We had booked this site for a short break before our big summer holiday before we knew what the weather cast was going to be! Unfortunately the forecast is for heavy rain, thunder and lightning. We decided to go anyway as we wanted to try a weekend without electric hook up to see how we managed. The journey to the site was as predicted - very wet - but there were occasional breaks in the cloud revealing warmer sunnier weather.
The site is situated just outside of the village of Sheriff Hutton which is within walking distance. It is well laid out with spacious pitches, and has a clean and modern toilet block. We recognised the current site managers as they have been both at Haltwhistle and Berwick where we have stayed. We have brought things to do in anticipation of the rain. The van always seems nice and cosy when you hear the rain beating down on the roof but it can be a bit frustrating not to be able to get out for a walk. Still, it may pick up tomorrow and we might catch some sunshine in between the downpours!
We woke to heavy rain with thunder and lighting mixed in which was set for the morning and early afternoon. We can always entertain ourselves as we bring things to do to keep us busy. Kevin watches a lot of YouTube instruction videos and films, and I do a bit of the family tree or read. The weather is not a problem as the van is cosy, but you do need to move about to stop yourself seizing up! Obviously that is a problem because there isn’t a lot of room for movement.
The weather forecast app predicted a break in the rain in the middle of the afternoon so we took the opportunity to walk into the village of Sheriff Hutton. There is no footpath for a short while so you have to walk along the grass verge until it meets the footpath further up. This takes you directly to Sheriff Hutton village where there is a small pub (recommended by the site manager for meals), a coffee shop, post office and small shop. There is a cricket club and community centre which was holding a jumble sale when we went passed.
Sheriff Hutton has its own castle which is a ruin, and is situated on private land. The ruins are a bit precarious in parts but, whilst you cannot get really close to the site, you can walk around the outside via a public walkway. Part of this used to be a pleasure walkway around the castle where the ladies of the castle would take leisurely strolls. It was interesting to see the castle ruins but parts of it looked unstable.
We walked around the village and then headed back to the site as there were thick black clouds forming and we didn’t want to get caught in a thunderstorm. Overall, we have managed well without hook up so this was a good chance to see if all of Kevin’s planning and preparation had paid off which it had! I will have to spend time sorting out where everything is going to go for the summer as we still haven’t got that totally right and it feels a bit disorganised in that some things don’t yet have permanent places, or are not in the most convenient places but that is easy to sort out.