Our trip to Hadrian's Wall and back

[UFO]

Just back from a 29 night trip in the van. From home (Surrey) up to Liverpool, across to Helmsley, up to Newcastle and Hadrian's Wall, down through the Northumberland and Yorkshire moors to Harrogate and York.

Two campsites
Elland Hall Farm Caravan Park - very good value at £15pn without EHU.
Westgate Caravan & Camping Site - £25pn with EHU
One 'aire'
Hardwick Park- water and elsan point, no overnight, parking £2.50 / 2 hours, £3.50 / all day
One pub
The Ship Inn, Baltry - £10 water & elsan point without EHU

Two nights parked on a friends drive which leaves 24 nights off-grid. No issues finding somewhere to stay or with the places we parked overnight, some were excellent, most were good with only a couple that were not ideal but ok, the majority we were on our own.

We were in Liverpool for 2 days - museums and app with auidio guided tour of 16 historical sites https://www.liverpool-one.com/whats-on/the-heritage-trail/. York for one day, excellent guided tour www.avgyork.co.uk and finding the Ghosts in the Gardens www.theyorkbid.com/ghosts-in-the-gardens. We did a lot of National Trust properties - the standouts being Quarry Bank and The Workhouse & Infirmary. Also RHS gardens Bridgewater and Harlow Carr. We visited Allenheads - facinating lead mining heritage.

Overall a successful and enjoyable trip, despite a lot of rain for the first half.

Here's where we stayed

England 2025 – Google My Maps

England 2025

www.google.com

Some photos here

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

www.instagram.com

 

[UFO]

These York Park & Ride sites have designated areas for motorhomes and larger vehicles:
Askham Bar
Designer Outlet
Grimston Bar
Rawcliffe Bar
Parking is foc. Bus is £1.40 return concessionary fare.

 

[Thistle]

We did almost exactly the same, all of September in North Yorkshire, County Durham and Northumberland.

We didn’t need or use a campsite once, only had one iffy parkup that was a bit too noisy for my liking and unexpectedly spent the last weekend in the national trust car park at the Souter lighthouse after my alternator croaked.

Several stops had amazing views.
No problems finding water.
Dogs only got really wet once which really made a big difference soggy doggies can severely impact on morale!

Did our usual tot up of what we would have spent entering National Trust and English Heritage attractions, probably over £300.

And that’s not including visiting Cragside on three separate days which at £50 a day would not have been viable without membership!

Day one chucking it down so drove out after visiting the formal garden, day two turned out to be a heritage day, free entry and the place was rammed with hour long queues to get in the house, drove out after a wander around the woodland with the dogs, by the time we left the carparks were full and the usual idiots had begun parking inconsiderably and obstructing the roads to the point police were in attendance!

Eventually a few days later we returned and had a proper visit, didn’t see any red squirrels like we did on a previous visit 10 years ago.

We did see lots of Deer and fleeting glimpses of Kingfishers though.

 

[UFO]

You write 'we didn't need or use a campsite once'. We can last 6 nights before we need to empty the cassette, as you say water is easily found. Not wanting to turn this into a 'toilet' thread - where do you empty your cassette, unless you have a composting toilet? When we started 16 years ago I sought out suitable public toilets but don't bother now, just look for good value campsites - the pub and Hardwick Park were useful finds.