As we write this, the moon lights up the sea as the waves crash over the cliffs below. In the distance, the sounds of migrating birds and the occasional splash of dolphins… ok, I’ll stop with the bullshit. But all jokes aside, this is exactly what it’s like.
When booking Abbey Farm, we had our reservations, mainly because we like to be out there, amongst nature, where human life only exists to milk the cows and feed the chickens. But, being from Yorkshire, we knew what we were getting ourselves in for.
A beautiful spot by the sea, cliff-top walks and fish and chips… honestly, what more do you need?
Arriving at Abbey Farm and Finding Our Pitch
We think at this point it’s only fair to say that if you’re expecting a dedicated pitch with all the amenities, we’d suggest you keep on driving.
Upon arrival, we were greeted at the entrance by a friendly lady with an official clipboard and a hi-vis vest, directing us around as though we’d just booked into the Ritz… we wish. 😂
But sometimes it’s better to take the cheap and cheerful option and get the location, rather than pay Ritz prices and still be left wanting more. At least we knew what we were getting for our £25 a night.
We were given a tour around the campsite where she used hand gestures and rapid movements to navigate us around. She pointed out the water and poop disposal points, none of which had particularly easy access. In fact, we went without water all weekend!
Every Man for Themselves… If You Die, You Die
Because of the way the campsite is run… and we say campsite loosely because it’s actually a farmer’s field on top of a cliff… it’s chaos.
Park where you want, but be respectful of those around you. That’s pretty much the only rule.
Although, as you can see from the photo… rules don’t always apply to some people. 😂
It’s really not that bad, it just looks it.
It’s really not as bad as it looks. You just need to lower your expectations and accept that for £25 per night, you’re going to get £25 a night conditions… and that’s absolutely fine.
It’s all about the location, not the facilities. If you want both, we’d suggest you look elsewhere.
Apart from cooking food and sleeping, we really didn’t spend much time at the motorhome. We walked the Pennine Way and explored the beautiful streets of Whitby… BUSY streets.
Turns out it was Whitby Regatta weekend...
No wonder we could smell the armpits of our neighbours. 😂 Honestly, we had no idea it was Regatta weekend, a 180 year old tradition that attracts people from all over the country.
Now it all makes sense, and actually, this review might be completely irrelevant if you were to visit at any other time of the year. So, take this one with a pinch of sea salt…
I know we’ve said it already, but the location is probably the biggest reason to visit Whitby. There’s so much to see and do, and if after reading our Abbey Farm Showfield review you’re thinking this isn’t exactly your idea of peace and quiet, there’s also a motorhome parking area right next door at Whitby Holiday Park.
Prices can range from around £90 to £130 for two nights, including an electric hook-up, so I guess I can see why Abbey Farm Showfield is such an attractive option.
Because, when you think about it, the only things you really get at Whitby Holiday Park that you don’t get at Abbey Farm are peace, quiet and an electric hook-up.
Some concerns? Nothing to worry about.
Given how busy it was, how close our neighbours were, and then you factor in alcohol and 27-degree heat, we honestly thought we weren’t going to get any sleep.
Not that we’re party poopers, show us the party and we’re joining in, but it’s natural to have these thoughts when you’re surrounded by people and you’ve got neighbours practically sitting on top of you.
But, as per the instructions from our lovely hi-vis, hand-waving lady, 10pm was apparently chill time… and unbelievably, everyone actually listened!
10pm came and the noise just dropped. No shouting, no music, no drunken karaoke… nothing. How she managed to get hundreds of people to actually shut up at 10pm, I’ll never know, but fair play to her, that’s a skill in itself.
Rise and shine… time to drop the poop.
Not going to lie, with hundreds if not thousands of people sharing the same field and poop drop, we weren’t exactly looking forward to emptying the poop. It was a conversation that kept coming up because, let’s be honest, there was only one person going to empty it and it wasn’t going to be Anna, was it!
Now, as much as you don’t want to imagine thousands of people shitting in your toilet without flushing it… yeah, thought so. Now you’ve got the picture. That’s what we were imagining.
So, we came up with Operation Poop Drop.
We set our alarms for 6am, the idea being we’d beat those suffering from hangovers to the poop point and be first in.
Gloves on and cassette in hand, dressed as though we were in quarantine, we screwed off the lid and prepared for what was to come…
Fu** me!
It was actually ok.
It was empty!
The little rascals had been, the campsite had emptied it and we were the first ones to use it.
Absolutely winning, Operation Poop Drop. completed it. 😂
The big question… would we return?
We absolutely would go back, mainly for the location because let’s be honest, that’s the attraction. Like we said, if you want more, then go pay more…
Sometimes you just have to compromise and accept that if you’re paying £25 a night, you might have to smell your fellow campers’ poop. That’s just the price you pay. 😂
We think on any other given weekend we’d probably have had access to water, and honestly, it really wasn’t a big deal. Two days using wet wipes isn’t exactly the end of the world.
Overall, we’d recommend it, but we’d also be doing you a disservice if we pretended it’s the best campsite we’ve ever stayed at. It’s not. But then again, it doesn’t pretend to be either, and that’s what we like about it.
Our only real criticism would be the water points and poop drops. We’d like to see them properly separated from the camping area, or at least cordoned off so they’re easier to get to without navigating through everyone else’s pitch.
Other than that, we had a bloody good weekend away and we’d definitely come back… just not in a rush. Been there, seen it, done it… onto the next.
Things to do?
Ok, maybe we haven’t seen it all. We’ve always seen Whitby as one of those seaside towns we tend to drive to on a nice summer’s day, or a cold winter’s day. Anna is the summer butterfly and me (Gaz) tends to love a brisk winter walk, so we’ve never really done the whole tourist thing.
Maybe it’s because we don’t feel like tourists when we’re only driving an hour or so up the road. Whitby isn’t short of tourist attractions, and the best way to find them is by using GetYourGuide. We use it all the time to find new, affordable activities.
Yes, we do get a small kickback if you use our links, but honestly, it’s peanuts, so it’s not worth our time plugging it just for the money. We’re genuinely using it and recommending it.
Not everything has to be about kickbacks or money. Sometimes it’s just nice to share things we actually use and genuinely believe in.
And GetYourGuide is a bit like a traveller’s Swiss Army knife. There are loads of things on there, so we’ve picked just a few activities below. The list is endless… honestly, you could set out to visit Whitby and end up on a tour of Scotland. 😂
Here’s everything you need to know before booking.
One roof tent, touring caravan, campervan, motorhome, tent or trailer tent is allowed per pitch.
If you need more than one unit, you'll need to book an additional pitch. Once you've made your first booking, you can quickly book another using "Make another booking like this."
It's a basic site on a working farm overlooking Whitby and the North Sea, so don't expect all the bells and whistles. What you are getting is a great location at a reasonable price.
The brewery, beach and Whitby Abbey are all less than a five minute walk away, so you're really not far from anything.
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