The Isle of Wight in the middle of August had seemed the ideal location for camping. It was going to be a Famous Five adventure, albeit without a dog. Lighthouses on the horizon, mystery tunnels used by smugglers to hide their crack cocaine and the stranger with the dark secret.

We were equipped with two small tents, the sort you might carry on your back if you were planning an assault on K2 in the Himalayas. They looked a sad sight next to the six-room mansion tents and caravans with Sky dishes on neighbouring plots at the Southland camping site, which is on the outskirts of Newchurch, near Sandown.

Our plight – as we gathered round the single gas burner with Alan, the only adult male in our party, making an attempt to cook supper in a wind that kept blowing out the gas – broke the heart of Viv McGuinness, a former television producer who has run the site for the past 13 years.

Within minutes, he had produced a borrowed tent large enough for us to cook under canvas, hooked us up to electricity, lent us a fridge and heater, and explained that the site was a wi-fi hotspot, so that Anna, my 14-year-old daughter, and her friend, Kate, could log on and visit MySpace. Anna and Kate loved their little tent, which was pitched next to our new tent, and were soon blissfully happy sending pictures and texts to their friends.

The Isle of Wight, water and wind

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Our first trip was to Osborne House, the country home bought by Queen Victoria to escape the pressures of Buckingham Palace. When was it easy to be royal? We had lunch in the quirky terrace restaurant that has views down to Osborne Bay. The house is full of oil paintings that remind you of just how many children Victoria bore (nine) and it has a spectacular walled garden.

Another day was spent keelboating with Stewart Easton, an instructor with the UK Sailing Academy based in Cowes. He took us out on the Solent and within half an hour we all knew how to sail into the wind and change course. Keelboats are particularly safe because their weighted keel stops the boat from capsizing.

The academy offers dinghy, sailing and windsurfing courses and runs residential summer camps for children. One-to-one tuition in peak season starts at £150 per day for adults and children, with weekend courses priced from £195 for children and £225 for adults.

The second sailing venture did not go as well. Wight Water had promised catamaran sailing at Lake beach, and an instructor duly sailed off at high speed with Anna and Kate. Everything was fine until we saw their boat capsize. I’m not sure I needed to start screaming hysterically: “Get the coastguard, the girls are drowning!” but it did galvanise the instructors to launch a motorboat and retrieve them.

The catamaran had to be towed back to shore with an embarrassed instructor explaining that the winds had been stronger than expected. Anna and Kate said capsizing was great fun. A one-hour multihull or dinghy training session costs £30 per person. The firm also offers two-hour “splash sessions” for children under 16, covering surfing, kayaking and bodyboarding, for £16 a head.

Then there was the day we met a dark stranger. We were directed to a field where we found Paul McCathie, the New Zealander who runs Goodleaf Tree Climbing Adventures. The company rents two beautiful old oak trees from a farmer, who doesn’t allow any signs or directions, so to get there you have to ring Paul on his mobile.

Paul, a tree surgeon, had slung ropes from the top of one of the trees and showed us how to shin up them into the tree’s canopy. We were put in harnesses and within minutes reached the top. Once we had tired of the branches (and a tree-top hammock), we abseiled down for homemade flapjacks. A group climb with Goodleaf costs £35 per adult aged 17 and over and £25 for children aged 8-16.

While the Isle of Wight has some wonderful beaches and countryside, freely available to all, there are charges to use most council-provided car parks even on Sundays. Then you have to pay for your amusements.

We shelled out £9 just to walk down a gorge – the Shanklin Chine – with tearooms at the end, while the National Trust charged us £13.20 to get a good view of the Needles, the strange-looking chalk rocks that jut out into the Channel, but at least it threw in a tunnel that was built to spy on the French and a military exhibition.

Camping cuts your other costs and is a good solution once you have the right gear. It is fun for young kids. You can take the dog, and lots do. You can smoke. In the drying room at Southland, I met a stranger who knew the secret of life. He told me to take out a subscription to Practical Caravan.

Day return Southampton-East Cowes, from £43.50 per car between July 21 and August 31 if booked online, Red Funnel ferries, 0870 444 8898, www.redfunnel.co.uk; Southland Camping and Touring Park, adult £8.50 per day, child £4.50, July 17-August 31, 01983 865 385, www.southland.co.uk; Osborne House, family ticket £24.50, 01983 200 022, www.english-heritage.org.uk; UK Sailing Academy, 01983 203 034, www.uksa.org; Wight Water, 01983 404 987, www.wightwaters.com; Goodleaf Tree Climbing Adventures, 01983 563 573, www.goodleaf.co.uk; Rural Escapes brochure, www.enjoyengland.com/ruralescapes

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