Landguard Holiday Park
Landguard Holiday Park is a Parkdean Resorts self-catering park of caravans, lodges and touring pitches in a compact wooded setting on the edge of Shanklin, on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight. Families come for its indoor pool, the free run of sister park Lower Hyde's pools and entertainment a short walk away, and a budget-friendly base for the island's beaches and days out.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who this park suits, what you get for the money and the facts to skim first.
Landguard is a self-catering holiday park run by Parkdean Resorts, a compact wooded site of static caravans, lodges and touring pitches on the edge of Shanklin, on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The main draw for a family is all-weather swimming. The indoor pool complex is bigger than the small splash pool at its sister park, Lower Hyde, and a 15-minute footpath links the two, so you can use both parks' pools, entertainment and dining on a single booking. You cook in your own caravan or lodge, with a Nisa store, a Costa and the Boathouse Bar & Restaurant on the park.
It suits families with younger children who want dependable pool access whatever the weather, self-catering flexibility and a budget-friendly island base, and who don't mind driving. It's less of a fit if you want the beach a few steps away, since Shanklin's sand is a short drive or a 20-minute walk, or if you want the liveliest programme, which is fuller at Lower Hyde. The layout is compact and orderly, caravans in rows around a shared car park, so with a baby it's worth choosing a roomier grade: a travel cot tends to fit only in the caravan's living area rather than a bedroom, and the entry Bronze grade at about 22 m² is tight for two adults and a baby.
Best for
You want reliable all-weather pool access, self-catering value and a car-based island break, and you're happy to drive or walk to the beach.
Maybe not for
You want the beach on the doorstep, the busiest entertainment programme, or a large lodge set well apart from the main site.
Best ages
Babies upwards. Free tots sessions run for twos to fives, the Pipsqueak's Mouse House show is from birth, and there's a kids' disco and characters for older children. There's no crèche for any age.
What stands out
Dependable indoor swimming whatever the weather, and the free run of two parks' pools and entertainment on one booking.
What to check
Which caravan grade fits a travel cot, and the ferry fare for your dates, which jumps in the summer.
Where is it?
On the edge of Shanklin on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, about a 20 to 25-minute drive from the Fishbourne car ferry.
Quick facts for families
What the park is like
Where it sits, how the site is laid out and what the shared footpath to Lower Hyde means for a week with young children.
Landguard sits in a compact, wooded layout with the caravans arranged in neat rows along shared lanes. Most of the accommodation uses a shared central car park rather than parking beside the unit, so you carry luggage from the car to the caravan, which is worth knowing with small children, a pushchair and beach bags. The Woodlands area, which holds the newer lodges, is the exception, with parking closer to the units. Compared with Lower Hyde's more spacious cul-de-sac layout, Landguard is the more condensed of the two.
The ground is generally flat and manageable with a pushchair, and the site is enclosed by mature trees, which is pleasant but leaves less open grassy space than at Lower Hyde. Being compact does have an upside, in that the pool, entertainment venue, restaurant and shop are a short walk from most of the accommodation. The 15-minute footpath to Lower Hyde is used regularly in both directions, by Landguard guests heading over for the fuller programme and by Lower Hyde guests coming across for the larger indoor pool. A traffic-free stretch of the Red Squirrel Trail, the island's family cycling route linking Shanklin and Sandown, runs near the park.
For everyday essentials the park has a Nisa convenience store, a Costa Coffee and a launderette, so you can cover the basics without leaving. Wi-Fi is free in the main venue buildings; in the accommodation it's a paid extra, Parkdean's Park Connect+, from £5.95 (last checked June 2026) and only in selected units, so don't count on free Wi-Fi at the caravan itself. A supermarket delivery can be arranged to your accommodation once you've checked in. On accessibility, Parkdean offers accessible units across its parks and the touring block has an accessible bathroom; the ground is flat, though the shared car park means a longer carry to some units. If you need an accessible unit, confirm it for your dates when you book.
The pools
The indoor and outdoor pools here, the pools you can reach at Lower Hyde and the sessions worth pre-booking.
The indoor pool complex is the reason a lot of families choose Landguard. Parkdean describes it as fun pools, a paddling pool and water slides, and it's the larger indoor pool of the two parks, used by guests from both. It's open from 20 March to 2 November 2026. There's a paddling area within the complex for babies and toddlers. Alongside it, a heated outdoor pool runs a shorter summer season, from 22 May to 31 August 2026.
Pool access is part of the hub pass that comes with a direct Parkdean booking, so there's no separate charge to swim. Parkdean recommends pre-booking pool sessions about ten weeks before you travel through its Manage My Booking portal, so the sessions you want are best reserved as soon as your stay is confirmed. On foot at Lower Hyde you can also use its outdoor pool with a waterslide, which needs children to be five or over for the slide and runs May to August, and its small indoor heated splash pool, open March to November.
The bookable water sessions run at Landguard through the day. Swim Tots for twos to fives is free with the hub pass; the rest are charged on top.
| Session | Age | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Swim Tots | 2 to 5 | Free with hub pass |
| Aqua Paddlers | 3 to 7 | Charged |
| Aqua Jets (underwater jets) | 4 and up | Charged |
| Pool Parties (inflatable session) | 4 and up | Charged |
| Water Walkerz (giant inflatable spheres) | 5 and up | Charged |
| Kayaks in the pool | 8 and up | Charged |
| Inflatable jet skis | 8 and up | Charged |
Where you'll stay
Every caravan and lodge grade with its official minimum size, what's included and which suit a family with a baby or toddler.
All the accommodation is self-catering, and it comes in two shapes: static caravans that sleep up to eight in two or three bedrooms, and lodges that sleep up to six, with the newer lodges in the Woodlands area. There are six caravan grades, from Bronze up to Gold Premium, and three lodge grades, Superior, Deluxe and Prestige. Every unit has heating and double glazing, a fully equipped kitchen with utensils, crockery and cooking equipment, a bathroom with a shower and the beds made up before you arrive. The table below gives each grade's official minimum floor size along with the two things that change as you move up, whether towels are included and whether a hot tub can be added.
| Grade | Type | Minimum size | Sleeps | Towels | Hot tub |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | Caravan | 240 sq ft (22 m²) | Up to 8 | Not included | Not available |
| Bronze Premium | Caravan | 240 sq ft (22 m²) | Up to 8 | Not included | Not available |
| Silver | Caravan | 384 sq ft (35 m²) | Up to 8 | Not included | Not available |
| Silver Premium | Caravan | 384 sq ft (35 m²) | Up to 8 | Not included | Not available |
| Gold | Caravan | 432 sq ft (40 m²) | Up to 8 | Not included | Not available |
| Gold Premium | Caravan | 432 sq ft (40 m²) | Up to 8 | Not included | Not available |
| Superior | Lodge | 456 sq ft (42 m²) | Up to 6 | Included | Optional add-on |
| Deluxe | Lodge | 800 sq ft (74 m²) | Up to 6 | Included | Optional add-on |
| Prestige | Lodge | 800 sq ft (74 m²) | Up to 6 | Included | Optional add-on |
Towels are the clearest split between the two types. They aren't included in any of the caravan grades, so bring your own, and they are included in the lodges from Superior upward. A hot tub is never standard, but it can be added as a paid extra on the lodges. Bed linen is included across every grade. Condition varies between the older and newer units, which is a recurring theme in reviews, so it's worth checking the age and specification of the exact unit you're booking rather than reading it off the grade name alone.
For choosing with young children, floor space is the thing to weigh. A travel cot typically fits only in the living area of a caravan, not the bedrooms, and the entry Bronze grade at 22 m² is tight for two adults and a baby, so a Silver or Gold grade gives more room to move around, and Gold is the one to aim for with a toddler plus a cot. Cots and high chairs are a hire item, £15 each (last checked June 2026), added when you book. Glamping isn't offered at Landguard; that's a Lower Hyde option, in its safari tents.
If you're touring rather than hiring a unit, Landguard has electric hook-up pitches for campervans, motorhomes, touring caravans, tents and trailer tents, from £16 a night, in an area with an orchard feel. The touring facilities block has drinking water and waste disposal, a shower and toilet block, a disabled bathroom, baby changing, fitted hairdryers, an ice-pack freezing service and a launderette. Dogs are accepted in specific dog-friendly units, five of nineteen hire options when last checked, at £49 per dog per week and a maximum of two, with occasional pets-go-free promotions; dogs also travel free on the Wightlink ferry with a Parkdean booking. Check-in is from 4pm and check-out by 10am, and a Priority Arrival from 1pm can be booked in advance, from £29.
On price, the figures move with the season and the grade, so treat any as a starting point and check live for your dates. As an indication, a six-berth Bronze caravan started at around £929 for a week in August 2026, and a touring pitch for four on electric worked out at roughly £407 a week.
Food and drink
The on-park places to eat, how self-catering works here and the extra options a short walk away at Lower Hyde.
The main food venue is the Boathouse Bar & Restaurant, with a menu that runs to sausages, seafood, burgers, free-from options and desserts. It works as a restaurant at mealtimes and as the bar and evening entertainment venue seven days a week. Children's menus are standard across Parkdean restaurants, so you can expect one at the Boathouse. Check its opening hours when you book or arrive. Ordering is through Parkdean's Order and Pay app rather than a separate booking system.
Beyond it there's a general takeaway on the park, a Costa Coffee, and the entertainment venue serves drinks through the evening shows. Self-catering is the default, though: every caravan and lodge has a full kitchen, the Nisa convenience store on site covers groceries and holiday essentials, and a supermarket delivery can be scheduled to your accommodation once you've checked in.
For more choice, the short walk to Lower Hyde opens up its dining too. Its Barnhouse Bar & Restaurant sits alongside outlets it added for 2026, a Thunderbird Fried Chicken, a Scoops ice cream stand and an outdoor bar, all reachable on foot from Landguard.
Entertainment and activities
What's free with the hub pass, what costs extra, the adult evenings and how the programme compares with the sister park's.
The entertainment runs on Parkdean's hub pass, included in a direct booking, which covers the shows, the pools and the free activities. Children under 8 need to be with a responsible adult aged 16 or over at the club sessions, so you're taking part alongside a younger child rather than dropping them off.
For babies and toddlers the free daily sessions are the Pipsqueak's Mouse House show, suitable from birth, and a set of activities for twos to fives: Play Tots, Messy Play, Tots & Tunes, Gym Tots and Swim Tots. For all ages there are character meet-and-greets with the Starland Krew, the park's cast of five characters, Sparky, Sid, Lizzie, Sparkle and Naarky, plus a kids' disco with an early tots version, and an adventure playground, which is on the small side. The evenings, all free, bring Trouper Productions stage shows, the Holiday Happy Gameshow and live acts through Park Live most nights, plus the kids' disco, Get Up & Glow and the Starland Krazy showstopper performances, with the venue open seven days a week and a bar running throughout.
Some activities cost extra on top of the hub pass. The craft sessions, Professor Slime, Squishies, pottery painting, sand art and tie dye, are all for four and up, and there's an amusement arcade from age two that you pay per machine. Cycling is easy to add, with the Red Squirrel Trail near the park and bike hire available nearby from Route Fifty7, based over at Lower Hyde and Shanklin rather than on-site, and the flat Shanklin to Sandown stretch of the trail suits families with trailers.
The adult evenings centre on the Boathouse, with the nightly shows, the gameshow, quizzes and live music, and confirmed Adult Karaoke and Linked Bingo nights, and Lower Hyde's outdoor bar is a walk away. There's no spa and no dedicated gym at Landguard. The programme is more leisurely than Lower Hyde's, which is the trade for basing here: several things Lower Hyde added for 2026, its Milkshake! Mornings, go-karts, battle blasters, hoverboards, PAW Patrol and a multi-sports court, aren't part of the Landguard programme, though you can walk over for them.
Babies and toddlers
The pool and activity provision for the youngest, the baby kit to sort in advance and the supervision rules.
There's no crèche or drop-off childcare here, so the day is one you spend together. What there is for young children is a full set of free daily sessions. In the water there's an indoor paddling pool, the free Swim Tots session for twos to fives and the charged Aqua Paddlers for threes to sevens, and the Pipsqueak's Mouse House show is suitable from birth. On dry land the twos-to-fives sessions run through the week: Play Tots, Messy Play, Tots & Tunes, Gym Tots and Swim Tots.
A bit of baby kit is worth sorting at booking. Cots and high chairs are a hire item rather than provided as standard, so add them when you reserve. Baby changing is available in the touring facilities block. For supplies, the Nisa store on the park covers the basics such as nappies, wipes and formula, while a full supermarket in Sandown or Shanklin is a short drive, so it's worth planning a stock-up rather than assuming a big shop is on the doorstep, since this is the island.
The beach
The nearest beach, how you reach it, its water quality and what else sits along the seafront.
The nearest beach is Shanklin, a wide stretch of golden sand backed by a Victorian esplanade, and it shelves gently, which is what you want for a toddler paddling. It's about a 5-minute drive or a 20-minute walk from the park, but there's no direct path from the site to the sand, so you drive or walk along roads to reach it. There's paid parking on Shanklin Esplanade that fills up in the school holidays, and the island council has been reviewing its seafront parking charges for 2026, so check the current rate before you go.
On water quality, Shanklin is classified Excellent by the Environment Agency, its top mark, on the 2025 annual assessment. It doesn't hold a Blue Flag for 2026, and neighbouring Sandown holds a Seaside Award rather than a Blue Flag, so neither is a Blue Flag beach. Along the seafront Shanklin has the Victorian promenade with deckchairs, a small fairground, minigolf, arcades, a cliff lift up to the thatched Old Village and seafront pubs and cafes. At the south end, Shanklin Chine is a natural wooded ravine with waterfalls and a heritage centre, with charged entry and a main path that's manageable with a pushchair.
A little further, Sandown Beach is about a 15-minute drive or a walk along the seafront, and it puts Dinosaur Isle, the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary opposite the beach and Sandown Pier with its Magic Island indoor soft play, rides and bowling all in one spot.
The area and days out
The family attractions within easy reach of Shanklin, with rough drive times, and how to get about without a car.
Landguard sits in the east of the island, which is the busier, more developed side and well placed for family days out. Shanklin town and beach are on the doorstep, a 20-minute walk or 5-minute drive, with the sandy beach, the promenade, the cliff lift, Shanklin Chine and the Old Village's thatched pubs.
Several animal days out are close. Amazon World Zoo Park at Newchurch, now run as a conservation charity, has a tropical rainforest house with parrots, toucans, sloths and anteaters, and is about 5 to 10 minutes away. The Wildheart Animal Sanctuary at Sandown, with lions, tigers, bears, primates and lemurs opposite the beach, has tickets from £3.50 in advance, a café and a playground, about 10 minutes off. The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary at Wroxall is free to visit and very toddler-friendly, with donkeys to pet and walk, around 10 minutes away.
For rainy days and older children there's Dinosaur Isle at Sandown, a museum built around real island fossil finds, about 10 to 15 minutes away, and Sandown Pier, whose Magic Island indoor soft play, rides, adventure golf and bowling make a good wet-weather option nearby. Robin Hill Country Park near Newport packs 88 acres of adventure play, tots and soft play, a duck-pond village and bird shows into a day, with free parking, about 15 minutes off. Blackgang Chine near Chale, the UK's oldest theme park, going back to 1843, has fantasy zones, welcomes dogs and lets you return free for up to seven days, about 25 minutes away.
Further afield, the county town of Newport and Carisbrooke Castle, with its donkey wheel and the Museum of Island History, are about 20 minutes; Ventnor and its Botanic Garden, set in a mild microclimate with a good beach, are 20 to 25 minutes; Godshill, a thatched-cottage village with a Model Village and tearoom, is about 15 minutes; the Isle of Wight Steam Railway at Havenstreet is about 20 minutes; and The Needles and Alum Bay, with the chalk stacks, the cable car and the sand-art shop, are about 40 minutes. To get about without driving, the Island Line train, which still runs old London Underground carriages, links Shanklin with Sandown, Brading and Ryde, Southern Vectis buses cover the wider island and an open-top Sandown Bay tour bus runs in summer.
Getting there and around
The ferry routes and the discount, doing it without a car, and the nearest hospital.
Most families drive, and the most direct route is the Wightlink car ferry from Portsmouth to Fishbourne, a crossing of about 40 to 45 minutes with frequent sailings. Fishbourne is about 10 miles (16 km) from the park, roughly 20 to 25 minutes south on the A3054 and A3020 to Shanklin. The alternative is Red Funnel from Southampton to East Cowes, a crossing of about an hour, then 30 to 40 minutes on to Shanklin via Newport. The satnav postcode for the park is PO37 7PJ.
Booking the Wightlink crossing through Parkdean rather than direct gets up to 40% off standard fares, and dogs travel free on it. Fares change with the date and how far ahead you book: for 2026, a one-way car fare sat at roughly £25.40 to £35.70 in the shoulder months and jumped to around £71.90 to £77.10 at peak, from June to August, so it's worth booking the summer crossings early.
You can reach the park without a car, on the Wightlink FastCat foot ferry from Portsmouth to Ryde and then the Island Line train to Shanklin station, which is close to the park, but day trips and beach runs are harder without one. For anything medical, the island's main hospital with an accident and emergency department is St Mary's in Newport, about 6 miles (10 km) away, roughly 15 minutes' drive; for anything less urgent, call NHS 111.
Loves and gripes
The review picture, what comes through in what families say, and how the park sits against the island's others.
On the scores, Landguard rates well across most platforms. Parkdean's own site shows 8.5 out of 10 from just under 500 guest reviews, and it sits at roughly 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor and around 4.1 on Google. The clear outlier is Hoseasons, where it shows a much lower 2.9 out of 5; that channel tends to sell a mix of older and dog-friendly units, which most likely pulls the figure down rather than reflecting the park as a whole. Parkdean as a group also holds a couple of Silver British Travel Awards for 2025, though those are brand-wide rather than won by this park.
What families love
- The indoor pool, larger than the sister park's small splash pool and the main reason many families choose Landguard.
- The run of two parks on one booking, with Lower Hyde's pools, programme and dining a short walk away.
- The value next to the island's other holiday parks.
- The on-site basics, a Nisa store, a launderette and a Costa, without leaving the park.
- Dog-friendly units and policies for families travelling with a dog.
What's worth weighing
- The compact, regimented layout, with caravans in rows and luggage carried from a shared car park, bar the Woodlands lodges.
- Reports of some units smelling of dog, and condition that varies between older and newer caravans.
- A more leisurely entertainment programme than Lower Hyde's.
- The beach being a drive or a longish walk rather than on the doorstep.
How it compares
Landguard is one of several family holiday parks on the Isle of Wight, and the closest comparison by far is the sister park it shares its facilities with. The table sets it against that one and the main alternatives.
| Park | Setting and pools | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Hyde | The walkable sister park, bigger and more spread out, with parking beside the units, a fuller activity programme, glamping and an outdoor pool with a waterslide. | One booking lets you use both parks. Landguard keeps the larger indoor pool, while Lower Hyde has the busier programme and easier parking. The two are close on price, so check both for your dates. |
| Nodes Point, St Helens | A Parkdean park with direct access to Priory Bay and an indoor pool with a proper waterslide, and a slightly higher review score than Landguard's (about 83% against 80%). | Beside its own beach, which Landguard isn't, but roughly £1,219 for a week in August 2026 against Landguard's roughly £929, and further from Shanklin and Sandown. |
| Whitecliff Bay, Bembridge | An Away Resorts park with a private residents' beach, indoor and outdoor pools, an indoor soft play centre and a slightly higher review score than Landguard's (82% against 80%). | The strongest beach access of the island parks, but a different operator, so no Wightlink booking discount. |
| Thorness Bay, near Cowes | A Parkdean park on the quieter north coast with an indoor pool only. | On the far side of the island from the east-coast attractions, so not a like-for-like swap. |
| The Orchards, near Yarmouth | An independent park with indoor and outdoor heated pools and a paddling pool, and a quieter programme. | Handier for the west-island Yarmouth ferry than for Shanklin and the east-coast days out. |
Weather and when to go
The season, the month-by-month picture and the gentlest weeks for a family.
The Isle of Wight is one of the sunniest spots in the UK, and Shanklin sits on its mild south-east coast. Daytime highs climb from about 11°C in March to 20°C in July and August, with nights between 5 and 14°C. The sea is chilly outside July to September, peaking at around 18°C in September, so the indoor pool stretches the swimming season a long way beyond the beach. July and May are usually the driest months and November the wettest, and summer isn't reliably dry here, so it's sensible to have an indoor option in mind even in peak season.
For young children, July and August are the warmest, with the outdoor pool open and the fullest programme, but they carry the peak prices and demand. Late May, once the outdoor pool opens on 22 May, and June are noticeably cheaper with the outdoor pool still running. September brings the warmest sea and thinner crowds, and March and April are the budget choice, though the outdoor pool isn't open yet.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.5° | 4° | 105 mm | 13 | 9° |
| February | 8.5° | 3.5° | 74 mm | 11 | 8° |
| March | 10.5° | 4.5° | 60 mm | 10 | 8° |
| April | 13° | 6° | 54 mm | 9 | 10° |
| May | 16° | 9° | 52 mm | 8 | 13° |
| June | 18.5° | 11.5° | 54 mm | 8 | 16° |
| July | 20.5° | 13.5° | 52 mm | 8 | 18° |
| August | 20.5° | 14° | 67 mm | 8 | 19° |
| September | 18.5° | 12° | 72 mm | 9 | 18° |
| October | 15° | 9.5° | 113 mm | 13 | 16° |
| November | 11.5° | 6.5° | 118 mm | 14 | 13° |
| December | 9.5° | 4.5° | 119 mm | 14 | 10° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.
Will there be a cot and high chair, or should we bring our own?
Cots and high chairs are a hire item at £15 each (last checked June 2026), added when you book rather than provided as standard. In a caravan a travel cot usually only fits in the living area, not the bedrooms, so if you'd rather keep the lounge clear or have the cot in with you, a compact travel cot of your own can be the easier call. Sort it at booking either way, since it's not something to arrange on arrival.
Are stair gates provided?
Don't count on a stair gate being in the unit, so if your child needs one, pack a travel gate. Most caravans are single-level, but the lodges and some units have steps up to the door and internal changes in level worth blocking off.
Is there an all-inclusive option?
Landguard runs as self-catering, and every caravan and lodge has a full kitchen. All-inclusive is a sister-park option at Lower Hyde, so if it matters to you, check the Landguard booking flow directly before you plan around it.
Do we pay extra to use the pools?
No. Pool access comes with the hub pass that's included in a direct Parkdean booking. The free-swim and Swim Tots sessions don't need paying for, though the activity sessions such as Aqua Jets and Water Walkerz are charged on top. Parkdean recommends pre-booking pool sessions about ten weeks before you travel through Manage My Booking, so reserve the ones you want as soon as your stay is confirmed.
How do we get the cheaper ferry?
Book the Wightlink Portsmouth to Fishbourne crossing through Parkdean rather than direct, which gets up to 40% off standard fares, and dogs travel free on it. Fares climb a long way from June to August, so if you're travelling in the summer holidays book the crossing early with the accommodation rather than leaving it.
Can we walk to the beach with a pushchair?
You can, but there's no direct path from the park to the sand, so it's about a 20-minute walk along roads or a 5-minute drive. With a pushchair, beach gear and a toddler, most families drive and use the paid parking on Shanklin Esplanade, which fills up in the school holidays. Check the current parking rates before you go, as the island council has been reviewing them.
Is there any childcare so we can get a break?
No. There's no crèche, babysitting or drop-off childcare, and under-8s must be with an adult aged 16 or over at every club session, so there's no point in the day when the park takes the children off your hands. If a daytime or evening break is something you rely on, this isn't the park for it. A caravan with a separate bedroom at least lets you keep the living area once young children are down.
See more Landguard Holiday Park photos
Open the Landguard Holiday Park photo gallery →Useful links
- Landguard Holiday Park: the park's own site for caravans, the lodges, the pools and what's included.
- Wightlink: the Portsmouth to Fishbourne car ferry, sailing times and fares.
- Isle of Wight with little ones: our guide to the island, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 16 July 2026.
