Woolly says – We woke to a dull overcast morning with breakfast consumed we set off to make the most of Harrogate and all it had to offer.
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire close to the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The town grew out of two smaller settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, in the 17th century. The town became known as ‘The English Spa’ in the Georgian era, after its waters were discovered in the 16th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries its ‘chalybeate’ waters (containing iron) were a popular health treatment, and the influx of wealthy but sickly visitors contributed significantly to the wealth of the town.
Our first port of call were The Valley Gardens, in Low Harrogate, the town’s main park covering an area originally known as ‘Bogs Field’, where a number of springs were discovered. It was a pretty park and as Alfie the Dog enjoyed the sniffs and smells Jo and I admired the sun pavilion and the tea rooms with their very fancy building.
The last of the roses were holding on as the trees took on their autumn foliage.
We wandered into the town itself where the buildings took centre stage with their Georgian splendour, we found ourselves at Bettys Tea Rooms which were established in 1919 and owned by Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate – the same company that market Yorkshire Tea. The interior looked very classy and one that was reminiscent of the twenties, I could just imagine the flappers waving their beads and sipping their brews.
Bettys was in the Montpellier Quarter which is now the centre of the town’s nightlife, some of the buildings above shop level were lovely. The Turkish baths looked very posh and most unlike those that my carer uses in Turkey.
Every corner that we turned led us to more of the lovely buildings and more green spaces with trees providing shade for the summer days, the town was wonderful and it was easy to understand why so many visitors flock there.
We arrived back at the hotel we had spent the night in which was also unique in that it was famous for the reappreance of the famous author Agatha Christie after a ten day disappearance. On the evening of 3 December 1926 Agatha and her husband Archie argued probably about the affair that he was having with a 25 year old, she left their home to spend a weekend away with friends. The next morning Agatha’s abandoned car was found several miles away by Surrey Police partly submerged in bushes at Newlands Corner in Guildford, Surrey, the apparent result of a car accident. The fact that the driver was missing but the headlights were on and a suitcase and coat remained in the back seat only fuelled the mystery.
In the aftermath of Agatha’s disappearance both Archie Christie and his mistress Nancy Neale were under suspicion and a huge manhunt was undertaken by thousands of policemen and eager volunteers. Ten days later, the head waiter at the Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire, (now known as the Old Swan Hotel) contacted police with the news that a South African guest by the name of Theresa Neale, may actually be the missing writer in disguise. In a dramatic unmasking which would have been at home in the pages of any Christie novel, Archie travelled with the police to Yorkshire and took a seat in the corner of the hotel’s dining room from where he watched his estranged wife walk in, take her place at another table and begin reading a newspaper which heralded her own disappearance as front page news. When approached by her husband, witnesses noted a general air of puzzlement and little recognition for the man to whom she had been married for nearly 12 years. Although reunited they proceeded to divorce in 1928. What a brilliant claim to fame, having made the panting animal comfortable in the car we headed to the Pump House to find out more about the spas and the waters that the area was famous for.
I had checked the opening times so the mammoth and I were a little perplexed to arrive and find that it was closed, the nearby newsagent informed us that there had been a sign up yesterday stating that they were closed due to COVID amongst the staff.
Woolly says – The ugly virus is still a factor and sadly for the UK numbers are starting to rise again.
Having considered our options, we re-joined Alfie the Dog and headed back to Knaresborough for a look at the castle.
The castle was first built by a Norman baron in 1100 on a cliff above the River Nidd (still a great name for a river). In 1205 King John took control of Knaresborough Castle and spent £1,290 on improvements. The castle was later rebuilt between 1307 and 1312 by Edward I and later completed by Edward II. Philippa of Hainault took possession of the castle in 1331, at which point it became a royal residence. The queen often spent summers there with her family. Her son, John of Gaunt acquired the castle in 1372, adding it to the vast holdings of the Duchy of Lancaster. Katherine Swynford, Gaunt’s third wife, obtained the castle upon his death. The castle was taken by Parliamentarian troops in 1644 during the Civil War and largely destroyed in 1648, not as the result of warfare but because of an order from Parliament to dismantle all Royalist castles.
There wasn’t a great deal left so the troops had done a good job from there point of view, we stood staring up at the remains of the Kings Tower, empty windows and crumbling brickwork looked over the river far below.
The archways remained as did some small window spaces but little else. The grounds had some small areas of the original castle walls but not much more, it did make a nice stroll however and I looked forward to seeing what the museum had to offer.
Covid struck again as the sign on the former courthouse turned museum stated that it was closed due to staff shortages due to the virus.
Woolly says – Feeling disappointed but knowing there was little to do about it I waved a farewell to the castle and we headed onwards to place where Jo was to have her interview in our quest for work for next year.