A little gem on the North Yorkshire coast with stunning sea views!

9/05/2022

We recently had the Family Explorer Club stay with us over Easter and they have written a blog about their experience.

We booked Crow’s Nest Caravan Park for 4 nights over the recent Easter weekend and what attracted us to booking this place was the swimming pool.

On arrival, check in was quick and we had a pitch on the lower area of the campsite. We did have an option when we booked whether to choose the upper or lower campsite. Here is what appeared to be the difference – the upper campsite has stunning sea views and is close to the children’s park but is a short walk (approx. 5 minutes) to the bar, swimming pool and reception. The lower area of the park is right next to the bar, swimming pool and reception but is an approx. 5 minute’s walk to the park and to see the sea views. The play park and sea views are up a slight hill so for anyone with walking difficulties, please consider this.

We had a fully serviced gravel pitch on the lower area that was very well maintained and level. Our children were happy playing on the quiet road outside our caravan and we were close enough to the games room for us to let them go there and back by themselves.

On day one we went to Filey, just a short 5 minute drive away. Filey is a lovely seaside town, quieter than close-by Scarborough but still worth a visit. We parked at Filey Country park which is a lovely place to walk the dog and let the kids play on the park. There is also a little boating lake, trampolines and crazy golf (reasonably priced at £5 for the family to enjoy the boats and golf). There are toilets and a small café here too for convenience.

We walked downed to the sea front (it is very steep and has the option of steps or a slope). I would recommend you park on the seafront if you have walking difficulties or have a pram/pushchair.

On the seafront there are a few beach shops and eateries as well as an amusement arcade with lots of fun games to play. The beach is lovely and clean and allows dogs October – May. There is a brilliant rock pooling area over the far side (close to Filey Brigg) with caves to explore. We had lots of fun but be careful, the tide came in pretty quick! We had to chase after our shoes that started to float away whilst we were busy exploring!

After a lovely, relaxed night at our caravan, we headed to Scarborough on day two and decided to park at the South Bay. Scarborough has a North and South Bay with different attractions at each one. We headed straight to Scarborough harbour to do some crabbing as our kids love doing this (we caught two in one hour so I wouldn’t say this is the best place for crabbing, but we had fun). After that we had a walk round the beautiful seaside town which has an array of seafront shops, food places and a funfair. The beach is lovely and clean (dogs are allowed from 1st October – 1st May).

As we headed back to the campsite, we decided to try the swimming pool on-site. It is small but it is great for the kids as it has three slides and a shallow end. For adults who like to swim whilst the children play, this is not the pool for you as it is not big enough for lane swimming, but it gives you time to play with the kids and have some splash-tastic fun. The water is lovely and warm too – extra bonus!

Due to it being bank holiday weekend, there was entertainment on-site in a room next to the main bar. A band played a mix of music through the decades and kept everyone entertained whilst enjoying drinks from the bar!

Day three came and we went back to Scarborough but this time to the North Bay, where we visited Scarborough North Bay Railway which takes you over to the Sea Life Centre on the sea front. We found a little gem of a pub close by, with stunning sea views whilst you eat/drink. After that, we got the train back to the main station and walked across the road to Peasholm Park which is very pretty and has a dinosaur trail for the little ones! There is a central boating lake, and we hired a swan pedal boat which created lots of laughs, including all of us refusing to pedal in the middle of the lake (it is harder work than you think especially on a warm day!).

After working up a sweat on the pedal boats, we headed back to the campsite to enjoy fish and chips from the on-site chip shop (one of the best fish and chips we have ever had and would highly recommend!). We decided to stay in our caravan as this was our last night and we needed to pack up early so we enjoyed a few drinks and games of cards whilst the children played (by this point they had made some friends with other children staying on-site).

Overall, if you are looking for a campsite on the North Yorkshire coast, we would highly recommend Crow’s Nest Caravan Park. The toilet facilities were clean, the swimming pool and bar were great for the adults and kids alike and the sea views topped it off for us!

We look forward to returning soon!

Thank you from the Family Explorer Club