Island Camper Celebrates 100th Birthday With Surprise Campout Celebration

Much-loved Island resident Alan Wershat marked a remarkable milestone on Saturday, 25 April, celebrating his 100th birthday surrounded by family, friends and fellow camping enthusiasts at Retro Staycations glamping retreat and campsite.

Alan and his wife Pat, who live in Shanklin, are active members of Wight Campers – a growing community of like-minded camping and vanlife enthusiasts.

The couple are regular visitors to the popular site just outside Ryde, and to mark the special occasion, a convoy of campervans from the group gathered for a surprise weekend campout in Alan’s honour.

The festivities included vintage-inspired entertainment, with vinyl music sets from Adam Brown creating a fittingly nostalgic atmosphere for the milestone birthday.

Alan was joined by his daughter Nadine and his 16-year-old grandson Harrison, who was cycling around the Island and stopped to take part in the celebrations.

Unaware of the scale of the event planned for him, Alan was delighted to find himself at the centre of attention and joked to his wife, Pat:

“You never told me I was 100!”

The celebration took place at Retro Staycations, which recently won Gold for Best Campsite at the Red Funnel Isle of Wight Tourism Awards, further cementing its reputation as one of the Island’s leading camping and glamping destinations.

Sarah Moss, co-owner of Retro Staycations, said:

“We always like to make a fuss of guests on their birthday, but to have one of our regular campers reach his milestone 100th birthday was cause for a real celebration.

"It was lovely to welcome everyone to the site to mark this very special occasion.”

The event highlighted not only Alan’s incredible centenary, but also the strong sense of community among Island campers, with friends and fellow enthusiasts coming together to mark the occasion in style.