Camping in Allerthorpe

Camping around Allerthorpe centres on Allerthorpe Lakeland Park, which runs its own campsite alongside its watersports lakes, letting you pitch up within walking distance of paddleboarding, kayaking and the Aqua Park. It's a good option for families wanting an activity-led break rather than a purely rural one, with a lakeside cafe and play areas on site. As with anywhere in England, wild camping on Allerthorpe Common or other open land nearby is not permitted without the landowner's explicit permission, so stick to licensed sites rather than pitching on the reserve or surrounding farmland.

The terrain here is flat and low-lying, sitting where the Yorkshire Wolds' chalk hills meet the Vale of York, so this isn't the dramatic hill camping of the Wolds Way further east — it suits those after an easier, family-friendly base with water and heathland on the doorstep rather than serious walking country. Allerthorpe Common itself has no visitor facilities or formal paths, so it's best treated as a place to walk into for a few hours from a proper campsite rather than anywhere to camp overnight.

Late spring to early autumn is the best season to camp here, when the lake park's watersports season is running in full and the Common's birch and willow woodland, heather and wildlife, including its notable adder population, are at their most active. Midges and boggy ground can be an issue on the heath after wet weather, so waterproof footwear is worth packing even in summer. For those who'd rather not pitch a tent, Allerthorpe Golf & Country Park offers holiday lodges nearby as a glamping-style alternative, giving a similar rural setting with proper heating, beds and a restaurant on site, which suits shoulder-season trips in spring or autumn when a canvas tent might feel exposed on this open, flat ground.