It takes about an hour and a half to get to Harrogate from Manchester. There is no quick way to get there. It’s 55 or so miles using M62 and then a variety of A roads, or 72 miles using M62 and A1. Either way it’s one and a half hours. At the moment even longer as there are road works on the M62 with the average speed limit of 50 miles per hour. I’m seriously considering curtailing trips to Yorkshire on the basis of these road works.
We’ve been to Harrogate a few times over the years. My friend Shaun loves Harrogate and can
always be found here in December doing his Christmas shopping. I’ve stopped overnight here on a business
trip and it’s all very civilized apart from the kids hanging around outside the
supermarket at night.
It was a lovely day and as we walked into Harrogate all the
pubs were jam packed full of people drinking in the beer gardens. Any sign of sunshine and it’s practically a
national holiday in this country with people flocking to the pub. We noticed a number of convertible cars with their
tops down cruising through the town - it must have been their first outing this
year.
Harrogate has a pedestrianized shopping area, which is good
for a safe wander. It’s a classy place
and there are plenty of classy shops in Harrogate. Obviously there was the obligatory Betty’sTea Room. It has all your usual high
street shops along with your classy chains like The White Room and Molton Brown,
so there is no real need for the locals to head off to nearby Leeds.
In the past we’ve explored the antique shops here. Unfortunately as time was pressing we hadn’t
the chance to browse round them. I definitely
would check out Space which does 20th century vintage and retro
antiques. It’s a fun shop to browse
round and there I found out the vase I bought for my Mum in the 80s was worth
about £40.
The town is predominantly populated with rather impressive Victorian
buildings made of Yorkshire stone. On
the road into Harrogate you couldn’t help but notice the grand Victorian Villas
that line the streets. Given the
well-to-do nature of the town, as it’s a commuter town for the wealthy who work
in nearby Leeds, there is little to indicate there is a recession going
on. It’s only when you get off the main
drag of shops where you find the odd empty shop.
Harrogate is well known for being a conference town. The large Conference Centre is on the edge of
the shopping area. If there is a
conference on it can be hard to find parking.
The nearby streets are often packed with people with conference passes
hanging from lanyards having a crafty smoke or a gossip with other delegates. I would definitely jump at the chance at
going to a conference here as it’s a nice place to go and I would bunk off the
networking sessions to go visit the town centre.
Our main focus of our trip to Harrogate was the charity
shops. Classy towns often mean classy
charity shops. Neil was in his element
browsing the vinyl records and I was happy browsing the rather well organised
and extensive book section. If I was at
a conference here and needed something to read I would definitely head to the
charity shops rather than the nearby WHSmiths as they have a great range of
books: British Heart Foundation and Oxfam spring to mind.
Typically my favourite places in a town are not necessarily
the posh places, but the dubious little side streets with interesting
independent shops and often lots of charity shops (cheap rents). In Harrogate that street is called Commercial
Street. In recent times I’ve gotten into
patchwork and there are a couple of fabric shops that are worth a visit: The Remnant House which is packed full of fabric at really cheap prices; and the White Rose Sewing and Craft Centre for all your crafting needs. Neil is a fan of a tiny, but filled to the
rafters, second hand book shop along here called Books for All. He found another ‘Top of the Pops’ annual to
add to his growing collection.
Our two hours were up and we headed off back to Manchester. However you really have to spend a whole day
here to experience the loveliness of this town. I’ve yet to find a tolerable
drive back to Manchester from Harrogate, however it’s worth the aggravation as
not only is it a classy town, but you also get to drive through some beautiful
countryside.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.