Choosing a Campsite with Proper Countryside Views

Why the pitch matters more than the postcode

Two campsites in the same dale can offer wildly different mornings. One has you waking to a curlew calling over wet pasture and the low sun striking the far side of the valley; the other has you staring at the back of a storage barn with a generator humming somewhere behind it. The postcode tells you almost nothing. What matters is where your unit actually sits, which way it faces, and what stands between you and the view you came for.

In the Yorkshire Dales and the wider uplands — the Howgills, the North York Moors, the Cheviots, the Peak — the best pitches tend to be on the edges. Edge of a field, edge of a wood, edge of a moor. Learn to ask the right questions before you book and you will spend far less time shuffling a van around a gravel apron on arrival.

Reading the landscape before you read the reviews

Start with the map, not the listing. A quick look at contour lines tells you whether the site sits on a shelf, in a hollow, or on a slope where you will spend the night sliding gently downhill in your sleeping bag. Satellite imagery shows you the hedgerows, the tree belts, and whether that promised "moorland outlook" is actually a view over a busy B-road.

Useful things to check:

• Orientation. East-facing pitches get the morning sun; west-facing ones get the sunset and often the wind. A south-facing slope in the Dales is a different climate from a north-facing one.
• What is between you and the view. A single mature hedgerow gives shelter, birdsong and privacy. A dense conifer belt gives shade, damp and midges.
• Distance to the nearest road. Half a mile of fell lane is worth more than any amount of "tranquil" wording.
• Public footpaths. Handy for a morning walk; less handy if a popular route runs directly past your awning.

Facilities: what actually matters when the view is the point

If you are chasing scenery rather than a swimming pool, the facility list narrows to a handful of essentials. Check these before you commit, because a site with a spectacular pitch and no working chemical disposal point is a spectacular pitch you will only visit once.

• Waste and water. A chemical disposal point, a grey-water drain and a fresh water tap you can reach without a ten-minute walk with a full container.
• Showers and loos. Token-operated showers are common on upland farms. Take coins, and take a torch for the walk across the yard.
• Electric hook-up. Confirm the amperage. Sixteen amp is generous; six amp will not run a kettle and a heater together, and on a cold Dales morning you will want to know which you have.
• Hardstanding versus grass. Grass is lovelier in July and a quagmire in November. Many upland sites close or restrict touring pitches over winter for exactly this reason.
• Groundsheets and fires. Some sites ban solid groundsheets to protect the grass, and most insist on raised fire pits or ban open fires altogether.

Access and the last mile

The final approach is where most trips go wrong. Upland lanes are narrow, walled, and often single-track with passing places. Caravans and long motorhomes should ring ahead and ask specifically about the last mile: width, gradients, tight bends, and whether the site entrance has a clear sight line.

Do not trust a satnav blindly in the Dales. It will happily send you down a gated track suitable only for a quad bike. Ask for written directions and follow them. Watch for cattle grids, fords after heavy rain, and weight limits on old packhorse bridges. If the site sits above a steep hairpin, arriving in daylight is not a luxury — it is sensible.

Quiet hours and the unwritten rules of a shared field

A campsite with a view is usually a campsite with neighbours, and everyone has come for the same peace. Quiet hours typically run from around 10pm to 8am, though some rural sites ask for silence from 9pm. Generators, radios, and late-night revellers are the fastest way to sour a field.

Other things worth knowing before you arrive:

• Dogs. Most upland sites welcome them but require leads near livestock and a strict clean-up rule. Sheep worrying is a serious matter and farmers will not hesitate to ask you to leave.
• Livestock. If the site adjoins grazing land, expect sheep in the lane and close gates behind you without exception.
• Ground-nesting birds. On moorland edges, spring and early summer bring curlew, lapwing and skylark. Keep to paths and keep dogs close.
• Dark skies. Many of these areas are protected for their night skies. Shield your torch and keep awning lights off after dark.

Choosing your pitch on arrival

Once you are through the gate, walk the field before you commit. A hedgerow pitch gives shelter from prevailing south-westerlies, plus blackbirds and the smell of hawthorn — but check for nettles and ticks in tall grass. A streamside pitch offers that constant, calming water sound, though it can be damper and midgier, and you should never pitch on a flood plain after prolonged rain. A moorland edge pitch delivers the widest skies and the best stars, at the cost of exposure; angle your unit so the door faces away from the wind.

Finally, ring the site and ask three questions: which pitches have the best outlook, what time can I arrive, and what is the ground like after rain? A two-minute phone call is the difference between a pitch you tolerate and one you remember for years.