Head to the Yorkshire Dales for the best camping & foodie staycation ever
CAMPING is not really known for its gourmet grub – but here I was sitting at my pitch as a steak sizzled on the grill.
The quality of the scenery was on a par with the cut of beef, which I picked up from Keelham Farm Shop (1) en route to the Street Head Caravan Park in Bishopdale (2).
Along with my partner Anna and daughters Molly, 16, and Safia, 14, I was enjoying a foodie road trip through Yorkshire.
We were staying at four sites booked through the Camping and Caravanning Club.
With cheese direct from Wensleydale Creamery (3) and award-winning wines from the Little Wold Vineyard (4), our culinary cruise around the North East compared with the finest that France has to offer — and with the stunning views to match.
Our tour began at Beoley, Worcs, where we picked up our four-berth Swift motorhome from Rockin Vans.
There was a comfortable double bed in the back and two single beds that could be quickly assembled in the front, which also served as a seating area.
It also had a small kitchen with a hob, fridge and sink, as well as a shower. We hit the road, heading north for our first stopover at Boroughbridge Club Site (5), handily located just off the A1.
Sandwiched between the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks, it’s a great base for exploring some of the county’s best attractions.
The site is closed this year due to Covid-19 but is taking bookings for 2021.
Before heading off, make sure you learn how to use the on-board computer, which controls the heating at night and charges your devices.
We relied on our smartphones for navigation, which can be dicey when there is bad reception — so brush up on your old-school map-reading skills.
A bit of planning goes a long way. Still, we quickly learned there are no wrong turns in Yorkshire.
Around every bend was a stunning landscape of green valleys dotted with sheep, with waterfalls and dry stone walls.
The great thing about travelling by motorhome is that, once you’ve parked up at your pitch, you feel right at home. We paid £41 for the Camping and Caravanning Club membership before our trip.
The price is well worth it for the variety of sites and an exclusive discount of up to 30 per cent at club sites.
Just outside Skipton, Eshton Road Caravan Site (6) was perfectly placed to head to the manicured grounds of Harewood House (7), where the Great British Food Festival was in full swing.
Molly and Safia loved exploring the pretty gardens, while Anna and I tasted spiced curries, home-made chutneys and artisan breads from some of the 80 stalls. The festival also hosts kids’ cooking classes, foraging walks and chef demos.
To top it off, we enjoyed a huge brunch with gorgeous cakes at Drewton’s Farm Shop (8), where we also had a tour of the converted farm buildings, including restaurant, tearoom, butcher’s and delicatessen. At the Town End Farm Shop in Malham (9), we picked up a hamper of meat, cheeses and charcuterie.
And we were blown away by the large supermarket-style Keelham Farm Shop, where those tasty barbecue steaks came from. Housed in what used to be a large garage, it is a different world to your average Tesco, selling everything from fresh meat, dairy and local cheeses to pasta, beer, wine and handicrafts.
It employs 150 people, deals with 450 farmers and is surprisingly cheap for the great quality on offer.
If you have kids in tow, you will find some great child-friendly restaurants in Halifax. Try True North (10), which has a children’s menu that is a cut above your average — and still only £7 for two courses.
Expect everything from home-made flatbreads with chicken and sweetcorn to Lancashire macaroni cheese and broccoli. Cheese fiends will love Yorkshire, which is home to the Wensleydale Creamery.
Its Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese Experience, which costs £12.95 for a family of four, includes access to the cheese-making viewing gallery.
I had to tear myself away from the visitor centre and shop selling fantastic hampers and deli boxes. No tour of Yorkshire would be complete without a visit to a microbrewery, though. Just decide on who is driving.
The county has a rich history of brewing, with new brands springing up all the time.
Try indie brewer Brass Castle in Malton (11) for vegan and gluten-free craft beer, or Yorkshire Heart Vineyard and Brewery outside York (12) for a glass of award-winning wine.
Yorkshire has taken to gin with a vengeance, with many small distilleries. The Spirit of Masham Distillery (13) is known for its Gin Evening Experience, where guests create their own unique London Dry Gin to take home in a 70cl bottle.
And don’t miss Yorkshire Ales pub (14), a quirky independently run boozer in the town of Snaith. Wedged between Leeds and Hull, it attracts visitors from all over England and Europe.
From our final campsite, the Sheriff Hutton Club near York (15), we make the 35-mile journey to the family-run Little Wold Vineyard, which is one of the premier wine producers in the UK.
It was converted from a beef and dairy farm to grow grapes in 2012 — and by 2019 was producing 14,000 bottles. Sipping sparkling wine while overlooking the vines that grew it felt like a treat straight out of a wine tour in France.
Less than a ten-minute drive away is the town of Beverley, where The Pipe And Glass Inn (16) is a top spot for foodie families. Adults can enjoy Michelin dining while youngsters can tuck into ham and pea risotto and lemon posset.
To keep our chocaholic daughters happy, we also swung by White Rabbit Chocolatiers (17), which is a multi award-winning chocolatier in the town centre.
The nearby St Mary’s Church has a stone arch complete with a carving of a rabbit holding what looks like a messenger’s bag.
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It is widely believed that this carving was the inspiration for author Lewis Carroll’s white rabbit from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.
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The chocolatier sells everything from champagne truffles and bars of Yorkshire honeycomb to slabs of “cappuccino crunch” and rose and geranium treats.
And devouring a selection of the award-winning chocs was a sweet end to our foodie road trip of Yorkshire.
GO: YORKSHIRE
GETTING THERE: A mid-size motorhome is from £69 a night with pick-up from Glasgow, Edinburgh or Birmingham. See or call 0141 404 8384. Rockin Vans customers get up to 30 per cent off pitch fees at Camping and Caravanning Club sites in the UK, during the hire period. See .
STAYING THERE: Camping and Caravanning Club membership starts from £41 a year. Members get up to 30 per cent off Club site fees plus exclusive offers year-round. See . Club site pitches from £29.45pn in July and August (based on two adults). Non-members welcome. Non-Club sites also bookable.
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