A day out in Harrogate
We had our long August Bank Holiday weekend all planned out – a back-to-basics camping trip with friends and a visit to family down south. But then we broke down five miles out of Leeds and our plans went up in the steam emanating from the engine of our car!
We were home, with no car and no plans, the weather forecast was great for Tuesday and with everyone else heading back to work we really needed to do something to make up for our lost holiday. So we decided to leave Bingley and head to the Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate.
We had no idea what to do in Harrogate so we sent out a call on Twitter for suggestions, turning our day into an impromptu TwiTrip.
Turkish Baths and Spa, Harrogate @miss_thrifty recommended the Turkish Baths: they were, quite simply, divine. For £13 each (off peak mixed session) you get up to 3 hours in the hot rooms in a stunning 19th century setting. Wooden changing cubicles with thick red curtains, marble shower rooms and vibrantly tiled hot rooms all help to soothe away the outside world and take you to a place of calm and relaxation.
Make sure you book in advance (we had a close call on getting in at all), and give yourself as long as possible there. And don’t worry if you’ve never done anything like it before – we got shown around by Bob, who explained the whole thing to us and was really welcoming and friendly.
Post-baths we were somewhat euphoric and absolutely starving so we set off for B.E.D (Burnsey Eat Drink), recommended by @sgwarnog.
Whilst lunch is no longer run by the chefs of the vegetarian café Wild Ginger, B.E.D didn’t disappoint – they still had plenty of gluten free options for me, and my hubby had a fantastic steak ciabatta. The staff were polite, patient and really nice, Matt our waiter, made me feel so at ease with my gluten free diet that I ended up ordering a large glass of wine too!
When I was a kid I used to judge a restaurant by its toilets so I would have undoubtedly loved this place – the ladies loo was designed by a 2 ½ year old, complete with a Barbie on the door!
Games in Parks, Valley Gardens, Harrogate Diverting slightly from our TwiTrip our next stop was another childhood memory – the Pitch and Putt in Valley Gardens.
An 18 hole par 3 course, the Pitch and Putt is great value for money, £3.70 for an adult player and it takes a good couple of hours to get round (well if you are as bad as I am it does!). Set in a beautiful park, going up a gentle hill so that the roof tops of Harrogate appear gradually beyond the trees, it is a really pleasurable way to spend an afternoon.
Losing at Pitch and Putt, Valley Gardens, Harrogate If Pitch and Putt isn’t your bag there is Crazy Golf, Disc Golf, Table Tennis, Tennis and a fantastic kid’s adventure park with a paddling pool. All the equipment you need is available to hire at very reasonable prices, open until October. Or you could just find a nice spot on the grass amongst the beautiful flower beds and lay your head down for a couple of hours!
We were tempted by @hollyrowan’s suggestion of cocktails at Hotel du Vin, but were led astray by our love of real ale and got lured into the Bell Tavern on recommendation of Dave from B.E.D.
The Bell Tavern is one of Market Town Tavern’s pubs, and like their other pubs I’ve been to – Arcadia in Headingley, The Narrow Boat in Skipton and Coopers in Guisely – it didn’t disappoint. A great selection of ales, simple décor and a bar-fly moaning about the Leeds Rhino defeat at Wembley!
We missed out @emmabob3 and @sparkle555’s endorsement of the famous and much lauded Betty’s tea rooms. Maybe it’s the Yorkshire mithers in us, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to spend £3.25 on a cup of tea!
Sun Pavilion, Harrogate Sadly we also failed to follow up @Louisiem’s tweet recommendation of seeing the 70ft frieze by Harrogate artist Frances Darlington in the foyer of Harrogate Theatre, as it was closed. I did have a peak through the door though and will put it on my list for next time, along with her work at St. Wilfrid’s Church.
Kitted out with a mini-picnic for the train home we sat back to enjoy the sunset as the train swept through beautiful countryside and over dramatic viaducts. I’d highly recommend going by train to avoid the stress of parking and allow you to truly relax and sample all the delights of Harrogate.
I’m still surprised by how good a day we had – we condensed an entire holiday into one day and only had to go a few miles down the road to do it.
