📽 atherfield bay holiday camp. isle of wight - derelict site 

This is so sad it made me cry :( I worked at Atherfield in 1981/82 & 83 & had the best time ever. Everyone who worked there was friendly & the "campers" came back year after year. Yes it may look like a POW camp but it was nothing like that we were all one big happy family. If i won the lottery i would restore Atherfield to the glory days of 1981 & families could come & have the carefree holidays everyone had back then :)

i use to come here as a child with all 10 of my family and we use to have a great time so many great video clips its a sham to see it like this but i can see times have changed now :(

The camp opened after the war in i think 1946 and was owned by a Frank Boyce . It was my first ever holiday in 1948.It was a great holiday. My parents were very friendly with the Boyce's although we never went to the camp again. I think Frank Boyce still owned the camp up to the 1980's . My mother regulary exchanged letters with him to about 1995 when they stopped so I presume he must have passed on.

So sad to see it like this.. My whole family went 4 years here.. Last time I went here was to put my nan n grandads bench there. So mean good memory.. I think my whole family would love to see this up n running again.. It brought a tear to my eye seeing this.. Hayley xxx

I worked there in the early 60's for two seasons. I now live in NZ and regularly dream about the island and the Newnhams who owned it. he second season I was there the bar entertainer was Roy Baraclough who went on to play Alex in Coro street. It was such a happy place. So sad to see these pics.

i use to go there when i was little. this place has happy memories for me, its so sad to see it like this.

Born and bred on Island moved to Dorset a while ago, use to go here with my wife in mid/ late 90s as she was into line dancing and they held dances on Saturday nights

Amazing how its changed.Sad things have to change.

My mum stayed there during the 60's and I have 3 old black and white photo postcards of it, one is an arial view and the other two are of the resident dogs that they had called Flint and Peter standing in front of the chalets, one was a black Great Dane and the other was what looked like a white Whippet type dog

i worked there 1977 it was the best year of my life so sad to see it cloised

I worked there Summer of 1989 - such a fantastic place to work. Staff definitely had more fun than campers !!!! Used to get a minbus to Barneys for nights out - happy times.

Wow I worked there is 1991 and watching this film was a bit like watching the Titanic scene when the destroyed ship is restored to it former glory as Jack walks up the stair case. As I watched it I saw each of those areas restore to how I remember them. We had awesome staff parties and lots of fun! I worked in the café and cleaned. I am still in touch with the family who owned its daughters and cousins. So many memories in my mind and that's where most of them should stay!!

worked here in 1977 was cabaret performer working with Terri& Tony Ents managers. very fond memories of atherfield it was my first Holiday Centre. Very sad to see it now. would love to hear from any friends during 1977

Great find. Can't believe how well it's lasted too!

I grew up in chale and actually loved this place, so sad to see it gone, id love for it all to come back.

My freind worked there in the late 70,s as a dancer and loved it. would love to see some 70's or 80's pics

I worked as a holiday rep entertainer here in 1998, my first year as a holiday entertainer, loved it, great memories, but always was missing home in Devon and felt at times like a prison camp, lol

I have family on the IOW, as my Mum was born there, but I was born and grew up in Australia. In 1992 I was visiting the Island from Australia. When the holiday ended I wasn't ready to home even though I had run out of money. My Mum went back home (Australia). I stayed on by getting a job in the Cafe at the camp and living-in there. I was 22. I also did some chalet cleaning on Saturdays. I met some great co-workers from all over England and from Wales, Scotland, Ireland and France, while living at the camp. The friendship and fun was fantastic. As the staff ate what the guests did and I ate more roast beef that at any other time in my life! (Mad Cow era too!!) The camp was very much a family run business. It is so very sad to see more on the Internet about it in its derilict state than the years and years people holidayed and worked there. I can still recall a lot of my co-workers first names and where they were from. I have some good photos stored away somewhere. Hayley, Perth. Western Australia

I worked as a holiday rep entertainer here in 1998, my first year as a holiday entertainer, loved it, great memories, but always was missing home in Devon and felt at times like a prison camp, lol by Paul melville (posted by mistake as V Schofield below)

THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION . I BELIEVE YOU ARE RIGHT . IT STAYED IN THE HANDS OF ONE FAMILY DURING ITS ENTIRE OPENING.

I remember an edition of This is Your Life featuring the Coronation Street actor Ken Morley (Reg Holdsworth). Ken did a summer season at Atherfield in either the 60s or 70s. The then owners, the Newnham family, appeared on the show to tell an anecdote of Ken's time there.

The camp was owned be the Newnum family in the late 60s--80s. I was very freindly with the entertainment manager Tony Spindler for a long time and they gave me myfirst break into the music world.

It's so funny to think that in 2011 I found an old yellow pages 2007 book the last time it was used there was a party and no ones bothered to clear up It's so sad the Isle of Wight stuff doesn't get much hits I live here so I was amazed to find this account

WOW, just happened to come across this video...I'm actually of devestated. I worked here during the season of 1998, and it was possibly the most fabtastic yet weirdest summer ever. The head waitress was Doris, think she had been employed by the family since the early 1900's! I'm sure that us staff used to have more fun than the campers😂

@frewnch tthanks for your happy memories of atherfield bay.would love to see the photos of it in its heyday.i have some very brief cinefilm of the camp from the early 1960`s i might put on youtube later

@Tezskip what did you do there ? i can`t find any info on this place when it was in its prime.i`d love to see some photos of it before it when it was a functioning holiday camp.

I also commented on the Atherfield Bay Holiday Camp sad video,who are you i worked at the camp 81,82 & 83 :)

Was there 3 weeks ago... Still there looking even worse, not demolished yet. Apparently struggling to find a buyer for the site after the last one pulled out!!!

I worked there in 76 77 78 great times, great friends Chris dendy - I hope you and ally are well

me too, if i won the lottery, i will prob join you on that lol. What i dont get this was used for channel 4's wakey wakey campers right. They could see that people enjoyed it. Why hasnt someone with a lot of money and heart see the potential in this camp. And make this into a 60s/70s themed holiday camp?? Cant they see there are holiday makers out there, that miss these places or like me never got the chance to go to one??

@MrSandyback its a shame because a lot of people had happy times there on holiday.not sure why it closed down.probably health & safety or similar.unfortunately this 1960`s camp has had all the usual mindless vandalism & arson done to it. i`d love to see some pictures of this place in its heyday.thanks for your comments

When will the new, monstrous construction / centre be opening? I shall make an effort to avoid it! Must have cost a fortune to actually demolish this and clear the site, let alone build a new one. I understand, like many other holiday centres of this type it first opened about 1935 at Shepherd's Chine and finally closed its doors in 2007, which is AFTER my first visits to the island. This one was privately owned. TBH I did walk this stretch of the coast just before it closed and am certain I saw people there. Very unlikely I took any phots of it as i never like people in landscape shots!😁 This kind of holiday was never going to last forever.

I remember a family called the Dendy's that lived there in the 1980's My sister used to be in the same year as one of their kids.. Whether they owned or managed it I don't know. Always presumed they owned it, but I may indeed be wrong.

@deano7835 thanks for sharing your memories of this camp.id love to know excactly why it closed.i think it was owned by the same family throughout its life,but dont quote me on that.i saw the bench that is in memory of your grandparents in a few old photos , but sadly i think it has been pinched by local scavengers.

All demolished now apparently. Staying here was the highlight of some people’s year .

@MrWilliestrokes thanks for your reply,not sure what will become of this place,its one of many camps closed and now left to rot on the isle of wight. if anyones got a copy of wakey,wakey campers ( channel 4 series 2005 ) it was filmed here and would love a copy.

@thetkconnection i`d do anything to get a copy of that series , it never gets repeated.

hi! im coming down to the iow soon and really what to vist this place but im very interested in urban exploring. Is it easy to get to (is it all fenced off)? and is it legal to go there? thanks for your time, its much appreciated!

ahhh i wanted to badly do a video when i was staying at chine farm camp site 2 weeks ago but my camera died! :/ it was so weird to walk on the ciff edge and see it all abandoned!

can you remember what sky channel it was repeated on ?

where is this place on the island

Sad it's in a bad state. I spent a week their on a school trip. It was bloody brilliant my bed collapsed when night when I was a sleep. This would be in the year 2003. The staff there was brilliant their was a old lady called Doris how work there bless her and there was a man how looked like frodo out of the Lord of the rings how was working there. Me and my old school mates still talk about it to this day about that holiday. Plus we are all local we a from Portchester Fareham. I remember the discos their I had a cd with me ask the guy to play it he did it had Europe the final count down frankie goes to Hollywood and draun draun air quaitaring in the middle of the dance for. And if I remember rightly we where watching the final match of I think it was world cup or the erouo cup I think it was Holland v gracee I think Holland wined the match man memerires. And we went to black gang chine I remember the smugglers cave my favourite being pirates smugglers and wreckers. Any way keep up the good videos.

Does anyone know if this has been demolished yet?

Was it still open when Toy Story was out?