There is no doubt about it, camping surrounded by water has an appeal and romantic feel of adventure all of its own. It is the sort of stuff that real camping adventures are made of and the kind of break that seasoned campers dream about during the endless winter nights.
Many of us have read Arthur Ransome’s children’s adventure Swallows and Amazons and have fantasized about following in the footsteps of the Walker children when they set up a summer camp on lonely and remote Wildcat Island. Ransome based his story on Peel Island, which is to be found in Coniston Water in the southern Lake District. As a child himself, he would row out in a boat and camp there, and if you have ever been allowed to do something like that yourself, then it’s something you will treasure in your memory for the rest of your life.
Some years ago, I planned to try a week-long camp on one of the Summer Isles archipelago, off the north-west coast of Scotland at the mouth of Loch Broom. Only Taera Mor (the largest) is inhabited and the best way to get to the others is to pay a local fisherman to drop you off with your gear and provisions and come and collect you seven days later.
It was a complicated thing to arrange, with permission hard to get, and it did actually fall through in the end. However, it is still on my list of “things to do before I die”!
Something like that may be beyond the scope of the average family camper, but there is nothing to stop you packing the car and heading for one of our islands and setting up on a campsite for a week or more.
However, it doesn’t matter if you plan to spend two weekend days or three weeks away on your chosen island, that thrill of excitement that fills your soul when you arrive and realize that you are surrounded by the sea never gets stale and is not forgotten once experienced.
It was probably no mistake that Robert Baden-Powell chose Brownsea Island (the largest of the Poole Harbour Islands in Dorset) for his ‘experimental camp’ in August 1907. This led to the founding of the Boy Scout movement.
Kids can forsake their Xboxes and iPhones for a while and take to rock pooling, swimming, scrambling, cliff top walking, fishing and any number of other activities that take their fancy.
You feel remote and cut off from the real world and suddenly all the complex issues that seem to dog your life fade away as you begin to enjoy the simplicity of it all.
The United Kingdom has about 123 inhabited islands and many more uninhabited ones, so there is plenty of scope for you to go at. By far the majority of these are off the coast of Scotland but it may surprise you to know that England has 19 and Wales 6 too. Not all of these have campsites on them so you may have to do a bit of digging around to find one that suits you and can accommodate your camping gear.
Island sites can vary from basic (with next to no facilities at all) to quite advanced with many modern frills. For me, the more basic the island site the better; it fits in perfectly with the overall experience, but to be fair, I have had excellent camps on larger commercial sites – the only thing that really matters is the fact that you have water all around you.
If you’ve never done the island camping thing before give it a go and see what I mean. You’ll probably find that you soon start working your way through the various islands around our shores as this new found adventure pastime gets more and more of a grip of you and your family and will happily agree with me that you certainly don’t have enough holiday days to use up each year!
Let’s take a quick look at the different sorts of islands that may attract you to them.
First, and the most romantic of them all, are the ones that you have to arrive on by boat. There is something definite about cutting the umbilical cord with the mainland and setting sail to another shoreline. Embarking from the ferry on the other side is exciting in itself and this thrill gets even more acute once you arrive on site and realize that the only way back home is via a boat. It’s a very satisfying and ‘cut off’ sort of feeling that you can never get enough. Classic examples of islands of this sort are the likes of Arran, Mull, and The Isle of Wight.
The next sort of island is the one you can actually drive to over a causeway from the mainland but then gets cut off by the rising tide. It can be quite fascinating to watch this happen and means that twice a day, every day; you are once again cut off from the mainland and have nothing but sea around you. In some ways, this sort of island can be even more exciting than completely ‘sea-locked’ ones and kids in particular love them. Good examples of these are the likes of Shell Island in Cardigan Bay, Wales, and Lindisfarne off the Northumberland coast.
Then finally, we have islands that can be driven to via bridges.
These are usually the most inhabited islands and often boast very commercial ‘all singing, all dancing’ campsites. Nevertheless, you are still on an island and that fascination we have with such places soon comes to the forefront. Good examples of this sort of island are the likes of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales, Skye in Scotland and Mersea Island in Essex.
10 ISLAND SITES
1. Scotland PORT MOR CAMPSITE Port Charlotte, Isle of Islay, Argyll PA48 7UE 01496 850441
Known as the Queen of The Hebrides, Islay is the fifth largest Scottish island and the most southerly of the Inner Hebrides group. Port Mor Campsite is a gem of a place to camp but as there are a limited number of electrical hook-ups (mostly reserved for caravans) ring ahead to check if there is one for a tent if you need one. The site is part of the Port Mor Centre and has decent toilets and showers with disabled facilities and also has a laundry. There is a good café and internet access plus a play area for children. Campers can pitch on well cut grass and the site is well looked after overall.
2. EIGG ORGANICS CAMPSITE St Columba’s Croft, Cleadale, Isle of Eigg 01687 482405
The Isle of Eigg is located in the Inner Hebrides and is 5.6 miles long and 3.1 miles long, giving it a surface area of 12 square miles. This is what island camping is really all about. The main settlement is Cleadale, and Eigg Organics Campsite is to be found there. This is a basic and beautiful site in stunning surroundings and is the only designated camping area on the island. The site has a compost toilet and running water for campers and a new house extension has seen the addition of showers and a flushing toilet within five minutes of the camping area.
3. BALINOE CAMPSITE Burnside Cottage, Cornaig, Isle of Tiree, Inner Hebrides PA77 6XA 01879 220399
Tiree is the most westerly of the Inner Hebrides and is a low-lying island with a population of only around 650. Balinoe Campsite is currently Tiree’s only formal site. This is a great place to come and pitch a tent and has neat and clean toilets and showers as well as campers kitchen with lots of facilities. The site offers sheltered camping and has washing and drying facilities for clothes and some other gear too in a basic laundry. The owners are very friendly and know the island well and the site even offers a few ‘indoor’ camping pitches for those who find bad weather a bit much. There are electric hook-ups available for campers.
4. PICKAQUOY CARAVAN AND CAMPING SITE Pickaquoy Road, Kirkwall, Orkney Islands KW15 1LR 01856 879900
The Orkney Islands are a special place with a very remote feel about them. Pickaquoy Caravan and Camping Site are the largest site and forms part of the Pickaquoy Sports, Arts, and Leisure Complex. Located in Kirkwall (quite near the town center) the site has a Visit Scotland four-star rating and can accommodate 80 tents, caravans, and campervans. Electric hook-ups are mostly for the caravans but it’s worth checking if there are any available for tents. The site is pretty and well maintained, has a modern toilet and shower block (with disabled facilities), and makes a perfect spot to explore Orkney’s mainland from. There is a camper’s kitchen, comfortable lounge, free Wi-Fi and an on-site warden.
5. SKELD CARAVAN PARK AND CAMPSITE Harbour View, Westerskeld Skeld, Shetland Isles ZE2 9NL 01595 860287
By the time you reach the Shetland Isles you really know you are truly island-camping. This remote outpost of the United Kingdom is a stunning location. Skeld Caravan Park and Campsite is about 25 miles from Lerwick. The village of Skeld is lovely and the campsite forms part of the waterfront and marina. The camping area is a neat fenced off rectangle of well cut grass and can take 15 units. There are electric hook-ups for those who need them. This is a superbly located island site and has clean and tidy toilets and showers with disabled facilities plus a laundry room and campers kitchen.
6. ENGLAND THE OVEN CAMPSITE Manor Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire PO11 0QX 02392 464695
Hayling Island is a true island off the south coast of England near Portsmouth and connected to the mainland by a road bridge. It is only 12 miles square but has three miles of stunning beaches. The Oven Campsite is well positioned for the island overall and has 350 pitches. It has a sister site on the island, Fleet Farm Campsite, which has 75 pitches. The toilets and showers are clean and tidy and electric hook-ups are available.
7. GRANGE FARM CARAVAN AND CAMPING SITE Grange Chine, Brighstone Bay, Isle of Wight PO30 4DA 01883 740296
Grange Farm Camping and Caravan Site overlook the sea and the camping areas are lovely and flat with great views. The site is family run and has static vans and holiday cottages as well as camping pods. The toilet block is near reception in a long low building and has plenty of toilets and free showers, a coin operated bath and laundry facilities too. In front of the toilet block there is a large adventure playground. There is a choice of areas to camp and these are mostly on grass and all the camping areas are separated into smaller bays by neat fencing and you can choose to camp back from the cliffs a bit or quite close to them.
8. PIEL ISLAND CAMPSITE Piel Island, Barrow-in-Furness Cumbria 07516 453784
Piel Island has nothing more than a ruined castle, fewer than five permanent residents and the lovely Ship Inn. It is located at the mouth of the deep-water harbor of Barrow-in-Furness, about half a mile off the southern tip of the Furness Peninsula. Cars are left on nearby Roa Island and a ferry is caught over to the island itself. The Ship Inn allows camping but the island has no electric, which is a small price to pay for such a great location. The pitches are flat, the grass well cut, and there is a toilet and shower block (cold showers only). A true island adventure indeed!
9. WALES SHORESIDE CARAVAN AND CAMPSITE Tyn Morfa Farm, Rhosneigr, Anglesey LL64 5QX 01407 810279
Anglesey is Wales’ main offshore island and is connected to the mainland by two road bridges. Holy Island is a separate island connected to Anglesey by a road bridge as well. Shoreside Caravan and Camping Site are in the pretty seaside town of Rhosneigr and overlook both the nearby sea and the Snowdonian Mountains on the mainland. There are 90 pitches overall and electric hook-ups are available for tents. For those who don’t need electric there is a separate large camping field. The site has two well-kept shower and toilet blocks and two play areas for children. Rhosneigr is within easy walking distance and this is a well-kept and efficiently run site.
10. SHELL ISLAND CAMPSITE Shell Island, Llanbedr, Gwynedd LL45 2PJ 01341 421453
Here is the chance to camp on an island that you drive onto over a long causeway and it is completely cut off by the sea twice a day. Check in is at a wooden building with a large car park and the site is accessed via a barrier. A good road network runs around the island, which is a collection of beaches, meadows, marshland, cliffs, and headlands. This large site takes up to 800 units but only caters for tents. There are no electric hook-ups available. You will find clean and tidy toilets and shower block. The site has a launderette, a supermarket, a camp/leisure shop, a gift shop, a café, a restaurant/licensed bar and a games room and play area for kids.
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