Collaborative Post

We took our family glamping in Yorkshire last week. I felt a bit like we were betraying our beloved trailer tent, but after a busy day, the idea of coming home to a running shower and flushing toilet is definitely a pull! So we lined up our very first glamping trip and booked a lodge at the North Star Club, East Yorkshire.

North Star Club

The North Star Club is glamping at its finest – luxury slate-tiled bathrooms, four-poster beds, and a multitude of twinkling fairy lights, effortlessly blended into a wild woodland.

The lodges are set along a single footpath, each pointing away into the woodland so that you can sit your veranda and feel like the only people in the world.

We stayed in the Sitwell Suite (inspired by Edith Sitwell, the Yorkshire Poet) which can sleep up to 6 people. It was twice the size we were expecting and the master bedroom was bigger than our bedroom at home! It had a wood burner in the corner and a super comfy kingsize bed.

The girls had their own room and, to their absolute delight …bunk beds! They’ve been nagging us about getting bunk beds for about the last 2 years so finally having the chance to try some out pretty much made their holiday!

There’s also a luxurious bathroom, small living room, and a utility room. The North Star Club website describes the fridge as “small” so I was expecting a mini fridge and decided not to take any chilled items until I’d seen it for myself. However, it was much bigger than expected so no need to worry (see photo below).

It’s worth noting that there is no oven – just a gas barbeque on the veranda and a communal pizza oven near the entrance of the site.

As we drove into the site, we were instantly drawn to the campfire area – a circle of upturned logs around a fire pit, sheltered by a canvas and covered in fairy lights. It looked so inviting.

It was a very foggy day!

The indoor communal area is called “The Woodshed” and houses three comfy settees positioned around a wood burning stove. You can pick up a few essentials from the “Honesty shop” here and I definitely recommend the brownies – delicious!

Taking the family

I have to admit, my biggest worry about visiting North Star Club was that it might not be very family friendly – I don’t really associate luxury with family holidays! But I didn’t need to worry. The lady who met us on arrival chatted away to our little ones and really made us feel welcome straight away.

Then we made our way to the suite and, as we opened the door, Jenny (7) let out a shriek of excitement – a bag of marshmallows was awaiting us, ready to be toasted on the campfire! North Star Club provide all the wood and kindling and there are marshmallow skewers in The Woodshed too.

We knew then that we were in for a good holiday!

Jenny warming her hands by the campfire!

The lodges are really spaced out so we didn’t need to worry about the children being “too noisy” and disturbing other people. And it also worked the other way – we couldn’t hear other groups being noisy while we were trying to get our girls into bed. Win – win!

We had our own private, outdoor area (complete with wigwam!) to play in and the girls thought they were in a real fairy wood with all the twinkling lights. They also loved seeing the wildlife, including pheasants and wild rabbits.

10 points to anyone who can spot hubby playing with the BBQ!

I’d also been worried about getting cold so I packed my hot water bottle just in case. But it simply wasn’t needed. The lodges are heated with radiators, and the wood burner throws out loads of heat – that was a real highlight on an evening!

Any bloggers out there need to read this book!

Things to do in East Yorkshire

There are no TVs and no internet at North Star Club, and I did wonder how we’d cope. But it was actually really nice to be “off grid” for a few days. We took colouring for the girls and hubby and I brought a book each for the evenings.

A soak in the free-standing tub is also highly recommended!

During the day, we packed in lots of adventures and here are a few of the child-friendly activities in the area:

• William’s Den (10 min)
• South Cave Falconry (10 min)
• Flemingate Shopping Centre & Cinema (20 min)
• Dunnington Park (30 min)
• Diggerland (40 min)
• National Railway Museum (45 min)
• York (45 min)
• Scarborough Beach (1 hour)

Conclusion

We had a wonderful stay at the North Star Club. It was certainly the most relaxing family holiday we’ve been on, and a really lovely way to soak up some fresh air.

Prices for the woodland suites range from £195 to £455 for a 2 night midweek stay.

We would probably have preferred to have an oven in the suite so that we didn’t need to cook outside each night. But, with lots of foody places close by, we ate out most of the time anyway.

We had so much fun and I’m sure this will be the first of many glamping trips!

Have you ever been glamping? Where are your favourite places to visit in Yorkshire? Do you like being off grid or does the thought of it make you panic? Let me know in the comments section below.

Disclosure: We were given a free stay at the North Star Club in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. For more info, please check out my disclosure policy.

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