With good weather forecast over the weekend, I decided to head to Leyburn with The Pup for a couple of days camping – the first of 2026.
So we headed off early and with only just over an hour to travel in the trusted campervan, we soon found ourselves in Leyburn, a pretty Yorkshire Dales town on the east side of the Pennines. I parked up and went to the local Co-Op for some provisions and then some cheese straws from Thomas the Baker – it’s almost a law in our family to purchase cheese straws! The Pup and I then drove about a mile from Leyburn to Craken House Caravan Site, a small, family run, adult only place which we stumbled across a few years ago. Since then we’ve made sporadic visits, but it’s great for a quick getaway.
https://www.crakenhousecaravansite.co.uk/
We rocked up and were met by Richard the guy who owns it. He’s very gregarious and friendly and greeted me like an old mate. He put us in a fabulous little sunny corner with a lovely view of Wensleydale. We happily nested, happy to be in the campervan again after weeks of wet miserable weather. After a cuppa and a quick rest, we headed off for a walk after I had changed into shorts! Yes it was that lovely! It was 21st March – so we’re making the most of this glorious weather (this could be our summer). So we waddled down through fields of sheep and lambs, following a route off the Ordnance Survey app on the phone. Just a quick circular one (see map below) – we came to the local water treatment works and followed a lane to open fields where lambs basked in the sunshine or gambolled with their friends. Crossing a little bridge across a beck which was muddy and slippery both ends. (The Pup watched indifferently as I negotiated this treacherous patch with a few minor yelps and a couple of “urghs” as my foot slithered into the goo). We then found a track leading to the little adjacent village of Harmby, peaceful and sleepy before peeling off across the fields again to our little campsite. It was beautiful – gambolling lambs, daffodils swaying in the sunshine and hawthorn budding in that glorious lime green of spring. In the distance, motorbikes could be heard as their owners opened up their throttles and sped along country lanes.
The Pup and I arrived back at base and listened to the cacophony of birdsong – I found my Merlin app which identifies birds by their singing – blackbirds, wrens, robins, chaffinches , pigeons, blue tits, chiff chaffs – it was beautiful. I made a quick lunch and while The Pup had 40 winks, I relaxed and soaked up the sun and wrote this blog. There are several long stay caravans in our field, but nobody was visiting – just another motorhome down the field with its occupants out cycling. This was ours!
With the sun starting to set and the temperatures dropping, we headed inside after a couple of wanders around the site. We had tea and then set up the bed as it darkened outside. Warm and cosy, I listened to a podcast and woke up some 2 hours later, having missed the majority of the podcast – doh! Had a cuppa and with The Pup snuggling up with me on the bed, we fell asleep.
apathtosomewhere 