Date of Visit: July 2025
Overall View
Appuldurcombe Gardens is a privately owned, family friendly site on the Isle of Wight in the village of Wroxall, a few miles north of Ventnor to the south of the Island. Access is relatively straightforward, please see arrival video HERE.  It is a participant in the Red Funnel combined discounted ferry and stay ticket scheme which includes your car, caravan, two adults plus a number of nights stay in a choice of caravan sites in the fare. Various restrictions apply, as usual, regarding height etc. It should also be noted that WightLink and the Camping and Caravan Club offer similar discounted schemes.
The site is a mixture of all types of pitches including grass, hardstanding, all with electric hookup and progresses up to a fully serviced pitch with water and grey waste drainage. There are all types of caravans, motorhomes and camping outfits all intermingled across the site.
Facilities
There are two toilet blocks with showers, toilets and wash basins. There is one accessible toilet in the newer block which is situated in the centre of the site.
The site also has a swimming pool by which is situated the bar, café/restaurant and a picnic area on grass.
The site is dog friendly and they are allowed everywhere apart from the immediate, fenced off area around the swimming pool. There is, however, plenty of seating just outside this where you can sit with your dogs and still watch the swimming.
There is a laundry on site with irons and ironing boards available plus a large handwash Belfast style sink for your use. Normal charges apply for the washing machine, dryers and ironing boards.
Reception is situated at the entrance to the caravan and camping part of the site. The other toilet block is situated at the end of this plus one of the two CDPs. A freezer is available, foc, to enable you to freeze ice blocks if you so wish.
There is a small children’s playground at this point too. Seating is available should you require it.
Inside the old walled garden area are the static caravans – this is where the pool and laundry are situated.
Review of Site Pitch
Our pitch was on the outer edge of the site, laid to grass with EHU. We had plenty of space to spread out as it was effectively at the end of a line of vehicles on the corner. We could have opted for a fully serviced pitch but were advised that these were mainly in full sun all day. Given the recent weather and with two elderly dogs on board, we felt that this was not the best idea. Our water tap is literally two minutes’ walk away around the front of the barn on the corner of our pitch, so although it could be seen as an inconvenience, we felt that this was a price worth paying to ensure a nice shady spot and privacy of hedging to the rear.
The pitch was relatively level and the grass well-kept in our area. The delineation of the pitches was somewhat haphazard in places and we were concerned that the usual safety guideline of 6m, minimum, between outfits was not being observed in a fair few cases. The roadways around the site are laid to gravel.
Site WiFi was offered but didn’t reach our pitch, though it was available in the bar area as was BT/EE WiFi – free if you are a customer of either.
Mobile wise, EE was the best, offering a strong 5G signal. 3 offered 5G too but was much weaker. The coverage checkers for both Vodafone and O2 report a good 4G signal.
Both TV and radio reception was good.
Around and about
The Isle of Wight is essentially a one-stop tourist destination all over the island. It may be only 13 x 9 miles approximately but it certainly packs a lot in for its small size. Beware, though, there are a few areas which have been over-developed to the point of being rather unpleasant and disappointing. They are, however, in the minority.
As always, I would suggest that a useful starting point is, www.visitisleofwight.co.uk This will enable you to plan out a series of visits/activities you may want to look at further. Our stay was 10 nights, which we felt was a reasonable time to visit the main attractions on our list.
The south coast of the island from Needles in the west to Ventnor in the south is very peaceful, dramatic scenery and beautiful beaches – some with toilets, ice cream trucks. Many do not have any facilities, so if you wish to spend a day in the sea here, you will need to take everything with you.
Ventnor, from this site is one of the closest towns and has the usual range of shops including a Tesco Express. It is a very hilly town but there is limited parking down on the front, including accessible parking, full set of toilets and a number of cafes and bars. Toni’s Tea Room on the front is very pleasant serving great coffees and toasted teacakes. It is, like many places except perhaps beaches, that welcome dogs across the island. There is also a paddling pool attached to a bar/restaurant/café at one end of the beach.
The nearest supermarket – which also offers fuel – was Morrisons, on the outskirts of Sandown, about a 10 minute drive away.
Ventnor Botanical Gardens are worth a visit but be aware that it is quite hilly in parts.
Buses are plentiful all across the island. www.islandbuses.info There are two stops a short 5 minute walk from the site entrance and run roughly every 30 minutes towards Newport in one direction. In the opposite direction they run to Ventnor then up to Shanklin, Sandown and then inland up to Ryde. Change in Newport to go to Cowes in the North and destinations to the West of the island.
Newport being the main town on the island hosts most of the larger supermarkets, Morrisons, Aldi, Sainsburys plus usual suspects of a typical out of town retail park. There are a number of independent fuel stations across the island but supermarket prices will necessitate a trip to one of the towns, if offered.
If you happen to visit the IOW at the appropriate times of the summer, you will be able to visit either the Royal Isle of Wight County Show or the world famous Cowes Regatta week.
If you travel from Southampton to the Isle of Wight, your entrance point will be East Cowes. Obviously on arrival you will be keen to get to your chosen site and set up. It would be an omission to not return and take in the amazing views and scenery that is available in both Cowes and East Cowes. This is where the Royal Yachting Society Cowes Regatta is held each year, please see link above. We visited on a gloriously sunny and warm day. There is some parking down on the front but it is payable except Blue Badge holders and only for an hour at a time. There are some nice bars and cafes on the front, along with some very expensive shops. The apartments, with their balconies, would not look out of place on a top cruise liner.
There is a pleasant, pedestrian only high street with a few independent shops and a sprinkling of ice cream and cafes too.
Following your visit to Cowes, it is highly recommended that you take the chain link Ferry across the river mouth to East Cowes. You can take your car, bike or go by foot. What is definitely not recommended is to take a caravan or trailer. Any low slung sports cars would be a great risk of grounding too. It takes a mere 5 minutes from start to finish but is a very unique experience. In East Cowes on the front there is a lovely children’s paddling pool, playground and seating – dogs are not allowed. The views are tremendous across the Solent and seeing all the shipping.
St Helens has a beautiful beach with very limited parking to the rear. There are the remains of a church dedicated to mariners. Swimming is very popular here; there are toilets and a café too.
Summary
The Island is a very beautiful destination, relatively easy to get too, if an additional cost of course. There are plenty of attractions to choose from and you can easily have a fun-packed and busy 10 night stay.
This site is very pleasant and offers a very good range of services. Nowhere is that far from each other, so staying at a site in the southern part of the island was not an issue at all. We will be returning in the future.