Immaculate site!
Southlands is a well equipped and immaculate site. There is barely a blade of grass out of place. Everything is clean, neat and tidy and the facilities are all in excellent working order. How this is achieved is difficult to fathom as there is no evidence of hectic maintenance! In fact other than at check-in and check-out, I don't recall seeing the wardens during my five night stay.
The grass pitch that I pitched on was the most level and flattest that I have ever encountered. Numerous tall hedges surround the grass pitches which give protection from the wind as it would otherwise be quite breezy. The hedges do however obscure the pleasant views over the surrounding countryside. You could elect to have one of the hard standing pitchs which are less protected by hedges and therefore have better views but are more exposed. I guess you can choose to be blown away by the view or by the wind.
The Pointer Inn in the local village is very highly recommended and we were looking forward to eating there on our last evening. However when we rang to request a reservation that afternoon we were told that all tables were taken. So that's a lesson for us all; get your reservation made early! There are plenty of adequate eating places nearby in Shanklin and Sandown and in nearby villages but we didn't find anything particularly worthy of recommendation or warning to avoid. The fish and chip shop in Lake (about 2 miles away) is clean and cooks your food freshly to order and is a reasonable and convenient takeaway.
