Swinton Bivouac

Background

One of the most accessible camping/glamping holiday sites in North Yorkshire near Ripon that we highly recommend. Looking for somewhere different to stay this summer? Or just fancy a luxury staycation in the Yorkshire Dales?

Swinton Bivouac is an ideal resort for the perfect getaway. This camping/glamping site near Ripon is owned by Swinton Estates and is part of the 20,000 acre land in North Yorkshire that they own. It is just 3 miles from Masham where Black Sheep Brewery is located as well.

This place is surrounded by tourist attractions and plenty of things to do including Druid’s Temple, Black Sheep Brewery and many more. And it offers a decent choice of accommodation from yurts to luxury lodges. We will look in more detail at what this site has to offer.

Why You Should Stay at This Camping/glamping Site in North Yorkshire

You can either choose to say in a Tree Lodge, one of the Meadow Yurts or the Loft above the site reception area.

Tree Lodges

There are six Tree Lodges on this site. People staying in these lodges have access to the woodland sauna too. Each lodge sleeps up to seven people, including triple bunkbeds for children. There is a stargazing window on the upper mezzanine complete with a king-size bed, three single beds and there’s a hideaway on the bottom bunk with a double bed.

Everything you can enjoy if you stay in one of these lodges includes:

• Private hot tub.
• Hammock in the trees.
• Open-plan kitchen and lounge with gas oven.
• Ambient fairy lights and candles.
• Glamping in the panoramic views of the North Yorkshire Hills.
• Crackling open fire.
• Fully-equipped bathroom with toilet, sink and shower.

Note there is no electricity on these lodges! Click here for more information.

Meadow Yurts

Each yurt sleeps up to four people. It is an ideal form of glamping for those who want to try camping but still have your home comforts and the luxury of the North Yorkshire Dales. All the Meadow Yurts include:

• Wooden veranda with sheltered outdoor seating.
• Open fire pit.
• Boules and swing ball area.
• Wood burner
• Sink and adjoining toilet.

No electricity is available at the yurts. Click here for more information.

The Loft

The Loft is another indoor accommodation built within the farmhouse. It is just upstairs from the reception and shop and it includes two double/twin beds, and one sofa bed sleeping up to six people. This self-contained space offers:

• Television
• Reading light
• Ensuite shower room
• Dining table and chairs
• Fridge
• Access to Bistro Café

Click here for more information.

Bistro Café

Image courtesy of Amar

There is a café on site located beside the yurt field. The café is accessible to everyone staying in all the accommodations and also to the public if people are visiting the Druid’s Temple or going on one of the walks in the area.

At the café, you can get all kinds of hot and cold snacks and light meals, along with both hot and cold beverages including alcoholic drinks. Drinks served here include:

• All kinds of coffee including latte, Americano, flat white, mocha and coffee served in a cafetiere.
• Hot chocolate with the option to add cream and marshmallows.
• Tea including speciality flavoured tea.
• Soft drinks like Diet Coke, lemonade, and Fanta.
• Orange and apple juice.
• Fruit Shoots.
• Bottles of water.
• Alcoholic drinks including bottles of beer (all kinds of locally-brewed ales including Black Sheep), lager, wine and champagne. You can get 0% low-alcohol beer too.

Click here to view their drinks menu.

Food available includes:

• Soup of the day.
• Toasted sandwiches.
• Cold sandwiches.
• Salads.
• Cheesy melts.

Click here to view their menu.

Breakfast options including yoghurt granola pot, porridge, Belgian waffles, American pancakes, scrambled egg & toast. Click here to view their breakfast menu. Of course, there’s always a selection of home-made cakes and scones and other sweet snacks.

Inside the café, there are three levels include a split-floor balcony overlooking the ground floor and a lower level below the ground floor just down a few steps. They have a wood-burning fire keeping the space warm during the winter months. There is also outdoor seating on the patio outside and food can be bought out to you if you’re sitting outside.

Things to do

This glamping site is surrounded by the beautiful dales of North Yorkshire and there are many touristy hotspots that are worth visiting if you’re staying at this camping site near Ripon. There are things to on the doorstep to Swinton Bivouac including:

• Druid’s Temple
• Swinton Country Club & Spa
• Family Bike Trails
• The Aviary

Image taken by Aiden Dawson

The Druid’s Temple is actually a folly- it’s not a REAL temple, it features stone circles very much like the Stonehenge. Here, there are plenty of woodland walks to go on to make it a fun day out. It’s literally a 5-10 minute’s walk from the camping/glamping site.

The Swinton Country Club and Spa offers the perfect environment for a day of resting, mindfulness and the ultimate relaxing experience. They have pools and water therapy, gym, thermal suite including sauna, wild swimming facilities and a woodland wellbeing space. Click here to check it out!

Image taken by Aiden Dawson

During your stay at Swinton Bivouac, you can also bring your bikes along and go on one of the family cycling trails just on the doorstep to the site. There are trails graded by colour according to level of difficulty. The family friendly “green” loop is most recommended, with parts of the trail being on rough natural terrain. You can also hire a mountain bike at the visitor centre.

There is also the aviary which is on the site and is home to owls and hawks. They often hold bird of prey shows here during school holidays.

Accessibility

We will now evaluate the accessibility of Swinton Bivouac and cover the reasons that make it highly-recommended for those with disabilities.

Café Accessibility

The Bistro Café has three levels, the ground level is easily accessed from the car park via wide flat steps or a sloped pathway for wheelchairs. This main part of the café is where food and drink is ordered at the till. There is an overlooking balcony accessed only by stairs with a handrail on one side. The lower level is accessed by more steps leading down from the main ground level.

Main accessibility points of the café are:

• Entrance to café via large double doors which open nice and wide for wheelchair users.
• Wheelchairs will only have access to the main level
• Floor surface is flat and easy for wheelchairs to move on.
• The floor is concrete that’s painted a plain white colour. This is more friendly for dementia and people with sensory needs.
• Another double doors leads out to the courtyard and communal barbecue area.
• All of the steps outside the café and the courtyard area have white lines on the lips of the steps for visibility.
• Handrails provided on all stairs and steps.
• Accessible disabled toilet located outside in the courtyard and BBQ area. Baby changing available here too.
• Gluten-free and vegan-friendly food options on the menu.
• Meals and drinks suitable for children.
• Highchairs provided for babies.
• Allergy information available.
• Free access to Wi-Fi.
• Dog and guide dog friendly.

Tree Lodges

The Tree Lodges are 500m away from the reception. They have their own parking available at each lodge. A lot of the paths around the lodges and the woodland are uneven with lots of tree roots. Each lodge has three sleeping levels, the ground level has a double bed, and the middle level has three single bed.

• Accessibility features at the Tree Lodges include:
• Handrails on the wooden steps going into the lodges.
• No steps or stairs inside the ground level.
• All floor surfaces are flat and level.

Yurts

The Meadow Yurts are located on a slightly sloping grass field. They are 10m away from the car park and reception.

Accessibility of the yurts:

• Only one step to get onto the wooden veranda and one more step going into the yurt.
• Level carpeted flooring inside.
• Toilet adjoining the yurt- one step leading to the toilet.
• Shower facilities available at the shower block near the café. One step to get into the shower.

The Loft

This space is above the reception and accessed by stone steps outside the barn. The room consists of two interconnecting rooms sleeping up to six people. There is a door and two steps to bet between the two rooms.

Communal Barbeque and Hot Tub

The communal kitchen and BBQ is all on a raised wooden terrace with picnic benches. There are three steps to get onto it. The hot tub is accessed by three small steps.

All of the surface is flat blue slate.

Travelling There

There is parking available right outside the main reception and it’s easy to access the yurt field, café, toilet/shower blocks and Loft from here. The Tree Lodges have their own parking space each.

If you plan on travelling here by train, the nearest train station is 17.4 miles away in Thirsk. You will need to make arrangements with Bivouac to order a taxi to pick you up from Thirsk train station- this includes an accessible taxi. It is best to arrange this 48 hours before your arrival date.

Getting the bus means getting off the nearest bus stop which is in Masham, but there’s a “Yorbus” stop at the gates to Swinton Park Hotel. A taxi can be arranges to get you from either of these locations to Bivouac. If you walk from Masham, be mindful that there is no pavement or footpath and you will be walking on the country road from Masham/Swinton- approximately one mile long.

It would be easiest to travel to your destination by car.

Conclusion

We hope that this listing has helped you find more accessible places to stay and holidays in the Yorkshire Dales. Other camping and glamping sites we recommend for accessibility include Country View Campsite in Darlington.

For other accessible places to visit in the Yorkshire Dale and Ripon region include:

• Black Sheep Brewery
• Light Water Valley
• Ripon Museums
• Nosterfield Nature Reserve
• Swinton Estate
• Thorpe Perrow