Camping in Faceby

The moors above Faceby look wild, and in places they genuinely are, but wild camping without the landowner's permission remains against the law in England, including here on the North York Moors. The open access land around Carlton Bank and Whorl Hill is for walking, not pitching a tent, so anyone wanting to sleep out under these skies needs a proper campsite or a farmer's explicit consent.

Fortunately the area around Stokesley and the western edge of the North York Moors has a reasonable spread of small, family-run campsites and caravan parks, many on working farms within a few miles of Faceby. These tend to be simple, quiet sites rather than large holiday parks, well suited to walkers heading up onto Carlton Bank or the Cleveland Way, and to families wanting a rural base without a long drive to the coast. Facilities vary considerably from one site to the next, so it is worth checking what is included, whether that is electric hook-up, showers, or a farm shop, before booking.

The terrain here is a mix of flat, sheltered farmland in the Vale of Mowbray and the much steeper, more exposed moorland escarpment rising to the east, so choose a pitch according to what kind of trip you want. Valley sites near Faceby and Swainby are more sheltered and easier for tents and awnings, while sites closer to the moor edge put you nearer the best walking but can be more exposed to wind and weather. Spring and early autumn tend to offer the most reliable camping conditions, with firmer ground and fewer midges than high summer, though the bluebells in Whorl Hill Wood make a late-spring visit particularly rewarding. For anyone wanting the views without the groundwork, several sites in the wider Stokesley area now offer glamping pods, shepherd's huts or safari tents, giving a taste of the moorland setting with rather more comfort than a tent pitched straight on the grass.