HOLLINS HALL FARM - HARROGATE [151]

Thursday 22nd October – Monday 26th October 2009

Approaching this site from any direction is effortless. The only help is that the entrance is just before or just after the 40 MPH sign, but it is well marked and shouldn’t present any problems. The pitching area is behind the farmhouse and is in a lawned field with a gravelled area at the entrance end. The field slopes slightly but does not present any problems for levelling and there are some distant views from all pitches.

Harrogate has many attractions and it is very popular with tourists. All services are available and there are several supermarkets in and around the town. A useful Co-op store with a pub and several takeaways are on the New Park housing estate between the A59 and A61.

A bus service between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge runs past the farm entrance and the stop is not far away. Buses run from Harrogate bus terminus to most local towns and cities.

Analogue signal was good.
Poor digital signal from my pitch on hardstanding. Barn in way.

£10.00 per night.

YEW TREE FARM - OTLEY [150]

Sunday 18th October – Thursday 22nd October 2009

I didn’t have any problems approaching this site. The climb out of Otley is a bit steep in places if you arrive from this direction. The gate to the CL is off the farm track but is far enough down to allow all outfits, irrespective of length to pull off the main road. The field is mainly grass and is sloping for most of the area. The pitches at the bottom are more level and have a little hardcore; these were popular with motor homes. Front wheel drive vehicles may find it difficult to reverse outfit uphill onto pitch when ground is wet.

The market town of Otley has all services including two supermarkets although there is a convenience store and takeaways in the suburb of Newall to the north of the River Wharfe. There are no local bus services that pass the site and the walk back from town is steep in places.

TV reception was a little hit and miss from the pitch I was using. This I believe was because the farmhouse was in the way of the signal. Digital UK say the new aerial in the adjacent field will be switched on in 2011 and transmit a digital signal to the area. I didn’t use my satellite dish because of the many mature trees surrounding the site. One motorhome with a rooftop dish had reserved a particular pitch because of a gap in the tree line which allowed a clear view of the satellite. They must have been before.

A convenient pub a few hundred yards down the road was under new management and hopefully will continue trading in the future. Meals are available and it has a good selection of hand pulled beers.

Analogue signal was poor from my pitch [3]
No digital signal from pitch.

£8.00 per night.

HALL CROFT - ILKLEY [149]

Wednesday 14th October – Sunday 18th October 2009 Saturday

The only problem I would envisage when approaching this site is that you will drive right past it. The best marker is that the entrance is just before the 40MPH sign when travelling east and just after the de-restriction when going the other way.

All the pitches are hard with an area to pitch an awning but there isn’t enough room to park your car, so this must be left in front of your caravan. The site is sloping but has good views over the River Wharf valley and surrounding hills. The friendly owners are available between 6 and 8 PM if you need any advice or local information. This site is very popular throughout the year, especially at weekends so it is advisable to book well in advance and you need to check if it is ok to stay after midday on the day of departure. Another annoying issue is that my daughter and her family tried to book a pitch but the site was fully booked. However someone didn’t turn up because one pitch was empty for most of my stay. This may have been cancelled for genuine reasons but CL owners are telling me that ‘no shows’ are becoming increasingly common.

Ilkley is very popular with tourists and parking is limited. The site is within walking distance of the town and there is a bus stop near to the site entrance. The rail line to Leeds terminates in the town and buses to Leeds, Keighley and Skipton pass the entrance. There are plenty of shops, pubs and restaurants in the town and there are two supermarkets.


Analogue signal available
No digital signal until 2011

£9.00 per night

BRIGHOLME FARM - SETTLE [148]

Saturday 10th October – Wednesday 14th October 2009

There are no problems approaching this site from any direction and the pitching area is half way down the farm road. All pitches are on gravel but are only wide enough for your unit so cars need to be parked on the grass. There are good views over the surrounding countryside and the town centre is within walking distance. The site was very busy even in October but did empty after the weekend. The location is ideal for anyone who doesn’t want to use their car or motorhome

Settle has every service that may be required, including a small supermarket, and buses to surrounding areas run from the town centre. The Leeds to Carlisle rail service passes through the town and runs to the north along the scenic Settle to Carlisle rail line. Trains to nearby Skipton can be caught from here.

Recycling was a bit of a mystery because none of the bins were marked. What can be recycled varies from region to region, and although the site owner may be aware of what the local authority will accept it is not always obvious to visitors from outside the area.

Analogue signal available
Digital signal available

£9.00 per night

GIFFORDS - CLAPHAM [147]

Tuesday 6th October – Saturday 10th October 2009

I didn’t have any problems approaching this site from the A65. The only thing I would mention is that if the site is busy it may be necessary for caravans to check first that there is sufficient room to manoeuvre onto your pitch. All the pitches are hard and some slope gently. They all have good views over the River Wenning valley towards Clapham Junction rail station. The site is well cared for and also has three static vans that provide self catering accommodation for visitors. All the services are on site with information leaflets available in the barn whilst the WC and toilet emptying point are behind the owner’s home.

Clapham station is a short walk away with trains running between Leeds and Morecambe. Outside the station is a very new expensive looking bus shelter but I could not find any evidence of a useful bus service. The Flying Horseshoe Hotel, opposite the station has been derelict for most of this century but workmen were erecting scaffolding, so that may change in the future.

Clapham village about 1 ½ miles away on the opposite side of the A65 has a village store and a pub. For anything else you need to travel to Settle about 7 miles away.

Analogue signal available
No digital signal until November 2009

£9.00 per night

WILSON WOOD FARM - INGLETON [146]

Friday 2nd October – Tuesday 6th October 2009

Care is needed on the final approach to this CL as the road is narrow if a large vehicle approaches from the opposite direction.

This is one of those sites that you know, as soon as you enter, that the owners take pride in its appearance. Mostly on level grass with a couple of hardstandings the pitching area is well maintained and all the services are grouped together near the entrance. Traffic on the road between Ingleton and High Bentham can be a little intrusive during the day but usually quietens during the night. Robert, the owner met me on arrival and explained everything including most of the local attractions. Guidance on anything he left out will probably be found in the onsite information hut.

The nearest bus service runs along the A65 about ¾ miles away. Ingleton has a convenience store and a few pubs and is very popular with tourists. Anyone requiring a supermarket would need to travel to Kirkby Lonsdale.

Unfortunately I didn’t get much opportunity to look around the local area as my next grandchild decided to put in a premature appearance, so I nipped home to find out more. As she is in a high dependency unit no one apart from Abigail’s parents could see her because of fears from Swine Flue infection so we are all making do with photos taken on mobile phones. I hope she likes caravanning, can’t wait to find out.

Analogue signal available
Limited digital signal

£7.50 per night

WHIN YEATS - KIRKBY LONSDALE [145]

Monday 28th September – Friday 2nd October 2009

Don’t try to approach this site any other way than the route shown in the directory. All the routes apart from the one from the A6070 are very narrow and would be extremely difficult for towing outfits.

The farm seems to be hanging on to the side of a very large hill and has great views. Most of the pitches are level and are all in a terraced field above the farm buildings. The owners are assisted in running the CL by Ron and his wife who live in their caravan near the farm building and are loosely termed as the site wardens. Apparently they were touring the UK similar to myself, but arrived here and didn’t leave, if you could see the views you would know why.

On arrival you are given an information leaflet that explains all the local facilities. The nearest public transport is on the A6070 in Clawthorpe about 1 ½ miles away. There are some facilities in Burton-in-Kendal which are explained in the leaflet but for anything else you need to travel to Kirkby Lonsdale. This is not far away down the narrow country lanes that are passable with care when solo.

This is one of those sites that everyone must visit at least once during their lifetime. The views are amongst the best from any CL I have visited during my travels, and you can see for miles when you are not in the clouds.

My stay covered one of those periods that will probably become regular for most of us during the next few years – I had to re-tune my digital TV system so we could benefit from all the improvements that are taking place to the service. Not a great problem for someone who does this every four days. So at the appointed hour I re-tuned and would you believe it. I was receiving fewer channels than before the switchover. ITV 3 & 4 had disappeared, Is that progress?

No analogue signal
Limited digital signal

£7.50 per night [awnings extra]