Wonderful Site
As regular attendees of the Whitby Gothic weekend (which we have attended for many years) we used to have a regular CL site, which we had used for about 10 years, but for various reasons is no more. We had tried a couple of other sites but were not really comfortable with them. After looking around we came a cross Monks Farm and decided to make booking, what a great decision. The approach roads are perfectly accessible with plenty of width (no chance of meeting another vehicle head-on, as we have experienced in the past). On first approach the sign indicting the site entrance is easy to miss (OK I missed it and had to reverse!) but once you know where it is it is not an issue. We were surprised to read the review about access being difficult for ‘large motorhomes’ over 7 metres as our single axle Bailey Pageant Burgundy is 7.1 metres in length and when coupled to the Renault Trafic van, has an overall outfit length of just over 12 metres. I had no problem turning into the driveway or into the field. The hard standings are proper hard standings with a very well compacted base and a thin gravel covering giving complete support and very reassuring for those of us without 4-wheel drive. The grass is also well manicured. The view of Whitby is superb (depending on the weather) and it is lovely to watch the sheep. I also enjoyed watching the farmers manoeuvring the tele handlers and other equipment. The water pressure is very good so filling containers is not a laborious job and the waste facilities are excellent. We didn’t get to the pub but the Beacon Farm café is out of this world. We went in for a late breakfast, ( well nearer to 12.00 actually). I had a Bacon and Brie toasted sandwich, with salad and chips… what a plateful and the ice cream is superb, I didn’t eat again until 9.00pm. Surprisingly though their milkshake failed to impress me.
If I was to make any criticism it is that the electric hook-up is on 10amp breakers rather than 16amps, which I found out very quickly when it tripped. However, I flicked the heater to 1kw from 2kw and had no further problems, so we actually found that we could easily manage on a lower power setting; they do say that every day is a school day. We’ll see how we cope later in the year when we return for the autumn gothic outing and whether we need to use any gas. As all caravanners know, the biggest problem with 6kg gas bottles now is finding someone that has any to sell! This site will now almost certainly be our ‘go to ‘ site for a short break, but will definitely get visited every spring and autumn for our pilgrimage to Whitby. Please remember that this is a working farm, it is not noisy but diesel farm vehicles are not silent, although movements were infrequent and sheep do not always respect your bedtime. However we absolutely loved it and can’t wait to be back.
