Winter Travel Blog | North Yorkshire
Motorhome Travel Blog - North Yorkshire
The benefit of a winter motorhome holiday is you can decide your route at the last minute depending on the weather.
Our initial plan was to explore the Moray Firth starting at Nairn. So we had a loose plan and checked the weather only to discover the Moray Firth was going to be the worst hit area by Storm Arwen. School boy error on our part as we should have checked the weather first!
After keeping a close eye on the MET office “windcast” we decided that North Yorkshire would be our best bet. Only a 3 hour drive from Peebles with plenty of beautiful countryside walks and some lovely towns to explore.
Day 1
We couldn’t leave Peebles until 3pm so decided our first stop would be a pub stopover around 3 hours away. It meant we could have dinner and stay the night in their carpark for free. This is where www.searchforsites.com is an absolute winner and comes into its own for overnight stays.
After jumping between the reviews on Search for Sites and Google we found a pub stopover which met all our requirements. The stopover was called The Black Horse Inn at Kirkby Fleetham https://www.blackhorseinnkirkbyfleetham.com not far from Scotch Corner. A word of caution when using Search for Sites, once you have found a place you like the look of always check out their Google reviews as they can sometimes differ.
The Black Horse Inn did not disappoint. As a self confessed foodie and former chef, good food is possibly at the top my list. The pub was nice and busy, had a great atmosphere and the staff and food was amazing.
For me, the dessert was the icing on the cake, (forgive the pun)…homemade Morello Cherry Arctic Roll, yummy!
This place is great for both motorhomes with onboard facilities and campervans. They even leave the side door open overnight so you can use their washrooms, result.
They also serve breakfast from 08:30 in the morning too which is a bonus.
Day 2
After a superb dinner and hearty breakfast we hit the road for wander round the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
The sculpture park is located an hour from Kirkby Fleetham on the grounds of an old Stately home. Suggest you take comfortable shoes as we walked for around 2 hours and only scratched the surface. The park has so many exhibits inside and outside so it strikes the perfect balance and ideal for all ages.
If you suffer from mobility issues’s you can even book a buggy to explore the park.
Our next overnight stop is just 30 mins up the A1M to the very picturesque market town of Knaresborough. We booked a Caravan and Motorhome Club site for 2 nights to ensure we had black waste facilities. Cue Storm Arwen!
Thankfully we arrived and got the van set up before the storm properly kicked in. Cooking dinner that night was interesting. I was determined to use our all singing & dancing Camping Gaz BBQ to cook our ribeye steaks come rain or shine (or snow)! Nothing like cooking on a BBQ in the pitch dark, while its blowing a gale and a wind chill factor of -2 degrees…BRRRR!!
I glad to say I succeeded and dinner was served. Griddled ribeye steak, baked potatoes and salad. Petty tasty if I might say so myself.
It was now time to batten down the hatches and watch a film.
Day 3
After a very windy night we were happy just to be upright in the morning and although it was a little snowy we were ready for the next leg of our Motorhome adventure.
Harrogate
Let just say it wasn’t walk in the country weather so we got the bus to Harrogate. We had a brief wander round but it was so cold and windy we decided to go for a long leisurely lunch. Fortunately we got chatting to lovely local couple on the bus who highly recommended a Turkish restaurant called Konak Meze https://www.konakmeze.co.uk/ which served delicious authentic Turkish Meze and main courses. Definitely recommend this place when visiting Harrogate.
Knaresborough
After lunch it was still bitterly cold outside so we decide to get the bus back to Knaresborough. We intended to have have a quick scoot around as it looked so lovely with lots of independent shops but oddly most of them were closed. A bit odd for a Saturday afternoon but maybe it was due to the weather so we decide it was time to go home to our cosy campervan. Once we made it to the bus stop in Knaresborough there wasn’t another bus for 2 hours so we decided we would walk the 45 minute walk rather than waiting in the cold!
Walking into the wind wasn’t much fun but the blessing was how lovely and cosy our van would be when we get back, thanks to the brilliant Truma app which enables us to turn the heating on remotely. Finally the wind eases and we have a chilled out evening playing Boggle, Dobble and cards. Perfect!
Day 4
After a peaceful night’s sleep we were ready for our next stop – the wonderful city of York.
We found another little gem on Search for Sites literally 5 minutes drive from the city centre of York. The site could take up to 5 campervans at any one time.
We had heard great things about the York Christmas market which I’m glad to say did not disappoint. Apart from being rather busy it’s one of the best Christmas markets I’ve been to. The stalls had lots of local sellers which was so nice to see and fairly reasonably priced gifts too. This meant we may have to sell a motorhome to pay for all the gifts!
For dinner we managed to bag a table at our favourite Italian restaurant in York. Il Paradiso Del Cibo https://www.paradisodelcibo.uk/. serves absolutely amazing food. It’s authentic, tiny and very busy so best to book in advance!
After dinner it was straight to bed in readiness for our journey home the following morning. The journey home could have been easier as the A66 was closed due to heavy snow drifts due to Storm Arwen. So it was up to Newcastle and through Northumberland. In fairness, even though it took a fair bit longer it was a lovely scenic route.
All in all we had a fantastic trip which ended up revolving around eating and drinking. Well lets face it there’s not much else to do when the weather is misbehaving.
Other attractions not to be missed when visiting York:
Open top bus – great way to see the main attractions and to decide where to visit in more detail.
City Walls – great way to see the City and it only takes a few hours to complete!
York Minster – one of the largest Cathedral’s in Northern Europe and what a place it is, don’t miss out!
The Jorvik Centre – Viking museum exploring the medieval origins of York, not to be missed.
The Shambles – An amazing array of quaint Tudor architecture – a sheer delight for the senses.
Walmgate – full of fantastic restaurants like Il Paradiso Del Cibo – best Italian in York!
“Know Before You Go!”
Opening hours: There are lots of suggestions for places to visit on the following pages and, while we absolutely want you to make the most of your trip. It is important to note that many visitor attractions and places of interest now require you to book in advance or may have restricted opening hours due to Covid-19. In addition many places of interest in Scotland have seasonal opening hours and close in the winter months. Please be sure to follow the links to the places of interest mentioned in the suggested routes to check in advance of your visit and avoid disappointment on the day!