Gepubliceerd op 7 augustus 2016 | Laatst aangepast op 5 juli 2024
Harrogate (de op drie na gelukkigste plek ter wereld) door de ogen van gids Steve Sutcliffe
Harrogate as we know it was started when William Slingsby discovered a sulphur well in 1571. From this humble beginning, word spread of its health giving qualities. Through the 18th and 19th centuries hospitals, hotels and hydropathic institutions developed into the grand buildings we see today. All that remains of the spa treatments are the Turkish Baths on Parliaments St, where you can experience what they were like in 1890. After the 1778 Act of Parliament granted free and permanent access on what we now call the Stray, Doctors encouraged the clientele to have long walks as well as taking the waters, the average stay here was 2 weeks to get the full benefit of exercise and spa water
Harrogate is also unique in having 88 springs within 2 miles radius of the centre of the town. Every one of these springs has a slightly different chemical analysis! The spring by the Pump Room Museum (now capped) is the strongest sulphur well in Europe! This water, smelling like rotten eggs and gunpowder, was good for the digestive system and also skin complaints like psoriasis.
To take away the taste of the water, Original Harrogate Toffee was invented by a man called John Farrar in 1840. This was made of 3 types of sugar, barley and lemon. The shop is still there in Montpellier.
Another food legend of Harrogate is the world famous Bettys Tearooms, serving quality food with excellent service since 1919, their reputation is worldwide. With only 6 restaurants in North Yorkshire, they serve over a million customers every year! Bettys are also responsible for the famous “Yorkshire Tea” after buying the Taylors of Harrogate company in 1962. The latest addition to Harrogates tourism portfolio is The Slingsby Gin shop and Museum, also in the Montpelier quarter.
To add to the feeling of relaxation are the solid quality of the buildings, all made from Millstone Grit, built to last! Combined with Valley View Gardens, RHS Harlow Carr Gardens and the surrounding countryside, you begin to understand why Harrogate has been voted “the happiest place to live” for the last 3 years! Not only that, in 2014 it was voted 3rd most romantic place, beating Paris, Vienna and Rome.
Harrogate attracts 5.4 million visitors a year, 250,000 visiting the Harrogate International Conference Centre. It has all types of accommodation for up to 15,000 bed spaces, and over 135 restaurants in the area. It has hosted the Eurovision Song contest, The Tour De France and The Great Yorkshire Show every July. Other attractions outside of Harrogate: Knaresborough, Castle, Mother Shiptons cave and spectacular bridge. Ripon, 4th smallest City in Britain, home to the oldest ceremony in the world, the Ripon Hornblower. Ripley Castle,is home to one of the oldest families in the Country, the Ingilbys.
The World Heritage Site of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, near Ripon, has a combination of 12thC religious buildings and 18thC water gardens.
www.yorkshireinstyleco.uk for the stories behind the scenery!
… en waarom ‘Ein bisschen Frieden’? Nicole won hier het eerste Songfestival dat buiten een grote Europese stad werd georganiseerd, in Harrogate dus (1982).
Meer over Harrogate? Britblog was er eens en schreef daar over, lees hier Harrogate is meer dan Yorkshire Tea
