OK, we do read reviews so let's look at some of the issues: - the road past the site is a minor road, and has very light traffic; we saw two HGVs and one cement mixer in three days; the noisiest noise was the occasional rattle of the sheep farmers' trailers. The place is so quiet that all we heard was birdsong 99.9% of the time, and we found it very peaceful, although to be fair we took a pitch on the side away from the road.

- phone signal: zero, and zero for miles around too. There is a club wifi hotspot outside the reception area, so you have to sit on the becnh by the birdfeeder if you are doing anything long winded. The wardens have chivvied the Club to install full wifi for all the site but it's hurry up and wait. The local pubs all have free wifi in any case, so that's a pleasure to sample great beers and catch up on the world. I'm from the generation where you used to have to walk to a phonebox to stay in touch, so 21st century problems like this are not an issue.

The wardens were lovely - we pitched on the beck side of the site, put our van facing the beck, rabbits everywhere, a Dipper in the stream, and song birds galore. We basically had a 10 metre grass lawn in front of us up to where the beck fence is - that's bigger than our garden.

The facilities were spotless and well maintained. The drive in from the A170 isn't too hard but there are some narrower sections, bumpy roads, steepish little dips and rises, and a couple of interesting corners. As a novice tower, I just took my time. The village has three good pubs, two cafes, and a small shop. It's idyllic, and you could almost think you were back in the twenties. However in the Easter holidays it did seem like a good idea to book a table in the pubs if you wanted to eat.

Over a three night stay, we visited Thornton-le-Dale, Pickering castle, Rievaulx Abbey, Helmsley town, and Helmsley Castle, and drove through Hetton-le-Hole where there is an intriguing folk museum we will have to visit next time we stay. Nice site - we hope to visit again!

Two stars for family friendliness only on the basis there are no playgrounds, ropeswings, etc - just like campsites were when I was a kid - so not a criticism of the site at all, just info for campers with kids if you need a bit more from a site.