Camping in Bishop Thornton

Bishop Thornton sits on the fringe of the Nidderdale National Landscape, a quiet part of North Yorkshire farmland and moorland edge that offers a more low-key camping base than the busier honeypots further into the dale. As in the rest of England, wild camping is not permitted here without the landowner's express permission, so anyone hoping to pitch a tent should stick to established campsites and caravan parks rather than assuming open access to fields or moorland. The good news is that the surrounding area, from Nidderdale itself to the fringes of the Yorkshire Dales, has a healthy scattering of licensed sites, many run by farms diversifying into tourism, offering everything from simple grass pitches to fully serviced touring pitches for caravans and motorhomes.

The village's own Chequers Inn has a small caravan and camping area attached to the pub, useful for those wanting a straightforward, sociable base with food and drink on the doorstep. Further afield around Nidderdale and towards Ripon and Harrogate, campsites range from simple farm fields to larger touring parks with electric hook-ups, shower blocks and play areas, well suited to families exploring Fountains Abbey, Brimham Rocks and the wider dale. Glamping has also taken hold in this part of Yorkshire, with pods, shepherd's huts and safari tents increasingly available on farms around Nidderdale, offering a more comfortable alternative for those who like the outdoors but not the ground.

The terrain here is a mix of gentle farmland close to the village and rising moorland further into Nidderdale, so conditions can turn quickly, especially at altitude, and it is worth packing for wind and rain even in summer. Late spring to early autumn is the most reliable window for camping, when the ground is drier and the days longer, though the moors and dale can still be strikingly beautiful, if considerably colder and wetter, outside those months.