This visit to Bolton Abbey Site was by chance - I was planning to get some work done on the van by the supplying dealer in the Cotswolds, and had booked a couple of nights on the Club's Broadway Site. Then the dealer called to say that they couldn't get the parts, the job was cancelled, and I would have lost booking deposits for Broadway. Under Club rules we can change the booking to a different site without loss of deposit, so I decided to spend a couple of nights at Bolton Abbey, a short and easy drive from my Yorkshire home. I am so very glad that I did.
This is an absolutely lovely site, clean, green and quiet, and with a wonderful wildlife population. There were rabbits and squirrels aplenty, and I was visited by ducks and a hedgehog. The toilet/shower block was extremely clean and in good order. (I just wonder why Club sites have no shower curtains - they really make using the showers very much easier on some private sites.)
There is only one toilet/shower block which closes from 10:30 to 12:00 for cleaning. It might be better if this was changed from 11:00 to 12:30 to allow last minute access before the departure time limit of 11:00, but this is not a major issue.
There have been some comments posted about the wardens being unhelpful and pedantic about rules. This was the opposite of my experience. The wardens were extremely friendly, helpful and sensibly flexible. The clean and well-tended site is a credit to them.
This is not a particularly family-friendly site. It is more suited to those seeking a quiet stay and looking to enjoy nature close up. The site is in a lovely location amid beautiful countryside. It's at an entrance to the Bolton Abbey Estate's Strid Woods, and a walk takes you down a fairly steep hillside through the woods to the Strid on the River Wharfe, where the wide river thunders through a narrow gap in a rock formation. A must see. Then there is an absolutely lovely riverside walk through the woods to the cafe at the Cavendish Pavilion, and onwards to the beautiful ruins of Bolton Abbey itself. There are also riverside walks to the North. All are easy, except for the initial steep paths from the Site down to the river. There's also a cafe just outside the Site entrance.
I was blessed with splendid weather, and enjoyed it so much that I booked an extra night.
From a purely personal point of view I'd like to see some service pitches on this site (and on all Club sites, come to that). This is just a personal preference, though.
Overall, a lovely stay on a splendid site.
