The very popular Rowntree Park Caravan Club Site in York was our agenda for this trip. It is sited right in the centre of York, so you can literally walk from the site into the town centre along the river Ouse within a matter of minutes. So Sat Nav programmed and we were off! Well nearly, the suggested route to the site takes you around the ring road and up the A19, which is fine for a Southern approach, but seems a bit of a detour approaching from the North. I decided therefore to take the A59 directly into York from the A1. We have a new piece of equipment with us this time, namely the Waeco TropiCool TC21FL fridge. Perfect for keeping those food essentials cool whilst doing the towing. It’s main use will be when we tour France later this year, but it’s still very handy for the shorter UK journeys.
So with caravan in tow we headed South. The A59 approach worked out absolutely fine and before we knew it, we were on the final approach down Clementhorpe where we greeted by parked cars and an apposing skip. 
Needless to say it was a tight fit to get through, a very tight fit! After inching our way through we were finally greeted by Terry Avenue along the banks of the Ouse and swiftly turned into Rowntree Park. As we had made good time and left quite early, we arrived before noon, where the site’s strict policy of ‘no arrivals before noon’ was soon enforced. After a quick lap of the site we were faced with the prospect of hanging around somewhere to kill the extra hour. Now York is not blessed with an abundance of space, finding somewhere to turn around would be quite a challenge. A wrong turn could quickly have you travelling down some very narrow streets. So we decided that we would head back on the A59 for a while and find an appropriate space to let time pass where we could also turn around easily enough. This was duly found by way of a garden centre just on the outskirts of York itself.
Returning to the site (after noon) we were welcomed by the friendly owners and given the option of pitching on the main site (Parkside) or Riverside, which is a smaller separate section of the site accessed just before the main entrance. We chose to pitch in the more secluded Riverside section, namely pitch 101. Pitch size was adequate, not the biggest but good enough for our short visit. The toilet block is located back on the main site and is accessed via keys rather than keypad. Again perfectly fine, no complaints there. Water and waste management was located just by the entrance, so that was very convenient for us. With the caravan set, it was time to explore York!
York town centre is accessed by a short walk up the river banks. From here you have access to everything that York has to offer: York Minster; National Railway Museum; York Castle Museum; York Dungeon; Clifford’s Tower; Yorkshire Museum; Jorvik; Shambles, along with the many tours via bus and boat to be taken. 
Cafes and restaurants are plentiful, along with the many shops, our short weekend looked a little too short to take all of this in!
For the remainder of Saturday we perused the town centre, absorbing the busy, lively atmosphere that York has. Returning to the caravan, we decided a takeaway was in order. Some local shops can be accessed from the site by going to a gate at the North end of the main site. This gate gives you access to the local shops, which are just a street away. Fish & chips got the vote, although there were curry and pizza offerings as well.
On Sunday we managed to attend morning Eucharist at the Minster followed by a visit to the National Railway Museum (train fix #2!). 
A gentle stroll back through the town, picking up some supplies from the local supermarket and we were set for the evening, basking in the sunshine back at the caravan.
Monday morning and time to leave what has been a wonderful weekend. We packed up, handed the keys back and left the site. Upon leaving Riverside, there is a tree on your left which prohibits turning directly left if you have a large caravan. Therefore we headed back into the main site for a quick lap so that we could exit safely. The caravan was soon back in storage and we were heading home once again, back to work for some!
- Date: 25th June 2011
- Nights: 2
- Pitch #: 101
- GPS: 53.950591, -1.080142
