Yorkshire with its diverse places is one of the best places to Camp in the whole of the UK. Whether you’re after a little campsite by the beach, a site which allows you to go and explore the countryside or a site to let you explore a new city, then Yorkshire has it all.
Being the UK largest county does mean it can meet your needs and while I haven’t been to every campsite in Yorkshire, I have been to the vast majority and here I am going to share with you, my favourites in all three of the above categories.
Best Campsite in Yorkshire by the Beach:
This was pretty easy and I have been to this campsite quite a few times.
Whitby is one of my favourite places to visit in the whole of Yorkshire and while it’s a good 2-3 hour drive from Doncaster, during the summer we tend to go for just the day – I love it the place and so does the family.
While this campsite isn’t actually in Whitby its close enough meaning you can quickly jump in the car and be there in about 5 minutes or if you are a walker – you can walk down the coastline straight into Whitby, this will take you a little longer than 5 minutes, but you can treat yourself to some wonderful fish and chips when you arrive.
It’s a good 5-mile walk if not slightly more so if going to take you around an hour plus. I plan on running it the next time I stop here but even this 10 mile round trip I would expect to take about an hour and a half.
The campsite itself is called Hooks House Farm and is located a stone’s throw from Robin Hood’s bay, I love this place nearly as much as Whitby, while there isn’t a lot for the kids to do, there is enough, including walking along the rocks and seeing what animals we can see.
The hill out of Robin Hood’s bay is a bit of a killer – but there is a great little ice-cream shop half way up, which breaks up the journey.
The campsite itself is very basic, you wouldn’t describe it much more than a field on a cliff top, but the views it offers are amazing.
You can look one way out into the sea and turn around and you can see the Yorkshire Dales.
The site does also accepts caravans and has a cottage on site.
The site is on a bit slope, but nothing to worry about – there is a fence around the site meaning the kids can’t run off the cliffs.
The two big downsides to this campsite are – firstly doesn’t allow group bookings.
This does make it more family friendly but isn’t great if you want to go away in groups but more importantly for short stays, it doesn’t take bookings, its first come first served.
While I have never had any issues, it’s worth noting especially during busy periods it does get full pretty fast.
I remember pulling onto the site and having a joke with the owner about how I never forget to bring anything – we turned up in the wife’s old car, a Kia Picanto and he wondered how we got everything in. 10 minutes later I had to walk up to him and apologise, I had only forgotten the tent pegs – yep one of the essential items of camping.
The one and only time I have forgotten tent pegs (forgot other items, but none as serious as pegs).
He was able to lend me a full set for the duration of my holiday – otherwise, it would have been a quick dash into Whitby to one of the camping stores to purchase some more.
For more information on the site click here.
The site isn’t open all year – March to October.
Best Campsite in Yorkshire to explore the hills:
This was tricky for me and I was very reluctant to name this site in my best sites in Yorkshire.
If you want a campsite with amazing views and access to Malham and the walking routes that have to offer.
Let me get the downsides out of the way before I explain why I actually made my list. it’s not open all year as you might find on some websites, but the owner can choose when he opens, the owner/ farmer is how I would describe is a one of type of guy, lovely to talk to and really nice but has some interesting recycle rules (not that I mind, we should as a country do more recycling), but the biggest issue is the toilets and showers – these aren’t for the faint-hearted – actually they are pretty bad and is one of the main reason why I was so reluctant to add it to the list.
But if you take away all those, there was a BBC article recently which talked about camping being good for you and this type of site definitely help that.
I have been several times and when the sun comes out it’s a sun trap and is beautiful, there is a little stream which runs through the middle of the site and the owner allows you to pitch anywhere.
I try and get near the stream when possible so if the sun does come out I can have a little paddle etc.
The site is called, Gordale Scar Camp Site.
The views of this campsite are just awe inspiring and as someone who has camped all over the country, this is in my top 3 sites in the country for views – they are incredible.
There are plenty of walks around Malham from beginners to a little more challenging so something for everyone, plus you can walk into the nearby village for a drink and something to eat – take around 20 minutes-ish (just over a mile), but it’s a pleasant walk.
This site doesn’t have the best mobile phone signal and doesn’t really have anywhere to charge these devices, but that kind of makes it special, you get to get away from the world and relax, you will defiantly have a peaceful night sleep. If your thinking of trying wild camping, this is a nice starting ground, kind of no facilities – but offers the reassurance of being on a campsite with others around you.
If you are after some walking routes in Malham check out these 5 great starting routes.
Best Campsite in Yorkshire to explore a new city:
This I guess all depends on which city you want to explore and one thing Yorkshire isn’t lacking is cities to explore.
With Hull being the city of Culture in 2017 then if you haven’t visited before it why not make 2017 the year to visit Hull, there is plenty going off. If you are unsure of where to go why not check out A Hull of a place to visit.
So where to camp in Hull?
There isn’t any campsites actually located in Hull city itself, you will need to camp outside and travel in.
There is 2 I have stayed at while both was very nice, the one which I prefer by a mile is Spring Valley Campsite. This is not your typical campsite. It’s also a rescue centre for animals, which is great for taking the kids too.
The campsite is officially the closest to Hull, so you won’t have any issues using it as a base to get into the city to explore why it was chosen as City of Culture 2017. The site is located about a 15-minute drive to Hull and there are buses from right outside the campsite to Hull city centre. I am not sure on frequency as I drove in every time. The site is fairly new about 3 years old and run by a lovely couple who couldn’t be more helpful if they tried. It’s why I prefer family campsites to corporate sites, the owners do truly care about your holiday and stay. Don’t get me wrong I do like visiting Haven sites etc especially with the kids, but there something special about family run campsites and they truly represents this.
There is around 20 hard standing and grass pitches for either tents or caravans, plus a further 5 around the lake – so if you like fishing whilst camping don’t forget to take your rods.
Spring Valley campsite does have all the facilities you would expect from a new campsite and is open all year round and is set in 3 acres of idyllic countryside, allowing you to relax and unwind. There isn’t a great deal on site for the kids to do, but if like when we visited the field is pretty empty then they will be able to run around and play (hopefully tire themselves out) – but there are the animals to keep them entertained.
So these are three of my favourite sites in the whole of Yorkshire. There are others I really like to stay at, but these three stand out.
