A couple who travelled from Australia to watch the Isle of Man TT races have been left out of pocket after discovering the campsite they had booked had ceased trading.

Sharon and Stephen Daddow, who live in Cairns in the state of Queenland, had visited the Isle of Man as the last part of a holiday that included Scotland and Ireland.

It was Stephen’s first trip overseas and going to watch the TT races had been on his bucket list for some time.

They had paid $1037 Australian dollars for a three-night stay in a bell tent at the Reayrt Vradda campsite on the outskirts of Port Erin.

But when they arrived on May 31, they discovered to their shock that the campsite had closed down.

Fortunately, two ladies they met off the train contacted the owner of the Remember Me B&B in Port St Mary who managed to move things around to fit them in.

It did, however, cost the couple an extra $841 Australian dollars.

‘We were very lucky I had my credit card to put it on, but it also cost us spending money,’ said Sharon, now back at home in Australia.

Sharon and Stephen Daddow on the fastcraft to the Isle of Man
Sharon and Stephen Daddow on the fastcraft to the Isle of Man (Sharon Daddow)

Sharon, who works as a store manager, believes Reayrt Vradda must have known it was about the close when it accepted payment for their booking on April 2 this year.

‘They did not mention at the time I paid that there would be the possibility of the site closing,’ she said.

The couple began making inquiries about accommodation for their TT trip in May last year and had initially looked at a site in Glen Helen but the manager told them it had closed and they had opened up in Port Erin.

Sharon said: ‘I confirmed with him that the site was still available for the dates we were arriving, and he said they were.

‘At no time did he mention any trouble.’

Now the couple are keen to get their money back and have been in contact with the Office of Fair Trading and Port Erin Commissioners.

Reayrt Vradda campsite site closed in TT Practice Week and the company which operated it has been placed into voluntary liquidation.

Director John Lovelady said the board had no alternative as it had insufficient access to funds to continue to trade and complete the works required.

Reayrt Vradda Glamping signed the lease on the 10-acre site with landowner Port Erin Commissioners in June 2021.

While some facilities had been completed, much of the site remains an uncompleted eyesore, with major groundworks left unfinished.

'Temporarily closed' - no bookings being taken at the Reayrt Vradda campsite
The campsite is now closed and the company behind it has gone into liquidation (Media IoM)

The Commissioners says it is owed ‘less than £10,000’ in unpaid rent. It plans to clear and secure the site when the lease reverts to the local authority.

Sharon added: ‘We had a great time on the IoM, thanks mainly to the kindness of June and Sylvia who are greeters at the train station at Port Erin and Rosemary who very kindly made room for us at her B&B.

‘We got to see some racing everyday we were there.’