Harrogate is a lovely place to visit as it is, but it holds many a fine memory for me when my family used to drive up to visit my grandad in the holidays, and I managed to make a pilgrimage to his old house before we left. While I was slightly deflated that I wasn’t able to precisely locate some key landmarks at certain points (probably due to following family members around without paying due attention), I had a couple of friends to help me out. Here are some of the highlights:
Power Nap
Hey, don’t judge. Travelling is difficult. I got up at 6am. It took about four and a half hours to get to Harrogate, so I deserved a snooze and a recharge after the train journey (no, I can’t sleep on trains). Also, our Air B&B was very spacious and cosy, so it was difficult not to catch some much-needed Zs.
Essenza
Our first dinner out. It’s a tapas place, but they also had pizza. This was a Friday, and Fridays are pizza time. So…pizza. Pizza with mushrooms. Very big, very delicious. Nice.
Ghost Tour
A lot of fun, especially for the price. I was informed that the Turkish Baths are haunted, particularly the plunge pool area. As a veteran of this particular chilled area, I can tell ya, it ain’t.
Breakfast
We decided to eat in for the most important meal of the day (serving it up, Gary’s way. Shoutout to obscure Spongebob references). So we went to the nearby Asda and got supplies. My breakfast routine is usually pretty beige (Weetabix, Shreddies or something similar), therefore I decided to go radical and purchase some honey cheerios. Our original plan was to try Premier Inn since they have all you can eat breakfasts, part of which involves honey cheerios, but that shiz was crazy expensive when we looked at prices, so honey cheerios at the Air B&B sufficed. And some fruit too.
Turkish Baths
One of the big ones I was looking forward to. I’d been a couple of times already, and this place is super relaxing. While the general vibe involves relaxing in heated areas, my highlight is the plunge pool, because I can do multiple mini lengths while enjoying looking at concerned passer-by’s and also look at people freaking out when they put a toe in the water. My pals preferred the warmer temperatures which is fair, but they nonetheless went in the pool several times, which is admirable. Shoutout to their bravery. I ultimately didn’t get as much time in the cold as I wanted due to new group rules since last time I went, but it was still a load of fun.
The Drum and Monkey
A very nice establishment with a very real monkey decoration adorning the top of its entrance (not so nice, but y’know). This place specialises in fish-related cuisine, which both pals enjoyed. I, however, went a bit rogue and chose the steak. In my defence, it was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. The pudding was impressive too, albeit a little smaller than expected.
Betty’s
If you know Harrogate, then you know Betty’s. It does some of the finest afternoon teas around, and good lord do my pals and I enjoy a fine afternoon tea. Expectations were high, and we weren’t disappointed. We were invited to the top floor, which was super fancy and cultured (think fancy piano tunes, comfy seats) and we got a window seat to top it off. It was initially a bit too cold, but once the windows were closed a bit and a fan was directed away from my pal’s face, it was all good. The staff were even nice enough to replace hot drinks with soft drinks for yours truly (first tier: apple and elderflower, second tier: Betty’s lemonade, third tier: coke). For the afternoon tea novice, first tier is finger sandwiches. Next is scones, followed by the final tier of small cakes/sweets.
The sandwiches were great (they had the usual cucumber sandwich and salmon sandwiches, as well as a chicken sandwich and an egg and pickle sandwich). What was greater, however, was that they offered us an extra round of finger sandwiches after we’d finished the first round. What?! Another round of delicious, questionably nutritious breaded treats? Heck yes.
After consuming that extra course, onto the scones. Very tasty, very nice. The sweets were good too. Also, I was the only one who made it through all of my courses. Arrogant shout out to myself.
RHS Garden Harlow Carr (plus another Betty’s)
It was slightly rainy, and we needed a decent walk to murder some of those calories we’d amassed at Betty’s. So we got a short ride to view some lovely greenery, as well as a live band. And we also found another Betty’s here too. Just had a drink though. Nothing too crazy.
Biscoff Journeys
Whenever we go away on holidays, Biscoff is a delicacy I search for. I seek it out those unnecessary extra calories like a cat seeks out and unnecessarily kills birds. With that ham-fisted simile out of the way, I’ll carry on. I managed to get a slice of Biscoff cake at a café, and also a particularly outstanding Biscoff brownie at a different café. I was also notified about a Biscoff doughnut too, but used willpower to avoid it. But, to paraphrase the inimitable Father Fintan Stack, I had my Biscoff fun, and that’s what matters.
Bookshops
One of our favourite pastimes, which is usually just window shopping, as I rarely ever purchase anything. On this particular occasion, however, I decided to buy the sizeable tome that is ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’. More on that gem in a moment…
Valley Gardens
A lovely area that we visited a few times. Lots of greenery, a lovely atmosphere and generally great vibes. Nice.
Charades
We partook in various games over the holiday, but no game was quite as fun as this particular banger, which we’ve done several times previously. After several nights out on the town, it felt appropriate to finish off with some simple pasta in our abode and then move on to the serious games in the evening. While we all put in some gettable options into the hat, it’s traditional to put a couple of absolute honkers in there too. ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’, it’s your time to shine. I had a lot of fun watching my friend attempt to articulate this demon. That one, and she also got the joy of trying to act out ‘My Life as a Courgette’ too. You know, that obscure animated film? No, I didn’t think so.
In fairness, said friend got her own back with a stinker when I had to do ‘Chorlton and the Wheelies’, and she was apparently surprised to hear that I’d never heard of it before. Having googled it and discovered that it was originally released in 1976, I’m not sure why she’s surprised. Anyway, that provided me with some good roasting material to use later on, and also inspired me with a particular savage comment that made me and said friend laugh uncontrollably for a few minutes. Charades is fun.