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Boroughbridge Camping and Caravan Club site is located just off the A1 and near to Ripon, Harrogate and York.

Due to its location it is often used as a stop-over site for people travelling between the north and south and vice-versa. However, reading the reviews of the site fans of it encouraged campers to see it as more than a stop-over and to see it as a great base for a holiday. It is within easy reach of a number of popular tourist attractions suitable for families with children, including a number of National Trust sites which is great if you are member.

You can find 100 Family Friendly National Trust Properties here!

I was encouraged by all that was on offer in this lovely area of the country so decided to meet up with my parents, and their dogs, in their motorhome and have a short break of three nights with them. Me and my three children age 2, 4 and 6 would be staying in our trailer tent and I would be towing it for the first time. I was a little apprehensive but as my husband ended up having to work there was no other choice! I was relieved to find that access to the campsite, and around the campsite, is excellent so fortunately there no need to learn reverse the trailer tent for me!

We planned to spend one full day at Lightwater Valley Theme Park and the other full day at Fountains Abbey which is a National Trust site. Both of these are around 20 minutes drive from the campsite. Boroughbridge is also a reasonable drive from the popular Brimham Rocks and Newby Hall but we didn’t have time to visit these places this time.

On arriving we were warmly welcomed by the wardens and given a key to the Family Room, a bathroom specifically for families with young children. We were guided to our pitch and given the code to the barrier which controls entry to the campsite. Our pitch was a large, flat grass pitch and had electric hook-up. Looking around there were grass pitches without electric hook-up and plenty of hard standing pitches with electric hook up too. The campsite looked great – clean, tidy and neat.

The toilet block and showers were spotlessly clean and well lit at night, something we are used to seeing with Camping and Caravan Club sites. There are washing up facilities and a laundry room. I liked how there were washing lines outside to use. There are also facilities for chemical waste disposal and a games room. Around the site there are conveniently located water points, waste water disposal and bins.

In the Family Room there is a toilet, sink, shower and large basin that can be used as a bath for small children and we perfect for our nearly 3 year old. I think the family bathrooms are an excellent feature of Camping and Caravan Club sites. I would have really struggled to manage bathing/showering and toileting all three children together in the main facilities but using the family room meant it was simple and (relatively) stress free!

On the edge of the campsite is a little play area for children. It looked almost brand new, although I don’t think it was, it was just well maintained. The climbing frame, swings and slide construction was a hit with my kids and they were particularly delighted when I allowed them to go and play in it in their pyjamas to wind down before bedtime. The play area is a little set back from the camping field and with very few other children on site I knew they’d be fine and not annoy other campers.

My parents were pleased that the site is dog-friendly and there is a dog walk area where they can be exercised. It is a shame it is quite small though and we had been there longer we would have ventured further afield as previous reviews on the Camping and Caravan website suggest there are plenty of nice dog walks around the area, particularly along the River Ure.

The nearby town of Boroughbridge I believe is very nice but we didn’t need to go into town. We did visit the Morrisons supermarket which was a couple of miles away and easy to get to. There is a fish and chip van which visits the site in the early evening on a few nights during the week and we thought it was nice food but perhaps the portions were a little small for the price. There is also a nearby pub called the Crown Inn in Roecliffe village. Again we didn’t visit the pub but other reviews of the pub suggest it is lovely.

The only negative of the site is that there is a dairy over the road and so there is a low level humming noise that can be heard, particularly at night. However, it didn’t bother us and didn’t disturb the children going to sleep.

Overall, we had an excellent short break at Boroughbridge. It had everything we needed for a comfortable and relaxing stay with our little ones and with so much to see and do within easy travelling distance it was the perfect place for a short break. I’m sure we’ll go back in the near future to see more of this popular area of the country.

Ps. Thank you to the lovely lady in reception for not telling me off for driving home with the Family Room key and having to post it back! Sorry.

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