Blog

A grand piano, an iconic beauty spot and a time for reflection…   Ann Chadwick of Cause UK tells us why she and her sister Clair arranged for a pianist to play a piano in possibly the most inconvenient place imaginable.

Locations across the Harrogate district have carried their sense of drama onto both big screen and small with countless appearances in film and television, here are just a few of our favourites.

Knaresborough is a delightful market town with the ruins of a medieval castle perched on a cliff top and winding streets and passageways leading down to the River Nidd below.

The kids may be going back to school and the nights are coming in just little earlier, but across the Harrogate district there is still a taste of summer to be enjoyed.  We share some of the best places to find it across the area.

Put one foot in front of the other and go walking this September and October across the Harrogate district.  The autumn months and the coming of winter paints Yorkshire in fabulous colours and you can explore it all across the Harrogate district with these five walks.

One of Harrogate's accommodation provider's is rated among the best of the best worldwide.

Every August the hills around Nidderdale turn a deep and vibrant purple as the heather comes into flower.   We share eight of our favourite places where you can explore this landscape and see the heather for yourself.

One of our regular travellers couldn't wait to enjoy a weekend away this month.  It turned out it was not so different and just went to show we can still enjoy a hotel stay post lockdown.

We're so pleased to be able to welcome visitors back to the glorious heart of Yorkshire.  Welcome back to food, shopping, gardens and heritage.  Welcome back to Harrogate!

As part of the national Know Before You Go campaign, we want you to enjoy a great visit to Harrogate, with all the information you need for a wonderful day out.

Thousands of beautiful, white, paper angels are being created and displayed in hope and in memory of loved ones and heroes. The final dramatic installation should be open for public viewing during August and September.

We talked to Olivia MacCunn of The Japanese Shop in Harrogate about working in one the town’s more surprising retail offerings. Olivia is no stranger to blog posts as she has also contributed to the content on the shop’s site which is a fascinating source of Japanese culture, history and quality products.

Be recognised as a responsible business for people to visit and spend time with the new nationally recognised scheme from Visit Britain.  We're Good to Go is free and open to all.

The tourism year can be hard to predict at the best of times.  England's oldest tourist attraction is named after the prophet Mother Shipton, so the irony of this particularly unpredictable year is not lost on Jay Stelling of Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well.

Katherine Musgrove, Garden Manager at RHS Garden Harlow Carr describes how the gardens have blossomed during the many months of lockdown before reopening to public this month.

We spoke to Keith Caygill, Director of Best of Britain Day Trips, about the challenges facing his business.  

If you are missing your favourite pub quizzes, we have a special event that you can enjoy from home while raising money for local charity, Henshaws.

Amanda George, Public Relations Officer for Knaresborough Lions, explains how this much loved event is going virtual and how you can get involved.

Further socially distanced digital rummagings through the museum collection have been taking place this week, Assistant Curator Nicola Baxter took a few minutes to share her findings with us.

We spoke to Simon Cotton, Managing Director HRH Group about diversifying a restaurant during a pandemic and this is what he told us in his own words.

The Harrogate Museums team share some of the curious items in their collections, and the stories behind them.

Claire Jones and Andy Merrick share their journey in creating the idilic glamping site of Strawberry Safari on their old railway site and horticultural nursery.

When husband and wife team Gabby and Paul Palmer took over the renowned Mackenzies Smokehouse and Farm Shop just off the A59 at Blubberhouses, they like the rest of us had no idea what would face us in the Spring of 2020.  Gabby told us their story.

Harrogate's festival celebrting women in beer and brewing will go on in a special virutal form for 2020.  The festival's creator Rachel Auty tells us all about it.

We have collated some ideas for creating a relaxing spa day at home and look forward to the time when we can welcome you to enjoy the Harrogate spa experience in person.

Find out why the Yorkshire Agricultural Society is promoting ‘Farm to Fork’ in their new campaign.

Will Roberts from the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park updates us on what the team have been doing over the past few months and welcomes their new Head Gardener.

See how this ancient tradition has adapted to the current situation.

Learn a little more about the largest parish church in Harrogate, a venue for services, weddings and community activities.

The team at Harrogate's ever popular Fodder share how they are adapting to serve their customers during the Coronavirus 

Why not spend some of your time at home learning how to mix a really good cocktail with these recipes from Spirit of Harrogate?

If you are missing the exotic flavours of your favourite holidays or restaurants, you can recreate them in your own home thanks to these ideas from Las Iguanas.

The story of Bettys tea rooms does not start in Yorkshire but in Switzerland...

Find out more about the legendary Mother Shipton of Knaresborough and the curious properties of the Petrifying Well.

Spirit of Harrogate have provided us with this inspiration for something we can enjoy at home.

For those (of a certain age), the ‘get out of jail free’ card, the ‘bzzzzz’ of Operation, and high stakes of Buckaroo will bring back warm, fuzzy or – let’s admit it - murderous memories.

Rainy days, family Christmas’s, sibling rivalry. It’s a potent combo. But board games are back, and they’re big.

A few ideas of places to go to enjoy the natural beauty of the season.

For the next two months RHS Garden Harlow Carr celebrates the Daffodil.  With over 70 varieties, and 70,000 blooms, there is no better place to go daffy for Daffodils this spring.  We get a sneak peak and some top Daf tips from the RHS team ahead of the event.

Chris Mason, manager of the Turkish Baths Harrogate, reflects on why it's not just visitors who love the experience of visiting Harrogate's original destination spa.

This year we celebrate 125 years of the National Trust. The National Trust was founded to care for historic properties, areas of beautiful countryside and to provide access to green spaces for everyone.

As Ripon Museums celebrate the opening of their new Exhibtion, Prisoners on Prisoners, curator Leah Mellors shares the story of its creation. 

During 2019 Leah and artist Faye Claridge visited prisoners in HMP Askham Grange and through the records of Ripon Prison, discover parallels between the prisoners of today, and prisoners of Ripon up to 100 years ago.

February is the month of some of our favourite celebrations and events.

Don't be stuck for things to do with the family this half-term.  Get out, explore, get wet, get warm, get inspired around Harrogate this February.

During the first few months of the year take advantage of some delicous special offers and treat yourself to a great value meal out.

Happy New Year.  We are now taking orders on our major print project for 2020, our suite of mini-guides, individual guides for Harrogate, Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Masham, Ripon and Pateley Bridge.  Find out more.

Discover 10 great attractions in the heart of Yorkshire that you can visit this January and February.  Don't let winter keep you indoors, get out and explore Harrogate!

Start the year with some relaxation in Harrogate

As 2020 gets underway we are looking forward to so many exciting highlights throughout the year.

Festive treats around the Harrogate district with ideas for things to do and places to go leading up to Christmas and throughout January.

Explore the landscape heritage and wildlife of the Harrogate District with ten great walks for autumnal afternoons and winter wanders.  These walks vary from long to short, simple to more adventurous so there is something for everyone.

There is something fun for everyone this November in the Harrogate district.