The North Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate
From wild and rugged moorlands to dramatic coastline, pretty harbours and historic towns rich in important architecture, North Yorkshire is a stunningly diverse destination. Property in the region ranges from railway cottages to manor houses and from riverside apartments to coastal conversions. North Yorkshire also has a renowned and esteemed reputation for hospitality. Much loved Yorkshire classics, like the ubiquitous Yorkshire pudding are complimented by some of Europe’s finest restaurants, run and owned by chefs who prepare dishes using only locally grown food.
For walkers and cyclists, sited snugly next to the brooding North York Moors, is the Yorkshire Dales National Park. A feast of high peaks, moorland, rugged stone walls and spotted with extravagant houses and monastic ruins. The park’s scenery is second to none and provides visitors with a taste of what locals have coined, ‘God’s country’.
The region, then, has something for all. From a luxurious spa or gastro weekend away in a sleepy, rural location, to a permanent move to the area or a few day’s jaunt in the fabulously rugged countryside. The north may be the largest of Yorkshire’s four counties, but it is also the most untouched and effortlessly breathtaking.
HARROGATE
The North Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate is famous for its tea shops, flower shows, Turkish baths, fashion stores and associations with the great crime novelist, Agatha Christie, who disappeared there for a few days in the 1930s. Its popularity as a spa began when the first well was discovered in 1571 by William Slingsby, who christened the town ‘the English spa’. Yet today it is also emerging as a centre for music and literary festivals, with the International Conference Centre as a key concert venue. Harrogate International Festival, which was launched in 1966, has grown into one of the region’s leading arts organisations. Music of all kinds, from classical to contemporary has remained at the heart of its spring series of chamber music recitals and month-long summer festival for the past four decades.
The hugely successful Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, has fast become Europe’s leading crime writing event, attracting a dazzling array of international best-selling authors in conversation, publishing seminars and panel sessions. Before you leave, do try the town’s own brand of bottled water, Harrogate Spa. Known for being low in sodium, having a well-balanced mineral content and slightly sweet flavour, it is has proved incredibly popular and in less than two years is a top 20 bestselling water brand in the UK.
SPECIAL PLACES TO VISIT
A visit to North Yorkshire wouldn’t be complete without a trip to these selected attractions
HAREWOOD HOUSE Home to the Queen’s cousin, the Earl of Harewood, this stunning mid-18th century Palladian country house recently won Gold as the UK’s best large visitor attraction at the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence. The stunning gardens were designed by Capability Brown and the house features work by Robert Adam and Thomas Chippendale. It will host an enlightening Below Stairs exhibition of the life as it would have been for the many staff.
The house and gardens are open daily until 1st November 2009. Adults, £12.25, children, £6.10. Tel 0113 218 1010 or log onto www.harewood.org
BETTYS TEA ROOMS Fresh and dainty fare served in a traditional English style is the secret of success for this Yorkshire institution, which now features six cafes across the county, including the Harrogate original, opened in 1919. If you can’t pop in for English Breakfast or Afternoon Tea, do purchase a box of Bettys infamous speciality, Fat Rascals (almond and cherry packed fruity scones), from the shop, or delight in Bettys by Post mail order wherever you live. Tel 01423 814000 or visit www.bettys.co.uk for opening hours.
THE BRONTE PARSONAGE MUSUEM Strictly situated in West Yorkshire, we couldn’t resist including this for our literary-minded readers. Home to authors and sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, from 1820 to 1861, this charming museum has been open for over 75 years. Set between the unique village of Haworth, and the wild moorland beyond, this homely Georgian house still retains the atmosphere of the Brontës' time. Tel 01535 642323 or visit www.bronte.org.uk for information.
© The English Home magazine