Yorkshire Christmas lodge breaks sell on hot tubs and log burners, but the parks differ on dogs, pubs and what is within a drive, and five of them are worth a closer look.
The popular version of a Christmas lodge break is a hot tub on the decking and a bottle in the fridge. The listing shows you the lodge. It rarely shows you what is down the road in December.
What most people miss is the gap between a lodge and a place. A park with its own pub, a castle ten miles away, or a market town on a Friday can change a week in a cabin. This guide covers five parks, with what each has published and what it leaves out. We found no 2026 Christmas prices, so we do not quote any.
Quick Facts
Region: North Yorkshire, from Wensleydale to the North York Moors
Best for: Couples and small groups, dog owners, and anyone who wants a self-catering Christmas without cooking for twelve
Getting there: All five are reached by car; Cedar Retreats is ten minutes off the A1
Time needed: A long weekend at least; the seven-night lodge prices below show how parks usually sell
Yorkshire Christmas lodge breaks: what to check before you book
Start with the three questions a listing often skips. Are dogs allowed, and what do they cost? Is the hot tub private to your lodge? What is open nearby on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day?
Hoseasons’ Yorkshire hot tub page lists 24 entries, with “from” prices for seven nights and tags such as Yorkshire Dales, Bar and Restaurant, and Rural Location. The page marks Akebar Park, Burtree Lakes and a handful of others in a pet-friendly section. These are headline prices, not Christmas prices, and the page does not state the dates behind them.
The same Hoseasons page lists parks as far apart as Scarborough, Hornsea and Ilkley Moor, so check the map before you book. Prices on the page ranged from £208 to £825 for seven nights.
We did not find a Christmas week price for any of the five parks below. Ask each one for its festive terms before you pay a deposit.
Where to Stay: The Hoseasons Yorkshire hot tub list shows all parks, with pet-friendly listings in a dedicated section.
Worth Knowing: The Hoseasons page lists Akebar Park twice, at £319 and £275 for seven nights, so compare the lodge, not just the park.
Akebar Park, Leyburn
Akebar Park, Leyburn, DL8 5LY, is on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and covers 128 acres. Its website says dogs are welcome: there is room for everyone, including well-behaved dogs. The park has an on-site pub and restaurant called The Friars Head. The page we checked did not mention hot tubs or Christmas breaks, but Hoseasons tags Akebar with Hot Tubs and Bar and Restaurant.
Leyburn is the nearest town. Charles II granted the town a market charter in 1686, and a traditional outdoor market is held in the square every Friday, according to Wikipedia. The Shawl is a 1.5-mile-long escarpment west of the town, offering views over Wensleydale. Legend says Mary, Queen of Scots dropped her shawl there when fleeing captivity at Bolton Castle.
Bolton Castle was built between 1378 and 1399 by Richard, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton. Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner there for six months. The castle is Grade I listed, designated on 13 February 1967. The castle’s site lists a daily schedule of 10am to 5pm and a tea room open 10am to 4pm, but gives no winter or Christmas hours. Ring 01969 623981 before you go.
Where to Stay: Akebar Park, Leyburn, DL8 5LY, welcomes well-behaved dogs and has The Friars Head on site.
Worth Knowing: Bolton Castle’s construction ran from 1378 to 1399, and Mary, Queen of Scots was held there for six months.
Cedar Retreats, West Tanfield
Cedar Retreats, West Tanfield, HG4 5LH, sits on six acres with a lake at its centre. The site offers one-, two-, and three-bedroom lodges, and the page says each has decking and a hot tub. It also lists pet-friendly lodges across all three types, but the page does not specify the dog policy, so ask.
The site is six miles from Ripon and ten minutes off the A1, according to its own page. West Tanfield village is about five minutes away, and Lightwater Valley is within a five-minute drive.
The village pub is the Bruce Arms, a coaching inn and stables built in the early 19th century. Wikipedia says the pub was Grade II listed in 1988 and is made of stone, with a stone slate roof and flagstone floors. Its details date from around 2018, when it was mostly run as a restaurant, so check that it is open before you plan a meal there.
Where to Stay: Cedar Retreats, West Tanfield, HG4 5LH. Ring 01677 470284 and ask about dogs.
Worth Knowing: The Bruce Arms and its stable building are both Grade II listed.
Kiplin Lodge Park, Whitwell
Kiplin Lodge Park, Whitwell, Richmond, DL10 6AW, sits between Richmond and Northallerton. Its website says the lodges offer an optional hot tub, and the park is dog-friendly. The lodge page we found lists nine lodges for sale, ranging from £79,654 to £184,688, and it does not state hire prices or winter and Christmas availability.
Ring 07850208242 to ask which lodges are available for hire and whether one has a hot tub.
Kiplin Hall is the neighbour to check. It was built in the 1620s for George Calvert, founder of Maryland. The hall’s 2026 season runs from 6 February to 26 November, open six days a week and closed on Thursdays. The season ends before Christmas, so the hall is not a December stop. The café in the visitor centre is open without a ticket.
Where to Stay: Kiplin Lodge Park, Whitwell, DL10 6AW. Confirm hire lodges and dogs on 07850208242.
Worth Knowing: Kiplin Hall closes its season on 26 November and will be closed at Christmas.
The Pickering and Moors lodges
There is no single Pickering park in this guide. We checked the Sykes listing for Pickering, which returned 46 cottages. Of the 17 listings we checked on the page, 13 had a hot tub, and 12 allowed pets. Most were between about 5 and 12 miles from Pickering, in villages such as Allerston, Allerton, Kirkbymoorside, Cropton, East Heslerton and Keldy.
That mix is useful because the lodge depends on the village. Cropton, Allerston and Allerton were the closest to Pickering at about 5 miles. The page described several listings as Near National Park, and the Keldy cabins as on the edge of the North York Moors National Park.
Seven-night prices on the Sykes page ran from £382 to £1,385, with most between about £400 and £930. They are not Christmas prices.
Pickering is also the town for the North York Moors Railway, which the Sykes page mentions. Read our guide to Yorkshire heritage railway journeys for the line and for what runs in December.
Where to Stay: The Sykes Pickering listing shows each lodge, its hot tub and its pet policy.
Worth Knowing: In the 17 listings we saw, 13 had hot tubs, and 12 were pet-friendly.
Burtree Lakes, Crakehall
Burtree Lakes Holiday Park sits just outside the village of Crakehall, near Bedale, on a 28-acre site with lakes and woodland. Its page lists holiday homes and luxury pods, dog exercise areas and fishing at the Kingfisher coarse pond. It describes itself as a gateway to the North Yorkshire Dales.
Hoseasons lists Burtree Lakes at £279 from for seven nights, with a hot tub and a pet-friendly listing. The page we checked for the park itself did not mention hot tubs, so ask what each unit includes.
Fishing in December is for the committed. The pond is there, and the dog exercise areas are the more useful feature in winter.
Where to Stay: Burtree Lakes Holiday Park, Crakehall, near Bedale. Ask about hot tub units and dogs before booking.
Worth Knowing: The park describes dedicated dog exercise areas across its 28 acres.
Other parks on the Hoseasons list
The Hoseasons Yorkshire hot tub page names more parks than we could check. They include Wighill Manor Lodges near York from £509, Kiplin Country Park at Richmond from £319, Faweather Grange Lodges (The Lookout) on Ilkley Moor from £559, and Dacre Lakeside Park at Brandesburton from £455. Hornsea Lakeside Lodges are listed from £425, and Cedar Retreats appears as Thirsk Lodge from £539.
These are the page’s own headline prices for seven nights. We have not verified the lodges, dog policy, or nearby pubs for these parks, so treat the list as a starting point.
If you want a lodge near a pub you already trust, pair a park with one of the inns in our guide to Tan Hill Inn or with one from our piece on Yorkshire stargazing stays.
Where to Stay: Hoseasons lists all of these parks with “from” prices for a seven-night stay.
Worth Knowing: The cheapest listing on the Hoseasons page was The Bay, Filey, from £208; the dearest was Scarborough Lodge Retreat, from £825.
Practical Tips
- Ask each park for its Christmas terms. We found no festive price or minimum stay.
- Book the dog before the lodge. Several pages say pet-friendly but give no policy.
- Check what is open on Christmas Day. Kiplin Hall, for example, closes its season on 26 November.
- Use the AllTrails app to plan a winter walk from your lodge door, such as the Shawl above Leyburn.
- Ring Bolton Castle before you go. Its site gives a general 10am to 5pm schedule, not Christmas hours.
- Pack for winter driving, and check the road forecast before you set off.
Responsible Visiting
Keep dogs under control near livestock, close gates, and respect quiet hours on the park. Take your rubbish with you and check the hot tub rules before using it late at night.
Reader Q&A
Which Yorkshire lodge park has its own pub?
Akebar Park, which has The Friars Head on site.
Which parks allow dogs?
Akebar Park and Kiplin Lodge Park say they are dog-friendly. Cedar Retreats lists pet-friendly lodges, so ask for its policy.
Do the lodges have hot tubs?
Cedar Retreats says its lodges do. Kiplin offers a hot tub as an option, and Akebar is tagged with hot tubs on Hoseasons.
How much does a Christmas lodge break cost?
We found no Christmas prices. Hoseasons lists seven-night prices ranging from £208 to £825 on its Yorkshire hot tub page, but these are not festive rates.
Is Kiplin Hall open at Christmas?
No. Its 2026 season runs from 6 February to 26 November.
Is Bolton Castle open in winter?
The site gives no winter hours. Ring 01969 623981.
Are the Pickering lodges close to the town?
Most are about 5 to 12 miles from Pickering, according to the Sykes listing.
Where to Stay
Akebar Park, Leyburn. A 128-acre park on the edge of the Dales, with dogs welcome and The Friars Head on site.
Cedar Retreats, West Tanfield. Lodges with hot tubs and a lake, six miles from Ripon.
Kiplin Lodge Park, Whitwell. A dog-friendly park between Richmond and Northallerton, with a hot tub option.
Sykes Pickering lodges, Pickering. A listing of lodges and cottages near the North York Moors.
Burtree Lakes Holiday Park, Crakehall. A 28-acre park with lakes, pods, and dog exercise areas.
For more December ideas, read our guides to the Yorkshire Christmas markets 2026 and the Thirsk Christmas Fair.
When the hot tub cools, and the lane outside goes dark, a Dales lodge is as quiet as a Yorkshire night gets.
