We think you'll be spoilt for choice on your caravan holidays
Things To Do
Eat fish and chips on the harbourside on your caravan holidays in Whitby. Whitby’s fish and chips are considered some of the best in the UK. Famous restaurants include Trenchers, the Magpie, Hadleys or the Quayside fish and chip shop, which won the top prize at the 2014 National Fish and Chip Awards.
Spend a day at the races. North Yorkshire boasts more top racecourses than any other UK region, offering the very best in British horseracing. Choose from Catterick, Redcar, Ripon, Thirsk, Wetherby, York and Beverley (strictly speaking in the East Riding of Yorkshire). Or you could try Doncaster or Pontefract ever so slightly further afield, though still in ‘Yorkshire’. The Go Racing in Yorkshire Summer Festival throughout July celebrates racing at all venues.
York is famous for its chocolate, with Rowntree’s and Terry’s both worldwide brands originating from the city. York’s Chocolate Story reveals all, or you could go on the self-guided Chocolate Trail (you can download it here or pick it up from the tourist information centre in Museum Street) to visit places around the city linked to its chocolate history.
Climb one (or all) of the Three Peaks in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – Ingleborough, Pen-y-Ghent and Whernside. If that sounds just too strenuous, opt for a leisurely stroll along one of the sparkling rivers in the Dales such as the Swale, the Wharfe or the Ure.
Have a steamy adventure on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. With wood-panelled carriages on lovingly preserved steam trains and some of the most picturesque countryside, this is a train ride never to forget. The Railway organises many special events, but for something extra special, treat friends and family to a Pullman Diner Service.
Getting There
The M1 motorway is one of the quickest routes from the south, which runs as far as Leeds or the A1(M) from the north, which divides the Yorkshire Dales from the North York Moors. Travelling east-west, the M62 south of the county and the A66 cross-Pennines route between the M6 at Penrith and the A1 (Scotch Corner) are the quickest routes into the area, while the A59 links York and Harrogate with the southernmost parts of the Dales.
The A19 is one of the easiest routes to the North York Moors, although caravans are not allowed on the A170 at Sutton Bank – coming from the south, caravans should approach the Moors via the A64 around Malton and the A169 through Pickering. Consideration should be taken of weather conditions for cross-Pennine routes during winter and when blustery.
The A171 from Scarborough to Middlesbrough offers one of the best coastal routes when heading for your caravan holidays in North Yorkshire, skirting the edge of the North York Moors; again, given its location on high ground, weather conditions can change unpredictably fast in winter.
You’ll find rural country lanes to be considerably quieter than in other parts of the country, particularly in the more remote areas of countryside. Only a few minor country roads are best avoided while towing a caravan – routes within the centre of the North York Moors National Park and, in the Yorkshire Dales, avoid the route from Thwaite, Swaledale to High Tan Inn, and the road from Kettlewell to Leyburn. Care should also be taken approaching campsites at Malham, owing to tourist traffic during the day – consider phoning ahead to your destination campsite to check for specific arrival and departure times to avoid meeting oncoming traffic along very narrow lanes.
