Thirsk Racecourse Club Campsite

Thirsk is a lovely setting, as oft mentioned in reviews, an excellent location for access to the small town and all its joys. Visiting over many years. found it a friendly and enjoyable place to visit. These are my comments, that it is time that the club took notice of the feelings of aggrievement and dissatisfaction that have been a topic of discussion by many other members too. The excuse stated is that the site is not owned by the club, but rented from the racecourse, which does not excuse the absolute lack of any investment in the site. A landlord accepts fees from the leaseholder, the club accepts fees from the members and both have an obligation to provide a minimum service which frankly is no longer being provided. I suggest the following points and would ask other members to join in my requests. Grab rails in the shower cubicles , these should be mandatory for safety due to the high step into the actual shower area. The showers are functional and kept clean but are dangerous for less than able bodied as the step is approximately 8”, not safe in a wet slippy environment. Grass cutting or lack thereof. The grass is cut by the racecourse on race days and not in between those dates, resulting in an unacceptable length of grass on what is a solely grass site, access can be awkward, especially when it rains, as it does. A growing number of unfilled grass pot holes, rendering the site very uneven and full of potential trip hazards. The race course could be contacted to cut round the roadways possibly once a week outwith the race dates cut, this has been an arrangement made by prior wardens. The wardens, although part time, could be provided with a small mower, for even a minimum 1 hour a week tidying up roadways and even pitches. With a small investment some plastic grid style matting could be laid, the cost shared between the racecourse and the caravan site as both would benefit from a firmer surface. An unusual caravan site in that there is a perception of a lack of security, mainly due to the lack of a barrier. I suggest a visual gate system, fold back aside during the day, pulled across at night, not actually locked, 8pm to 8am, start and end of wardens hours maybe, 2 sets of concertinaed, folded back gates across the entrance, not interfering with the race day parking and normal access. Greater minds could improve this idea! There are 3 taps, but only 1 drainage point at the top of the site. There is a drain manhole next to pitch 10 that could made into a second grey waste point. The other suggestion would be for a change round in the service building, swapping the indoor Wardens Office, with the dish wash area, bringing daylight and a sense of belonging to the wardens. This would give them a more visible role on the site.

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We stayed at the Racecourse site for three night in mid-May '24. We arrived on the day before a race meeting, so we knew that we'd have to move to the 'Rally Field' until after the meeting, the following day. We were met by the wardens, Gary and Lisa, at the normal site reception and they explained how to get to the rally field and when we'd get back. The rally field is on the North side of the racecourse and is very peaceful. It is also used as a rugby pitch and also the horse-boxes park there at a race meeting. It's a little walk to the site facilities, maybe 5 minutes, but you can still use them if you don't want to use your own. We were able to move to the main pitch around 7-8pm on the race day, when 'most' of the parked cars had gone. The facilities are a bit dated, but the site wardens kept them really clean and they worked fine. OK, they need modernised, but they're obviously owned by the racecourse, so that would be up to them. They were perfectly adequate and there was plenty really hot water for showers and dishwashing etc. We'd stay here again as Thirsk is a lovely little place....though quite 'lively' on a race day. We didn't have any problems though and there are great local restaurants. Bianco Restorante is fantastic and brilliant value for money and the Racha Thai Bistro is also very nice. Thirsk market square is 5 minutes walk and there are lovely walks around the area. Could be better? maybe, but it was perfectly fine and we had a great stay. We'll definitely be back at some point.

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Just come from Thirsk racecourse , right in the middle off Thirsk 5 minutes walk to the town with plenty off shops and bars the couple who run the site are very nice can’t do enough for you . You do have to move to the rear field when the racing is on but that’s not a problem , the site has everything you need showers and toilets are spotlessly clean , will definitely be back

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Very disappointed in this site. Our first and last stay here I'm afraid. Certainly not up to the usual Club standards. Issues are: 1. Very noisy site. Busy road running behind the non awning pitches not shown on any of the club photos. Noisy late night yobo traffic using that road as a race track. Noisy football practice next to the site on the racecourse until 8.00pm on Tuesday night. 2. Very long grass on the site. 3. No designated dog walking area. 4. Very tight non awning pitches leaving little room between outfits. 5. What looked like a gypsy caravan came onto the site and stayed. 6. Little or no security in or out of the site. No security gate which allowed anyone in to the site from the town. Very nervous about leaving the caravan unattended. 7. Very basic service point, not hygienic. Never ventured into the club toilet facilities so can't comment other than to say I was informed by the pleasant warden on arrival that they were of a poor standard. Although some reviews are quite glowing about the site, it just shows we all have different standards. We left the site with one day still left on our booking and came home. Not I'm afraid a site booking to be repeated from our point of view.

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Nice site, really nice wardens. Very close to town. Must disagree with some negative comments on the facilities, found them to be spotlessly clean and not as outdated as some seem to suggest (and for £51 for a Fridayand Saturday night stay, it's cheaper than a lot of CAMC sites).

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