We stayed at Thirsk at the end of a Dales tour, wanting a bit of urban wind down with shopping, strolling and a good choice of meals out. Thirsk seemed a good base for local travelling. We’ve stayed on racecourse sit a before and generally know what to expect. I had checked the race’s schedule before booking just to make sure we’d be clear. The site is at one end of the racecourse, a grass triangle on the eastern side on the edge of Thirsk. Directly behind is a Lidl and across the road is a Tesco. All pitches are grass with markers laid out in three rows outward from the site building. This is the office, washrooms, laundry and washup all in one 60s-70s type pavilion. The site managers were great and really friendly, processing us quickly and giving us the lie of the land and locality and reminding us of the races in a few days. The site is generally quiet but there is a background hum from the A61 running in front of it and a fair bit of traffic into the next door supermarkets. The beeping of daily delivery lorries for Lidl was audible but did not happen too often during the day. It’s a short walk into the centre of Thirsk with plenty of cafes and eating places. The market place was impressive showing it is a real working town. We left the van parked and used the train station a mile away for visits out such as the short trip to York. The only disappointment from the site is the tired wash facilities that need some updating. The facilities are quite small and a few people in there feels like they are on top of each other. It’s also difficult to keep the floor free of water as it does spread a fair bit from the showers and sinks when in use. They were kept clean though and it must be difficult for the site staff given the age of the facilities.