Crakehall Watermill Certificated Location, Bedale (and B&B too)

Somewhere really special was required for Aunty’s 80th birthday, and after lots of research, Crakehall Watermill seemed to fit the bill perfectly – a luxury B&B that did not overcharge for single rooms, an adult-only Caravan Club certificated location and the option of an evening meal, all set in a traditional village location, with an historic watermill on site to keep the male half of AP happy. The choice was absolutely spot on!

Alison and Lionel have owned Crakehall for 4 years, building the business into a thriving and incredibly popular B&B, CL and holiday cottages. The Watermill is not currently open to the public, but guests can have a VIP visit with Lionel if booked in advance.

Nothing is too much trouble, and it’s easy to see why Crakehall is so popular. They effortlessly arranged flowers in the room, recommended a restaurant, booked a table, ordered a taxi and best of all prepared a special celebration dinner using seasonal and local produce. The meal was absolutely delicious and excellent value at £15.00 per head.

There is so much to do from the base at Crakehall Village, near Bedale. On the first day we visited Beamish Museum, a 50 minute drive north up the A1. There's a huge car park, no height barriers, plenty of room for large motorhomes and dogs are permitted (but not in the buildings). This is an authentic working museum similar to Blist Hill at Ironbridge, where exhibits have been gathered from around the North East of England and re-built and staffed with people dressed in period costumes. It’s pricey at £16.00 per adult (concessions for Seniors) and a whole day is needed to do it full justice, not the half day we ended up with after a late breakfast and too much faffing around.

Getting round the site is easy for the less agile with historic trams running round the site at 20 minute-ish intervals. There are different themed areas, like The Old Town, The Manor House, the Farm, The Railway Station, the Waggonery, (where you can go a short ride on an authentic steam locomotive), The Pit Village (complete with pit houses, chapel, school and coal mine) with regular tours to the coal face - probably the most interesting part, but definitely not for the claustraphobic

A tour of Wendsleydale Valley occupied us the next day, starting with Hawes, a delightful village to explore, lunch at a tea room in Bainbridge village, a walk down to Aysgarth Falls and the huge watermill now housing a craft and gift shop and tea rooms, ending up in Leyburn (which we sadly found a disapppointing town).

The last day was spent at National Trust's Fountains Abbey near Rippon - a World Heritage Site. This is both the most-visited NT property and one of the most visited trourist attractions in the UK. A whole day is advised to do it justice, and there is a lot of walking, although there is a minibus for the less able and electric scooters can be hire. Amazingly, dogs are allowed throughout the grounds, and you can even walk through the restaurant with them to get to the outside tables! How refreshing not to feel like an outcast just 'cos you are accompanied by Fido.

It was very difficult for us all to leave CrakeHall at the end of our long weekend and in the scramble to get everyone packed up and off, Aunty left some local cheese in Alison's fridge. Two days later a parcel arrived, complete with ice pack, enclosing the cheese. Now THAT's what I call service!.

In pursuit of the Derbyshire panther

According to Glynn Harthorne at Standcliffe House CL, the Derbyshire Panther is definitely not a rural myth. This, and other stories about the local area will be related to visitors who stay on this delightful 5 van site in the shadow of Crich Stand, near Matlock, Derbyshire.

Always at the cutting edge of new technology, a few years ago, Glynn set up a webcam from the back bedroom of his house, focussed on Crich Stand, originally so he could keep an eye on arrivals at the CL from his computer at work. The Law of Unexpected Consequences came into play, and he found that people from all over the world were logging on to look at the Derbyshire weather, study cloud formations and homesick expats wanting to see a little corner of home. Apparantly, the viewing figures per week run into the thousands. Well I never! Take a look for yourself using the link at the end of this article

Crich Stand, situated immediately behind the site, is a memorial to the 11,000 men of the Sherwood Forristers Regiment killed in the First World War. It is 1,018 feet above sea level at its tip. To reach it is a gentle (uphill) stroll, and what better way to watch the sunset than from such a vantage point?

Standcliffe House CL is situated right at the top of the Derbyshire village of Crich (Peak Practice’s Cardale), next to the Crich Tramway Museum. On a clear day, the views from all pitches are far-reaching and panoramic. The area can be explored on foot direct from the site. Alternatively, buses go from just down to road to Matlock, Alfreton, Chesterfield and other Derbyshire towns. Within spitting distance is a village shop, newsagent, pubs and a fish and chip shop, which means you don’t need to take the car out at all if you don’t want to.

The site is slightly sloping and all 5 pitches have hook-up. Pitch One is a flat hardstand, ideal for motorhomes, whilst you can take your pick of grass pitches anywhere on the field, if your cable is long enough. There is a recently refurbished WC and hand wash basin and a small tourist information area and Glynn is planning to install a power shower over winter, which will make this site just perfect. This is a popular site, and current pitch availability is shown on AvailablePitch.com

This site is great for us, being just a 20 minute drive from home, yet far enough to be “on holiday” for the weekend. Now – do we believe the panther story or not………?

PS: Big cat experts believe there may be as many as 100 leopards and pumas roaming the British countryside.

http://www.crichweb.co.uk/Webcam.htm