Welcome from the Chairman, Mr Iain Bonfield
Hello everyone. I am honoured to take up the chain of office for a second spell, it is a privilege to be elected as your Chairman once again. I would like to extend a huge thank you to Robert Lees, who has done an excellent job as Chair for the past couple of years alongside his sites responsibilities on the Sheffield DA committee. Rob hands over the chain with the DA in great shape having decided to step back from committee to take a break after 14 years, however to his great credit, he has offered to continue the excellent work he has done on sites for many years. I am sure I speak for all members when I say thank you, Rob, for your contribution and we hope to see you back on the committee in the future. I would also like to thank the retiring committee members, Kim Rogers and Alison Hulley and welcome two new members to committee, Rachael Wilmot and Liz Milner. Once again we have a well-supported committee, if you would like to volunteer for committee we always welcome new faces and new ideas, so please do not hesitate to contact me for an informal chat if this is something you might consider at some point in the future. Over the winter, your committee has been working hard to put together a strong but hopefully familiar programme for 2023. We enjoyed a strong attendance and great fun at our Easter meet at Hutton Le Hole, a site that we return to at Spring Bank, plus our other two THS at Darley Dale in July and then we travel to Criccieth at the start of the Summer holidays. All the THS are available to book via the Sheffield DA website. Read on for details of these events and more. A couple of updates to tell you about. Unfortunately the farmer at Tagg Lane, Monyash, has cancelled our meet the weekend of 9th - 11th June, however the good news is that we have managed to secure Kniveton for that weekend; thanks to Richard and Jill Nicholson for offering to steward the weekend. You will notice that we have a couple of new sites on the calendar for 2023: Dukes Piece near Youlgeave is reviewed on The Camping and Caravanning Club website as "a little gem", so we look forward to camping there 30th June. - 2nd July. On 29th Sept - 1st October we pay a visit to Lees Meadow Farm, Middleton, which has become very popular with DA's over the past couple of years, so it is great to secure a slot for Sheffield DA this year. You can see more of this new site via a YouTube video posted by a Club members Rick and Heather, click here to view. We look forward to seeing you at these new sites. Finally, I would like to thank our 2023 volunteer stewards, we now have almost all of our meets confirmed with stewards, the only regular meet requiring a steward is Hayes Farm at Newstead, 6th - 8th October. If you have considered stewarding and wish to have a chat about what is involved, please contact any committee member, or drop us a message via the website. If you wish to ‘shadow’ a steward for a weekend, then we can arrange that too: I can assure you that you will receive the full support of the committee and the appreciation of campers for all your efforts. There's a lot of camping ahead of us so please read on for details of the Sheffield DA 2023 programme. There's something for everyone so hopefully we'll see you soon. Iain
May Day at Osmaston At the time of writing we are enjoying our traditional programme of family fun over the May Day bank holiday weekend, Friday 28th April - Monday 1st May. Evening marquee events including music quiz; Saturday afternoon family sports; CCY fundraiser featuring Penny Fair with tea and cakes. Former Sheffield DA CCY, Josh Scott Media will be offering photography professional portraits for just £5.00, with 100% proceeds to CCY funds, so look out for Josh's studio in the marquee on Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning will see the now traditional 'Alfresco's Diner', offering breakfast butties, once again proceeds are for the CCY, so pop along ad save yourself cooking on Sunday morning. We round the events off on bank holiday Monday with a family walk around the beautiful Osmaston Park. For those of us at Osmaston, thank you for joining Sheffield DA and we hope you enjoy the bank holiday weekend.
Spring Bank sees us back once again at Hutton Le Hole. The site is located right in the heart of Hutton Le Hole, where Hutton Beck winds casually through the village green. In the village, the visitor can enjoy browsing artisan craft workshops offering unique hand-crafted candles, rugs, carpets and delightful chocolate. Ryedale Folk Museum tells the story of the area through the ages, including over 20 reconstructed buildings ranging from an Iron Age roundhouse to a Tudor mansion and many more. The surrounding area of the North York Moors National Park provides a stunning environment, crossed by the North York Moors Railway with the ‘Heartbeat’ village of Goathland, before giving way to ‘Herriot Country’ to the North and the Vale of York to the south. Plus of course, there is the Yorkshire coast offering traditional seaside and fishing towns of Bridlington, Scarborough and Whitby - perhaps pop to Bempton Cliffs where puffins can be spotted in the spring and early summer. To read more about this holiday site, click here
Summer holiday sites 2023 Looking ahead to the summer, Sheffield DA offers two fantastic holiday sites: Darley Dale is a popular spot close to home turf in the Derwent Valley and further afield we head for North Wales and Criccieth, which coincides with the school holidays is perfect for a great value family holiday with loads to do, literally mountains, coast and castles, all within half an hour from the site! To read more about Darley Dale, click here. To read more about Criccieth, click here.
Sheffield DA invites members to this 5-day meet in the beautiful village of Bishopthorpe. This meet offers a flat field with excellent public transport links to the City of York and beyond. The Sustrans York to Selby cycle route passes close to the site on a mainly traffic-free path using the old East Coast Mainline railway tracking through the Vale of York towards Selby. A perfect route for families and novice cyclists. The village of Bishopthorpe is home to a small group of shops and pubs. As the village name suggests the grade 1 listed Bishopthorpe Palace is the official residence of the Archbishop of York, with successive occupants in residence since 1241. Bishopthorpe offers an opportunity to enjoy a day at the races: The John Smith’s Cup Meeting on Friday 14th & Saturday 15th July 2023 is a key event in the York racing calendar. The Friday highlight is the William Hill Summer Stakes, with events culminating on Saturday with the 64th running of the John Smith's Cup, where the field will be aiming to take the unique Wedgwood trophy. £13.00 per unit night
For your diary Boules Competition: This year the annual boules competition resumes is scheduled for the first weekend of our Darely Dale THS, 7th - 9th July. Yorkshire Region Meet 2023: The Region meet will take place at Grange Park, Wetherby; Thurs 22nd to Sunday 25th June. Sheffield DA block booking closes on Monday 1st May, with monies to be paid to the Treasurer by the closing date (end of Osmaston meet). To secure your place in the Sheffield DA section, please click here to book. Alternatively, you can book directly via Yorkshire Region, the weekend fee is £45.00 or £40.00 if booked prior to 25th May, click here for details. Cheese and wine tasting evening: This year at Kniveton, 9th – 11th June, we will host our popular annual cheese and wine tasting evening in the marquee.
**update 19/5/23**: the cheese and wine evening will now not be taking place at Kniveton, the event will move to a future meet, to be confirmed. Check website and SDA social media for updates. Sheffield DA website is regularly updated with DA and CCY news and events.
That's all for now, let's all look forward to an excellent spring and summer camping season. Thank you for your ongoing support for Sheffield DA and I look forward to seeing you in the field.