Cool Caravanning, Updated Second Edition. Caroline Mills
going about their daily business. More pitches are set up on the grass directly in front of the river and the watermill. Known as ‘The Riverside’, it is the best place to pitch if you want to be in the centre of it all but not if you’d prefer some peace.
Canoeing on the River Ure at Sleningford Watermill
Behind the reception is ‘The Millhouse Field’, the quietest of the three campsite areas; totally enclosed by hedges and trees; here you can find a peaceful corner as there is no through access. It tends to be the area totally given over to ‘vans because every pitch has access to hook-ups. But by far the most picturesque and natural area of the site is ‘The Island’, a vast parkland meadow right next to the river where you can select a pitch with or without hook-up. Nothing is defined here – just choose a spot you happen to like, whether it’s by the water’s edge, under a giant oak tree or tucked up against the hedges. The meadow is brimming with wildlife and plants. In between the areas mown for campers to pitch and along parts of the riverbank, large swathes of grass are kept long, where wildflowers erupt and dragonflies dance. Secret paths weave their way beneath the wild shrubs and trees, trodden down by eager river-seekers.
It’s here where many of the canoeists stay, as well as nature lovers, as it’s furnished with bug hotels and hidey-holes for creatures and is where birds look for nests from which to rear their young. A small sandy beach, from where the intrepid enter the river, is overlooked by an eroding cliff on the other side that has more holes than a pack of Polo mints and is home to a colony of migrating birds. As the canoeists try to paddle upstream, fighting against the white water, the sand martins dart at full speed in and out of their makeshift nests, dipping and diving above the water as if to increase the pace of the activity below.
I happened to be on site at its busiest time of year and even then, when the giggles and resonating laughter of happy children fill the pure Yorkshire air, there were still quiet places to pitch and solitary spaces to hide oneself away, where you could close your eyes under a midday sun and soak up the sound of the river, oblivious to all but the breeze through the trees.
Sleningford Watermill
North Stainley, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3HQ
01765 635201
www.sleningfordwatermill.co.uk
Opening times: Beginning of April to end of October
Facilities: Three contrasting pitching areas, hook-ups, free hot showers, toilets, disabled facilities, laundry, dishwashing, recycling, shop selling local produce plus camping equipment, fly-fishing, canoe/kayak river access. Dogs on leads welcome.
How to get there: A1(M)/A1, come off at turning for B6267, signed Masham. Follow road for 3 miles, turn left, signed West Tanfield. In village, turn left onto A6108 and cross river bridge. Site is half a mile from West Tanfield on left.
Food & drink: The Staveley Arms (tel.: 01765 635439) in North Stainley has a good menu, local ales and is within walking distance of the campsite.
Nearby attractions: As well as canoeing and fishing on the river, head to the lovely village of Masham and visit one of two breweries, Theakston Brewery or the rival Black Sheep Brewery, set up by a Theakston family member.
Alternative campsite: The Black Swan (www.blackswanholiday.co.uk, tel.: 01765 689477). Good old-fashioned village pub in Fearby with a campsite at the rear and great views of the Dales. Six miles from Sleningford Watermill.
Top Left: Camping at Sleningford Watermill; Top Right: The old watermill; Bottom: The River Ure
Howgill Lodge
North Yorkshire
Views of the countryside from Howgill Lodge
Choices, choices. The Yorkshire Dales National Park is brimming a-plenty with campsites of all shapes and sizes, and you’re guaranteed a decent view almost wherever you stay. There’s a goodly supply of campsites and caravan parks in Wharfedale alone, the National Park’s most south-eastern dale.
So you can imagine the difficulty in selecting only one of Wharfedale’s campsite collection. I’ve plumped for Howgill Lodge, at no detriment to the others (I’d happily recommend Masons at Appletreewick, Causeway Caravan Site at Kettlewell or Wood Nook near Threshfield). Why Howgill Lodge? Well you know you’ve arrived somewhere special when there’s a lengthy trip along a near-private drive off the main road to reach the campsite, and chickens are roaming the grounds.
Of course, these alone don’t make a great campsite. I expect a warm welcome and you’ll certainly get that from the Foster family who have owned and run Howgill Lodge for many years. But you’ll find plenty more to recommend it – the location first and foremost. Arrive in the dark, pull your curtains back in the morning and you’ll understand what I mean.
The River Wharfe winds its way south and east from Oughtershaw Beck in Langstrothdale to flow into the River Ouse south of York. Howgill Lodge sits a handful of miles north of where the Wharfe exits the Yorkshire Dales National Park at Bolton Bridge. You have little for company other than your campsite neighbours – and it’s bliss!
The garden atmosphere of Howgill Lodge
Sited at the western foot of Barden Fell, the campsite is terraced, with pitches making the most of views across Wharfedale to the bulk of Burnsall and Thorpe Fell. Should you wish to turn and look the other way, the crags of Barden Fell appeal and shelter at the same time. With only 20 pitches and tucked away along a tiny lane, the site never feels horrendously busy – it’s as if you’ve found your own private hideaway that you just happen to be sharing. If you have a notable ‘others’ who don’t camp, Fiona and Tony Foster can put them up in their B&B, converted from a rather lovely 17th-century barn.
Indeed, with the magnificent views, the terraces that slope down to the diminutive Fir Beck, the shrubs and colourful flowers and the chickens wandering the site, you feel as if you’re pitched up in a private garden. And the Foster family care for their garden and patch of North Yorkshire with a passion.
While the site is well kept, it’s not clinical – the Fosters like to leave some areas uncut to encourage local wildlife, there are bird boxes about and the sewage system is an eco-friendly reed bed (hence you need to use formaldehyde-free toilet chemicals). Solar panels have been installed for lighting and to heat the water – and guests are encouraged to walk or use public transport to get around.
And that’s not a problem, for Wharfedale is the most idyllic stomping ground. Within a five-minute walk from the campsite you’ll find the River Wharfe and the Dales. You can walk to Grassington, just one of the numerous scenic villages within Wharfedale, and then catch the bus back – it stops at the end of Howgill Lane. But if it’s understated, near-silent beauty that you’re after, make a point of seeing Upper Wharfedale and Langstrothdale, through which the most northern stretch of the Wharfe trickles. It’s a very special landscape, bursting with sheep-filled meadows and wild flowers.
South of Howgill Lodge is the 30,000-acre Bolton Abbey Estate. It’s a popular tourist attraction, with the ruins of the Priory providing an atmospheric location for a wander, not forgetting a hop, skip and jump over the stepping stones across