Cleveland and Hambleton
Lordstones Country Park
Carlton Bank, TS9 7JH
This iconic spot, nearly a thousand feet up at the summit of Carlton Bank, has had a famous café for many years – walkers would camp rough beside it. Since its big recent refurbishment things are slightly different; the café is much expanded and there are a range of camping styles on offer. For up to four people there is a choice of wooden camping pod or a timber-framed roundhouse; both have proper beds with linen, some means of heating and basic cooking facilities – a bit more than camping really . Dogs are allowed in the pods but not the roundhouse. Traditional campers with their own tents can rest easy because the site also has an ordinary camping field with electric hook-ups if desired.
Eskdale
Folly Hall Farm
Tranmire, YO21 2BW
The campsite at Folly Hall Farm reflects the hamlet it sits in because, like Tranmire, it is very small and very tranquil. With open access moorland just over the wall from the camping field and a choice of quiet walks and bike rides from the tent, you wouldn’t believe the busy Whitby to Guisborough road was less than a mile away. There are 15 pitches available on the pristine, mown site, all with electric hook-up and access to toilets and free showers. Families and well-behaved dogs are welcome between April and September.
Lythe Camping and Caravanning
High St, Lythe, YO21 3RT
Owned and operated by The Stiddy in Lythe, this campsite occupies two small fields behind the pub with spectacular views along the coast towards Whitby. Hard standing pitches for motorhomes and touring caravans are available all year round, except January and early February, with grass pitches for tents available Easter to Halloween. The site has full facilities, including laundry, and dogs are welcome.
Eastern Moors
Low Farm
Ellerburn, YO18 7LL
This is a basic campsite in a tiny valley-bottom hamlet where location is paramount. One long, thin field, bound on one side by a crystal-clear limestone beck, has been given over to just 30 pitches for tents, motorhomes and caravans. All the facilities of Pickering are a mile’s walk downstream; following the bridleway upstream takes you into the heart of Dalby Forest – ideal for mountain bikers to access the trails without having to pay the toll-road entry fee. There is stabling and grazing available horses, and well behaved dogs are welcome, too (this is a working farm).
Howardian Hills and Ryedale
Hobground Campsite
Normanby, YO17 6XD
Hobground is a little oasis of woodland in the sea of arable fields that makes up most of the Vale of Pickering. Access is from the minor road that links the villages of Great Barugh and Normanby, with Hobground Farm about halfway between the two. In my opinion, this place has two major attributes: its middle-of-nowhere-ness means that it a very peaceful place to just get away from it all; and, if you are a road cyclist like me who doesn’t like hills or traffic, its location is near-perfection. The landscape here is pancake-flat and network of quiet minor roads linking all its hamlets and villages is brilliant biking country. The site caters for tents, motorhomes and caravans, has all the usual facilities, and welcomes dogs.
More information
For more information, see Mike Bagshaw’s guide:
