Camping in Allerston

Camping and caravanning is the more natural way to stay around Allerston, and the village is home to the well-regarded Vale of Pickering Caravan and Camping Park on Carr House Farm, a family-run five-star site that has grown steadily since opening in 1986. It offers spacious grass pitches, modern toilet and shower facilities, a woodland walk and a play area, set in open countryside within easy reach of Dalby Forest. As with the rest of England, wild camping on open moorland or farmland around Allerston is not legally permitted without the landowner's express permission, so it is worth sticking to established sites such as this one or asking locally before pitching anywhere off-site.

The terrain here suits campers well: Allerston sits at the point where the flat, sheltered Vale of Pickering meets the rising ground of the North York Moors, so pitches tend to be more sheltered than sites higher up on the open moor, while still giving quick access to Dalby Forest's trails and the wilder moorland beyond. Late spring to early autumn is the best season to camp, when the forest tracks are firm and dry and evenings are long enough for a walk after setting up; midsummer weekends and school holidays are the busiest, so early booking is worth doing at popular sites. Fewer sites stay open through the depths of winter, given the exposed nature of much of the surrounding moorland, though some remain open for hardier caravanners in shoulder seasons.

For those who like the outdoors but want fewer of the practicalities of a tent, glamping options in the wider area include shepherd's huts, static lodges and pods, often on farms similar to the ones dotted around Allerston, giving a halfway point between a hotel stay and traditional camping. Whichever style of stay you choose, Allerston's position close to Dalby Forest, Pickering and the coast makes it a practical, well-placed base for exploring this part of the North York Moors National Park.