Camping in Carlton

Coverdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales' quieter corners, and Carlton, as its largest village, makes a good base for a camping trip that trades crowds for genuine peace and quiet. As with the rest of England, wild camping is illegal without the landowner's permission, so plan on a proper site or a landowner-approved pitch rather than pitching up on open fell or riverside land, however tempting the scenery. A small number of campsites and farm-based pitches are dotted around Coverdale and the wider Wensleydale area nearby, ranging from simple grassy fields with basic facilities to more developed sites with electric hook-ups, showers and dog-friendly pitches, so it is worth checking exactly what is on offer before you book. Glamping has also taken hold in this part of the Dales, with shepherd's huts, safari tents and converted farm buildings offering a warmer, more comfortable alternative to canvas, often with the same uninterrupted views over the dale and its dry-stone-walled fields.

Late spring to early autumn is by far the best window for camping here: the weather is at its most settled, the meadows are at their greenest and most colourful, and the long evenings suit a walk up the valley or a pint at the Forester's Arms after making camp. Coverdale sits high enough, and is remote enough, that nights can turn cool even in summer, so it pays to pack for a proper hill climate rather than a lowland one. Midsummer is also the best time for exploring further afield, with easy access over the tops to Wensleydale's waterfalls and market towns, or up onto the open moorland at the head of the dale around Great Haw. Outside the summer months the dale can be beautifully bleak, but the minor roads climbing out of it are exposed and can close in poor weather, so winter camping here is really only for the well-prepared. Whatever the season, Coverdale rewards those willing to leave the busier honeypots of the Dales behind for somewhere properly rural.