Castle Howard Lakeside Holiday Park Reviews

Stunning

Very beautiful location. Well maintained. Quiet and peaceful.

Site's response

We agree. Once seen you can understand why this location is classed as an 'Area of Outstanding Beauty'. There are lots of lovely places to explore. Glad you enjoyed your stay.

Camping

Excellent, very happy with my stay.

Site's response

This is good to hear. Thank you.

Beautiful location and lovely staff!

The campsite is just across the lake from the beautiful Castle Howard and only 25 minutes from York. We had a great stay, would definitely recommend!

Site's response

We're so pleased to hear that our staff and location helped to make your visit to Lakeside a memorable one.

Never stay here unless you want no sleep!

I would never stay here again! Booked for two nights and left after one! Large groups were playing music until 2am, shouting, banging car doors and no security or staff on site. I wish I hadn't paid to stay as there was no point in paying as it felt like anyone could just turn up and party all night as there no staff after 5pm. Felt very uneasy and not safe.

Site's response

We're sorry to hear that, on this occasion, you did not enjoy your stay at Lakeside. This was not the norm for our site as you can read in other reviews. We are also disappointed that your holiday was spoilt by an inconsiderate group of people. Your comments have been passed to management and our security will be reviewed.

Terrible!

Well where do I start? Nice location. However, extremely isolated, no shops or pub etc. Now the negatives. Castle Howard house is made out to be here, yet it is a 1.5 mile walk, along a road with no path. The "lakeside view" doesn't exist and finding the lake took some doing. You can only walk along the lake for approx. 10 mins before being stopped by a locked gate. No staff or reception after 17:00. No security or warden. No way of identifying if the tent next to you has even paid to be there. Noise curfew is not enforced - resulting in loud music/laughing/shouting etc all night until 02:30 in the morning. No control of group sizes, think 4 car loads of people to one large tent. People arriving in large groups, then also setting up marquees for a canteen etc. Flying drones. Poor facilities (basic hostel style showers etc). Camping field is near a main road, which also appears to be used as a local race track. Fishing is advertised, yet no explanation on site how or where. No management on a weekend, reception is staffed however, we were told about our complaints, "this is above my pay grade". Some pitches are used as walk through for the woods and could be disrupted. To summarise, a noisy, unmanaged, uncontrolled site. Shame as it could be lovely! I highly recommend you don't visit, I've been to many smaller privately owned sites which outclass this site in every way.

Site's response

Thank you for taking the time to review Lakeside. We're sorry to read that your stay was not to your liking or as we would expect. It is a shame that other guests did not adhere to our site conditions regarding noise and permitted equipment as generally we are a family-friendly and peaceful site where, during our busiest times of the year, we have regular security patrols throughout the night. Our location is described as rural on the Campsites information page; it also mentions that Castle Howard itself is a 20-30 minute walk away. I am pleased to report that since your visit, a footpath now runs along the road and we also have a newly refurbished reception area with a small shop selling some essentials and some luxuries. Our reception and shop is open daily, where our friendly staff will give you all the information needed regarding campsite rules, fishing, activities in the area and the closest pubs.

Beautiful campsite

This park is very beautiful and a lovely place to stay. I like you can pick where to pitch. The lady I spoke to was very helpful and nice. There is a point I would like to add, the fantastic showers and toilets were quite a long walk away from the camping area if you booked non electric. Otherwise, a very pleasurable campsite and would go back anytime.

Site's response

Thank you for your review. We are pleased that you would be happy to return.

Happy night

Lady checking in was very helpful, as it was our first stay here. Site very nice, walks for your dogs, relaxing surroundings and a peaceful night sleep, would recommend, definitely book again. Thank you.

Site's response

Glad you enjoyed your first visit; we hope to see you again. Thank you for your review.

Our stay

A good electric camping pitch with excellent heated toilets/washrooms (yes it was June but this is the UK!). The only negative point is lack of a camp shop and no nearby shops for essentials. Also, no children's play facilities.

Site's response

Thanks for your review, Gordon. We now have a small shop in our refurbished reception area. If you do return to Lakeside, why not consider going to the grounds of Castle Howard where we have an adventure playground called Skelf Island. We have a great offer of 2 for 1 access to the gardens for our campers, which includes access to Skelf Island.

Good stay

Lovely location with easy access to Castle Howard and lovely walks along the lake. We were in a lovely quiet spot in a campervan on hard standing. It was a bit noisier closer to the shower block but was quiet in the evening. Showers were good. Sinks are quite high - I'm tall and I found it hard to wash my face without standing on tip toe. Only one slight criticism was that there were no recycling bins, unless I missed them! Our welcome to the site was lovely. I do think £40 per night is a little pricey - I don't feel the experience was significantly better than sites that cost £30 per night, but maybe we were paying for the location and it was a bank holiday weekend. Would definitely recommend others to stay.

Site's response

Many thanks for your detailed review Janet. It is good to see how visitors view our site so we can give feedback to the relevant teams. Our bins are taken to a state-of-the-art recycling centre so only glass has to be kept separate. Prices are more expensive on Bank Holiday weekends but are still very competitive for such a beautiful and popular area.

Our stay

Beautifully located near a gigantic country house with lovely surroundings! Unfortunately we didn't have time to walk, but the hikers we encountered were walking on the narrow roads. Camping was adequate, no luxury. Cleaning left much to be desired. Well worth the money considering the area. Translated from Dutch.

Good location, lakeside camping area

Good location to drive around. Friendly staff. Seems to be child and family friendly.

Site's response

Thank you John. I hope you managed to find the lovely views in the Howardian Hills. Terrington, Hovingham, Slingsby and Bulmer Banks are all close by.

Great first time camping

We chose this site as it wasn't too far drive from home if things went wrong- it was our first ever family camping trip. Great welcome, friendly receptionist. First impressions were good- clean and well maintained. Shower blocks were as expected, only started to look a bit rough after 8am in the morning! I'd say more loo paper is definitely needed or better loo roll dispensing. We woke to crow noise at 4.45am, then the geese, so if you're a light sleeper maybe don't pitch near the trees! I wish someone had have mentioned the scarecrow cannons sounding every 20 minutes- they're loud! They do stop at night but we still found them annoying! All in all, we'd stay again.

Site's response

Once the summer is on its way, we all love to get out and about in the fresh air, campers and wildlife alike. Unfortunately though, as I'm sure you'll understand, a rural landscape can sometimes have its necessary drawbacks. Thankfully, the crow scarers are only needed for a limited period and it's good to hear that you would come again. Thank you for completing a review for us and happy camping!

Nice stay pleasant site

Lovely park on lake. Just 5 mins in motorhome to Castle Howard and easy to park there. Nice pitches and facilities block nice and clean and warm, showers lovely and hot. All in all, a lovely stay.

Site's response

Many thanks for your review Julie, it's nice to hear you enjoyed your stay. We hope you will come for a return visit in the future.

Very quiet stay

Very nice, quiet get away. Relaxing for older people.

Site's response

Thanks for your review. We're glad you enjoyed the peace of Lakeside.

First time

We stayed at the site for the first time. It is a quiet, peaceful site ideally located to explore Castle Howard and its grounds. We fished on two occasions but were unable to catch any fish, other anglers also had no luck! The facilities meet your needs and the individual plots are of a good size. The staff were very helpful. It would have been better with Wi-Fi connectivity. However, overall, I would recommend this campsite.

Site's response

Thank you for your recommendation John. I'm sorry the fish weren't biting for you. Maybe next time?

Nice tidy site

Lovely site. Only downside is I thought it needs another shower and toilet block, plus a site shop would be a good addition.

Site's response

Thank you. Apologies for the delayed response. I will pass your comment regarding the facilities to the relevant team. You will be pleased to hear that in June of 2024 reception was upgraded and now includes a small shop with some necessities and a few luxuries for our guests.

Easter weekend 2024

Staff were second to none - very helpful, site very clean and tidy. We will be back again.

Site's response

It's lovely to hear our staff were appreciated and that you enjoyed your stay. Thank you. We look forward to welcoming you back.

Lovely site

Fantastic park with lovely showers and toilet facilities. Lovely location too.

Site's response

Thanks for reviewing Lakeside. We hope to see you again one day.

Great facilities

Great facilities and very clean. Large field for camping so lots of choice on where to pitch. Did however get swarmed by midges/flies when pitching near the water, but after moving further away, had no problems for the rest of our stay. The road next to the site can be quite loud, but is quiet at night. Would probably stay again!

Site's response

We're pleased that you found our facilities and site to your liking Ed and hope you will visit again.

Went the extra mile

Excellent stay. First time in our camper and I stupidly booked the wrong weekend 🤦‍♂️ Found us a pitch, excellent service, clean and beautiful place. Highly recommend for a peaceful night away.

Site's response

We are glad that our lovely reception staff helped to make the first outing in your camper a positive experience at Lakeside. Thank you for your glowing review; we hope you enjoy your future travels.

Camping

Lovely site, nice and relaxing.

Site's response

We think so too. Thank you.

Good Value

Lovely site and good facilities for the cost of £26. The only downside was the hoards of kids who were doing some sort of outward bound weekend. The majority of them were pretty rude and loud and groups of them were a little intimidating. On the whole, a nice overnight stay.

Isolated site

Stayed 1 night out of two booked and paid for. Campsite is clean and tidy but it was isolated with no outside paths to walk and only roads to walk on. Castle Howard is a 5 minute drive as walking on the road in the rain wasn't an option considered. The indoor part of the garden centre is small. Malton is nearby but we thought parking was a nightmare. We parked at Morrisons and bought some bits on the Saturday and then decided at 3.30pm not to stay another night, so went home. Would have been better in summer when you can sit out etc. We thought it was far too isolated for us with nothing to do for miles.

Site's response

Thank you for your review Lee. Our rural site is not to everyone's taste and it sounds like you were unfortunate with the weather. We are a great site for walkers, cyclists and, when the skies are clear, stargazers. You will be pleased to hear a new path has now been constructed which runs alongside the road and we also now have a small shop in reception. Malton has a traditional market on Tuesdays and Saturday but usually parking in the centre is free for two hours. The start of the season can be a quiet time however there are lots of attractions within driving distance. If you do come again, at a warmer time of the year, please browse the leaflets in reception or ask for our advice.

Simply beautiful

We arrived late in the afternoon. The lady on reception could not have been more helpful. The site was clean and the facilities were second to none. We have two dogs and they were made to feel welcome. I cannot recommend this site enough. Now that we have found it we will be back.

Motorhome stay

Very nice site. Could do with a small shop for emergency supplies like Elsan toilet cleaner etc. The nearest supplier is in Malton 5 miles away.