea-view campsites across the Island.

If you want more surf and emptier beaches, look east along the Military Road to the Back of the Wight.