WildAx motorhomes are well-suited to the outdoor experience, offering adventure seekers and families the ultimate vehicle for adventuring. At Maple we have an extensive stock of these fantastic coachbuilt vehicles, which you can read about elsewhere on our website. In this edition of our blog, we’ll be talking not about WildAx motorhomes themselves but the essential places you can visit in them, which are not too far from the starting point of Maple Leisure. In other words, four of our favourite must-see destinations for WildAx motorhome owners.
This nature reserve lies on the east coast of Yorkshire, approximately thirty miles north of Hull, and provides one of the UK's greatest wildlife spectacles. Between March and August each year approximately half a million seabirds gather to raise their families on towering chalk cliffs which overlook the North Sea. Puffins, kittiwakes and guillemots all live at the cliffs, and there are more gannets diving into the sea here than anywhere else on mainland England. Spring and summer bring grassland breeding season for corn buntings, skylarks and linnets, while kestrels and barn owls hunt in wide open skies. Bempton is inside the recording area of Flamborough Bird Observatory, which updates sightings at their website every day, providing a valuable resource for twitchers.
Sat nav: YO15 1JF
Parking and facilities: There are currently 74 parking spaces, 11 Blue Badge spaces and 2 coach bays at Bempton Cliffs. No overnight parking or camping is permitted. There are toilets, a cafe and a visitors centre.
Named after legendary rail figures George and Robert Stephenson, Stephenson Steam Railway in North Shields, Tyne & Wear, offers visitors the poignant chance to travel back in time to the days of coal-powered travel. This fantastic attraction includes a ride on 1950s British Rail carriages, with the locos working hard to climb steep gradients towards the former Northumberland coal fields. Trains run every Sunday and on Thursdays during school holidays. The station yard and museum offer a large variety of vintage wagons and vehicles to see, including steam, diesel and electric locomotives. You can even try your hand at driving a steam engine on the museum’s simulator.
Sat nav: NE29 8DX
Parking and facilities: There is free parking at the museum, which is well signposted from the A19/A1058 junction. The Waggonway Tea Room is open for refreshments on selected days during the running season.
This small but perfectly formed village on the edge of Northumberland has a population of only approximately 500 yet can proudly boast its very own castle. Standing guard above the spectacular coastline for more than 1,000 years, Bamburgh is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country. It has been home to a succession of Kings including Henry VI and James I and was the first castle in the world to fall to gunpowder (in 1464, during the War of the Roses). Visitors with an interest in history can savour the King’s Hall, state rooms, armoury and keep, and the castle is open all year round. Bamburgh Cricket Club play their matches on a pitch adjacent to the castle, which offers one of the worldwide sport’s most spectacular views!
Sat nav: NE69 7DF
Parking and facilities: There is a car park opposite the castle which is owned by Northumberland County Council and not affiliated with Bamburgh Castle. A private car park is accessible by following the parking signs and driving up the hill to the castle.
Additional parking is also available in the field next to Bamburgh Church. The castle’s Clock Tower Café and Tack Room Takeaway serve food and drink, and the village itself has places you can eat.
This evocative site on Brimham Moor, 8 miles north-west of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, is well known for peculiar-shaped rocks, which were eroded by water and weather over 325 million years ago (a mere 100 million years before the first dinosaurs roamed Earth). Antiquarians have theorised that the stones could have been partly carved by druids and, for around two hundred years, some of them have been named Druid's Idol, Druid's Altar and Druid's Writing Desk. It takes around four hours to explore all of Brimham Rocks, but it is time well invested, with this enduring landscape and carefully managed environment leaving a lasting impression on even the most casual visitor – as well as the opportunity for some prehistoric or sci-fi style selfies.
Sat nav: HG3 4DW
Parking and facilities: There is a car park Car park open every day (excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), with parking paid for at pay and display machines, via an app or by card payment with a team member at the Welcome hut. National Trust members can park for free. There is a kiosk serving hot and cold drinks, and there are toilet facilities close to the car park.
There are, of course, loads of other places you can visit and enjoy in your WildAx motorhome, and in future editions of our blog we’ll pick out some more of our favourites. In the meantime, enjoy the quartet of locations listed here, and enjoy picking out your perfect WildAx motorhome from our extensive leisure vehicle stock!