The Steamer Inn

The pub sign creaks in the salt wind off Shanklin beach, and you can smell bacon drifting from the kitchen before you've even crossed the car park.

This isn't really a campsite in the traditional sense — The Steamer Inn offers a camping pod alongside guest house rooms, so it suits couples or small families wanting a proper bed and a pint on the doorstep more than canvas purists. You're in Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight's southeast coast, where Victorian seaside charm meets proper coastal walking and the Old Village's thatched cottages are five minutes uphill. Dog owners should ask ahead about bringing four-legged friends.

The pod gives you somewhere weatherproof to sleep without committing to a full room, and campfires are worth checking about when you arrive — policies can shift with the season. It's a year-round spot, so you could feasibly roll up on a blustery February weekend for cliff walks and return in August for beach days. Expect a lively, sociable vibe rather than wilderness solitude — this is a working pub first, a place to sleep second, and it wears both hats honestly.