BEWARE ramraiders; GO WILD CAMPING OFF THE BEATEN TRACK.

Byline: BY PAUL COLE

THUD! The sound shatters the silence and the whole place shakes.

CRUNCH! There it is again. Something that goes bump in the night.

We peer cautiously out of the window. There is nothing to be seen.

To the left stretches windswept Blea Moor; to the right rises chill Cam Fell.

It's 11pm. It's dark. Very dark.

We've just been reading about black magic, and we're out in the wilds of the Yorkshire Dales.

But there's no sign of anyone - anything - out there. False alarm.

CRASH! No sooner do I sit down than it's back, whatever it is.

Welcome to the world of wild camping. In a motorhome, that is.

I switch on the outside lights and scan the surroundings.

Still nothing. But wait, now there's a scratching noise at the back.

And here's the culprit - a deluded ram has taken a liking to the bike rack.

Perhaps he sees it as a rival. Perhaps he's trying out for the Beast of Bodmin.

If so, he's in the wrong place at the wrong time. I fire up the engine and the intruder shuffles off to safety.

But wait. Who is the intruder here? It's us, I realise, as we settle down for the night.

Adrenaline We've stopped on the top of the moor within sight of the famous Ribblehead Viaduct. And although we have the place to ourselves, that's not counting the hundreds of sheep who actually live here.

After a week of travelling between campsites across the county, we've finally taken the plunge and gone solo.

The gas heater's been fired up, the electrics are running on battery power and we're running on adrenaline.

Every sudden night-time sound is amplified out here. Perhaps the dark sorcery of the novel we'd been reading to each other during the week has been a mistake.

Where's a nice Mills & Boon when you need one?

But, d'you know, the night passes without further incident. We don't hear the Phantom Highwayman galloping down the road. There isn't a mad axeman in sight.

And next morning we watch the sunrise across Langstrothdale Chase, its rays lighting the viaduct pillar by pillar.

It's for scenes like this that small motorhomes were surely invented.

A couple of days back, we'd found another idyllic spot, this time for a leisurely lunch that lingered long into the evening.

Negotiating six cattle grids, two fords, hairpin bends and passing places, we'd followed the narrow single-track Roman road that leads from Goathland to Stape high on Wheeldale Moor.

Just before you reach Pickering Forest, there's a flat piece of ground where a brook babbles boisterously through the heather.

We pulled off the road, switched on and cooked up a feast in the kitchen.

All in splendid isolation. You can't do that in the car.

Wild camping is widely accepted on the Continent but remains a bone of contention here in Britain.

With ever-increasing swathes of the countryside in private ownership, just parking up for the night isn't as simple as it sounds.

Some areas ban it altogether. Others turn a blind eye as long as you're not a blot on the landscape.

The general rule seems to be that if you're up in the hills, or in the middle of nowhere, and you've not had to open a gate to get to your spot, you can happily hunker down for the night.

It's best to arrive after teatime, when the day-trippers have all gone home, and leave before the morning rush-hour.

If you're close to a farmhouse - although that rather defeats the object of getting away from it all - then ask. More often than not, you'll be given permission to camp for the night.

Especially if you order some milk and eggs for breakfast.

But back to our mobile home from home.

We're travelling in an Auto-Sleeper Sigma EK motorhome, made in the Midlands.

At their Orchard Works in the Worcestershire village of Willersley, Auto-Sleepers have been building motorhomes for more than 40 years, and are the longestestablished manufacturers in the UK.

The Sigma is a compact vehicle that comfortably sleeps a family of four but is ideally suited for two adults on the move.

With all mod cons from a fully-fitted kitchen to an onboard loo and shower room, you have everything you need.

There's a good surround-sound stereo and you can even have a flat screen TV fitted.

What's more, it's remarkably easy to drive. You'll have the hang of it within half an hour of setting off.

Most of all, a motorhome offers freedom and flexibility. You can change your plans at the drop of a hat, or the arrival of a weather front, and there are plenty of campsites around the UK.

Most of the bigger sites - and a surprising number of the smaller ones, too - offer mains electricity hook-ups. Some add TV aerial booster sockets, and even your own personal plumbing.

Before our wild night on the moors, we'd stayed at a couple of contrasting sites.

Brown Moor, operated by The Caravan Club, lies a short walk from the centre of picture-postcard market town Hawes, a favourite of visitors to the Yorkshire

It's a quiet, neatly-laned site popular with motorhome owners and caravanners alike. Spotlessly clean, its spacious pitches are sheltered by rows of trees.

Facing the River Ure, it's handy for the pubs and antiques shops forwhich Hawes is renowned - try Black Sheep bitter - and close to the Dales Countryside Museum.

The site reception doubles as a small shop selling essentials, although there's a Spar supermarket only 15 minutes' walk away in the village. This is motorhome camping made easy.

After a few days exploring the area, we headed North to Whitby and pulled up for the night unannounced at Sandfield House Farm - a site we spotted on the outskirts of town.

The overnighter turned in to a week as we lingered on the clifftop park, which offers views across the links golf course to the North Sea beyond, and offers a short cut to the shore.

Sandfield is a privately-run site affiliated to the Coventry-based Camping And Caravanning Club, and managed by Staffordshire couple Anne and John Holmes.

They've been wardens for several years, previously managing sites on the South coast and in the Lake District - but this stretch of North Yorkshire is their favourite so far.

"I used to be a nursing sister at North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary," says Anne, 56. "I was working in the Intensive Care Unit but the continual cuts in the NHS wore me down."

Husband John, 62, had been a chef working abroad, so they decided to put their caring and catering skills to new use.

"We have a motorhome of our own," says John. "One day, while talking to a site warden, we thought: 'We could do that!' So we applied and did our apprenticeship.

"Now here we are. It's a lovely peaceful site yet it's only a mile from Whitby. We've been here three years and we'll stay longer if the owner is happy for us to do so."

The picturesque fishing port is a 20-minute stroll along the beach or high road, and home to The Magpie Cafe, which serves what celebrity chef Rick Stein reckons is Britain's best fish and chips.

"Don't order the large portion," we were told time and again as we queued in the street - yes, it's that popular - for a lunchtime table. "You'll never manage to eat it all."

Being awkward, I did. And no, I didn't either.

This is fish fresh from the harbour wall 50ft away, and it is scrumptious. I once had fish and chips in the Orkneys and reckoned they couldn't be beaten.

Wrong again.

No, it's not cheap at pounds 9.95 for a regular cod and chips. But believe me, this must be how they fed the five thousand with a couple of fish - helpings are of Biblical proportions.

And that brings us full circle to the generous living space of our motorhome.

That ramclearly knew a tasty treat when it saw one.

No butts.

motorhome facts

Paul Cole was travelling in an Auto-Sleeper Sigma EK, based on the Peugeot 2.2HDI. The retail price is pounds 39,995 but you can hire one for pounds 450 a week upwards from rental companies.

The vehicle used on this trip came from Hayes Leisure in Darlaston, West Midlands, who can be called on 0121 526 3433. For details of motorhomes for sale, click on www.hayesleisure.co.uk.

Motorhomes start from around pounds 19,000 and go up to more than pounds 70,000.

For more information on motorhomes head off to the Motorhome Information Service site www.motorhomeinfo.co.uk or give them a call on 01444 458889.

The International Caravan & Motorhome Show runs each year at Birmingham's NEC.

Visit website www.caravanshows.com for full admission details.

campsite facts

A motorhome pitch with electric hook-up at Brown Moor costs Caravan Club members pounds 4.80 a night in the saver season.

To that, add pounds 4.40 per adult and pounds 1.50 per child per night.

Rates rise to pounds 7.60 per pitch, pounds 5.50 per adult and pounds 2.50 per child in peak season. Call the site on 01969 667338 or the Caravan Club booking service on 0800 328 6635.

For information and online booking of sites, click on www.caravanclub.co.uk.

A motorhome pitch with electric hook-up at Sandfield House Farm is from pounds 13 a night (for four people) in low season, rising to pounds 15.50 in high season.

Call 01947 602660.

For more information see www.sandfieldhousefarm.co.uk.

For info on the Camping and Caravanning Club, call 024 7647 5448 or click on www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk