[Our reviews are 100% unpaid]
REVIEW – Taking three young boys camping is rarely what you would describe as relaxing.
Mine are 10, nine and five, which means any attempt to sit down for more than four minutes is usually ruined by someone vanishing, climbing something , arguing, or appearing with an injury.
Then, in July, we stayed at Humble Bee Farm near Scarborough and it was wonderful. We actually were able to relax.
Humble Bee is a working farm tucked away in the Yorkshire countryside, less than an hour from Beverley. We went with our three boys and quickly realised that somebody here has understood something about family holidays: children want freedom and parents need to feel that freedom is safe.
We are naturally quite risk-averse parents. We’re the sort who usually want to know exactly where the children are and what they are doing. At Humble Bee, though, the site felt so safe and enclosed that we gradually found ourselves doing something we don’t often do – letting them go off to explore.
They could head off together to the field and play area, explore and make friends, while we remained nearby. They had that glorious feeling children get when they believe they are independently roaming the world, while we knew they were actually in a safe environment only a short distance away and it changed the whole atmosphere of the holiday.
Farmer Percy at 9am on the nose
The highlight came every morning at 9am. Like clockwork, Farmer Percy (co owner with his lovely wife Julia), would appear like a rural father christmas on his quad bike. The giddy and excited children would gather around him for the morning animal feeding. A truly magical event.
If you have ever attempted anything involving young children and farm animals, you will understand that this should be chaos. There are excited children everywhere, chickens with sharp claws wandering around, parents worrying about somebody getting lost or pecked, and an assortment of animals with their own ideas about proceedings. In the middle of it all was Farmer Percy, apparently immune to stress decanting armfulls of chicken food to excited children and chickens.
He was so calm and relaxed with the children that it seemed to rub off on them. Before long, our own boys were confidently picking up enormous chickens and cuddling them.
Watching them become comfortable around the animals was genuinely special. There was no elaborate attraction or manufactured children’s entertainment, you didn’t have to pay extra, it was as beautiful and organic as could be. They were simply on a farm, getting muddy, meeting animals and learning how to handle them properly. Memories made, as promised in the farms marketing.
Somewhere the adults can relax too
Humble Bee also manages another little miracle: it gives the adults somewhere pleasant to be while the children are enjoying themselves.
The Hive café and bar became our base. We could sit outside with a drink while the boys played nearby. They had their independence and we could actually have a conversation without spending the entire time scanning the horizon for one of our children. Anyone with young children will appreciate quite how luxurious that feels.
There is plenty to do around the farm and it is brilliantly positioned for family days out on the Yorkshire coast, but strangely we often found ourselves perfectly happy staying put. That is probably the biggest compliment I can give it.
Immaculately clean
One thing that really impressed us was just how clean Humble Bee Farm was. The whole site was beautifully looked after. The fields, paths and communal areas felt tidy and cared for, without losing the feeling that you were staying on a proper working farm.
Even with children, animals and campers coming and going, we never encountered anywhere that felt neglected or grubby. But the biggest surprise was the toilet and shower block.
I have stayed at plenty of campsites over the years and these were genuinely some of the best facilities I have ever seen. The toilets were immaculate and the showers were exceptionally clean and well maintained.
It sounds like a small thing until you’re staying somewhere for several days with three children. Then clean toilets, good showers and well-kept washing facilities suddenly become extremely important indeed. For us, it added to that wider feeling that somebody was paying attention. Humble Bee manages to feel natural, relaxed and outdoorsy while still being exceptionally well cared for. It’s fairly obvious that some smart people are very experienced at this, and working very hard behind the scenes.
What is there to do at Humble Bee Farm?
Humble Bee is a family-run working farm in the Yorkshire Wolds, close to Filey, Scarborough and the coast. Staying here gives you access to much more than a pitch or somewhere to sleep.
For children, the farm itself is a large part of the attraction. There are farm animals to meet and the morning animal feeding quickly became the highlight of our boys’ day.
There are play areas, space for games, farm walks and a nature trail, giving children plenty to do without everything feeling like an organised attraction. Families can also hire a fire pit for the evening, while the farm has a Scandinavian-style BBQ Hut available to book.
The Hive café and bar deserves another mention. It serves coffee, breakfast food and home bakes, with food and drinks available at selected times. For us, its greatest feature was considerably simpler: we could sit there with a drink while the boys played. I recommend the ‘jug’ of Pimms.
The farm also runs seasonal events throughout the year, so it is worth checking what is happening when you visit.
Where can you stay?
One of Humble Bee’s strengths is the range of accommodation. You can arrive with your own tent and have a traditional camping holiday, or steadily work your way up through yurts, glamping and cabins until you reach accommodation with en-suite bathrooms and private hot tubs.
Camping and touring
For families who want proper camping, Humble Bee has grass pitches for tents alongside pitches for touring caravans, motorhomes and campervans.
Guests have access to the toilet and shower facilities, washing-up areas, a communal kitchen and water points.
We particularly liked the scale and layout of the site. It never felt like we were camping in an enormous holiday park, which contributed to that sense of security and freedom for the boys.
Nomadic Yurts
The yurts are probably the most romantic way of staying at Humble Bee.
These large circular canvas structures give you the experience of sleeping under canvas without requiring you to transport and construct your own temporary house first.
Inside you get proper sleeping accommodation and those little touches that make it feel like glamping rather than conventional camping, while outside there is space to sit, cook and enjoy the evening.
For families who want the adventure of camping without quite so much actual camping, they make a lot of sense.
Big Chief Wigwam Cabins
The Big Chief Wigwams are heated and insulated camping cabins and provide a good entry point into Humble Bee’s glamping accommodation.
They give you considerably more protection from the Yorkshire weather than canvas while retaining the feeling of being on a camping holiday.
They are particularly useful for families who like the idea of glamping but don’t necessarily need all the facilities of a self-contained lodge.
Deluxe Wigwam Cabins
The Deluxe Wigwams move things another step towards a self-contained holiday cabin.
They include more home comforts, with their own facilities, heating and living space. Some options are also available with a hot tub.
For a family with young children, this feels like a particularly sensible compromise. You still get the farm, the outdoors and the children disappearing off to play, but you have somewhere warm and comfortable to retreat to afterwards.
Premium Wigwam Lodges with hot
At the more luxurious end are Humble Bee’s Premium Wigwam Lodges.
These are larger, self-contained and designed for families wanting considerably more comfort, with their own bathroom and kitchen facilities as well as private outdoor space and a hot tub.
This is probably the choice for anyone who enjoys telling friends they have been glamping while privately having absolutely no intention of roughing it.
Merry Dale Bell Tents and Geodomes
Humble Bee also offers bell tents and geodesic domes in its Merry Dale glamping area.
These give you more of the traditional feeling of sleeping under canvas and being close to the countryside, but with the irritating business of owning, transporting and erecting all the equipment removed from proceedings.
They are a particularly appealing option for a summer stay and for children who want their holiday to feel like an adventure.
Luxury cottages
And if your personal definition of camping ends at being able to see a tent from the window, there are cottages too.
Humble Bee has converted farm accommodation providing a much more traditional self-catering stay, with the farm and all its activities outside your door. Some also come with their own private hot tubs.
It means grandparents or less enthusiastic campers could potentially join a wider family holiday without being forced into sleeping under canvas to prove their commitment.
Which would I choose?
If you want the full family camping experience, take a tent. If you like the idea of camping but prefer arriving to find your accommodation already standing, look at the yurts, bell tents and geodomes.
The Wigwams make particular sense with younger children because they give you warmth and security, with increasingly sophisticated facilities as you move through the range.
At the top end, the Premium Lodges and cottages turn the same farm experience into much more of a countryside break, complete with your own hot tub.
Whichever you choose, the important bit remains the same. You are staying on the farm, the children have all that space and freedom around them, and Farmer Percy still appears in the morning.
Why we’ll go back
Lots of family attractions promise parents a relaxing break. Usually what they mean is that they have provided several new and inventive ways for your children to require supervision.
Humble Bee Farm actually gave us one.
Our boys came home talking about the animals, Farmer Percy and the freedom they had. We came home feeling as though we’d discovered somewhere rather special.
For families around Beverley and the East Riding, the remarkable thing is how close it is. You can be there in under an hour, yet once you’re sitting among the fields watching your children disappear happily off to play, it feels much further away from everyday life.
We will absolutely be going back.