Between The Pubs: Harrogate
By Kate Simon
Harrogate Beer Week celebrates the town’s brews and brewing from 19-25 September, with special events at pubs, taps and other venues. But what is there to do and see between the pints in this genteel town in North Yorkshire? I took a look around.
What a stinker
Get your bearings at the petite Royal Pump Room Museum, which not only tells the story of Harrogate’s rise as a spa centre but features one of its famous wells. The stone rotunda was built to shelter wealthy patrons flocking in their thousands to take waters drawn from the strongest sulphur springs in Europe. You can see the wellhead and serving counter, but you’ll need to use the tap in the outside wall for a sip of the stinking stuff – beware, its reputation as a cure-all was due to its purging properties. The mind boggles at the recreated Victorian treatment rooms, itineraries charting days spent whiling away time between glasses of the foul liquid, and evidence of once-revolutionary treatments, such as the mahogany bath on wheels in which patients were immersed in peat. Among other objects are artefacts from ancient Egypt, a very long way from home, and a set of Fabergé cutlery given to a local family by the last Czarina of Russia, which reveals a connection between the Romanovs and Yorkshire.
Royal Pump Room Museum, Crown Pl, HG1 2RY, www.harrogate.gov.uk/royal-pump-room-museum.
Blow hot and cold
If you had stood on Crescent Green in the late 1800s you could have taken your pick of the spa baths at its manicured edges. This was the site of the Royal Baths, a vast complex of facilities now occupied by the tourist office, a Chinese restaurant and, in the winter gardens, a Wetherspoons. Of the original facilities, only the Turkish Baths is still open. It’s a rare beauty, a fantasy of Islamic arches and arabesque ceilings, with glazed brick walls and terrazzo mosaic floors that pop with colour. The polished wooden changing stalls and Thomas Crapper sanitary ware are rather beautiful, too, if lending the place something of a municipal air. Book a session (mixed or single sex) and you’ll be ushered in by a friendly guide, who will explain how to heat, cool and cleanse your body by circuiting the Frigidarium (35C), Tepidarium (45C), Calidarium (55C), and the Laconium (up to 70C). There’s a steam room, too, so hot you’ll think your eyeballs are burning. Just be sure to drink plenty of water and take frequent dips in the plunge pool (an icy 20C).
Turkish Baths, Parliament Street, HG1 2WH, www.turkishbathsharrogate.co.uk.
Green, green grass
As an alternative to blasting your body with extremes of temperature, you could just go for a relaxing walk. Harrogate is blessed with two large green spaces. The Stray is a 200-acre stretch of open common, protected by an Act of Parliament. (Return in spring to see it carpeted with crocuses.) Valley Gardens is more cultivated, with Japanese and New Zealand gardens, and a Sun Pavilion and Colonnade that were Grade II listed as part of Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. The area was previously known by the less fragrant name Bogs Field because 36 of the town’s 88 mineral wells were discovered here, which could explain the emerald colour of the grass despite a scorching summer. Follow the path to the pinewoods and about a mile through the trees you’ll reach RHS Garden Harlow Carr.
The Stray, York Place, HG1 1BJ, https://www.visitharrogate.co.uk/business-directory/the-stray-harrogate. Valley Gardens, Cornwall Road & Valley Drive, HG1 2SZ, www.harrogate.gov.uk/visit-parks-woodlands/valley-gardens-harrogate. RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Beckwithshaw, HG3 1QB, https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr.
It’s showtime
Just as the spa business went into decline, Harrogate had the bright idea to copy its European competitors and launched a competition to build a theatre, the Kursaal – or Cure Hall – to keep the punters entertained. The winner was the architect Robert Beale, but the spectacular Baroque-style auditorium, lavished with gilded plasterwork mouldings, is the work of the fêted theatre designer Frank Matcham. It opened in 1903 but dropped its German name during the First World War in favour of The Royal Hall. To see inside, catch a performance or take one of the guided tours available on certain days of the year. Architecture aficionados should also seek out the parish church of St Wilfrid, said to be the finest example of the work of leading Victorian church designer Temple Lushington Moore.
The Royal Hall, Ripon Rd, HG1 2SY, www.harrogateconventioncentre.co.uk. St Wilfrid, Duchy Road, HG1 2EY, www.stwilfrid.org.
Writing’s on the wall
When Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days in 1926, she was the talk of the nation. In fact, she’d holed up in The Old Swan Hotel, then the Harrogate Hydropathic, where room service meant top-hatted doctors making their daily rounds to guests. The story is told in the 1979 film Agatha, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman, which was partly filmed within the hotel, as recorded on a plaque in the ballroom. (Aptly, The Old Swan is the nerve centre of the annual summer Crime Writing Festival, sponsored by Yorkshire brewer Theakstons.) You can uncover more of the town’s stories on the Heritage Plaques of Harrogate trail. They’ve been going up since 1975 and there are 93 in total, with recent additions including Pickersgill Palliser. Who? Find out for yourself at 9a Royal Parade.
The Old Swan Hotel, Swan Road, HG1 2SR, www.classiclodges.co.uk/the-old-swan. Heritage Plaques of Harrogate Trail, www.harrogateplaques.org.
Tours de force
Harry the guide is a familiar sight on the streets of Harrogate, carrying a long staff topped by a bicycle wheel (he’ll tell you why) bearing a sign with the times you can join his free walking tour from their starting point at the War Memorial. Part performance, part guided tour, he tells the town’s story well, and is admirably knowledgeable when required to go off script. (Show your appreciation at the end.) Check out Harrogate Beer Tours, too, which visits five lesser-known bars, touching on tasting, brewing technique, and history – as well as a chance to pull your own pint.
Free Walking Tour Harrogate, www.freewalkingtourharrogate.com. Harrogate Beer Tours, www.harrogatebeertours.co.uk.
In the frame
No stone in this town is untouched by spa history, including The Mercer Art Gallery, which is set in the Promenade Rooms, a space that has wowed visitors since 1806. The Mercer Open Exhibition opens on 17 September (until 8 January 2023), showing work by artists connected to Yorkshire. Expect an eclectic mix. A solo exhibition of the work of Jim Moir, aka Vic Reeves, will be unveiled at the private gallery Redhouse Originals, 22 September-8 October. Titled ‘Yorkshire Rocks & Dinghy Fights’, my sneak preview revealed a bold portrait of a gimlet-eyed bird, colourful studies of Brimham Rocks, and scenes of punch-ups in boats. Naturally. Check out 108 Fine Art, too, which promotes new and established visual artists.
Mercer Gallery, Swan Road, HG1 2SA, www.harrogate.gov.uk/mercer-art-gallery. Redhouse Originals, 15 Cheltenham Mount, HG1 1DW, www.redhouseoriginals.com. 108 Fine Art, 16 Cold Bath Road, HG2 0NA, https://108fineart.com.
Kettle’s on
“Forget tea, go for breakfast,” I was advised. I went for both at Bettys and wasn’t disappointed on either occasion. The suited, booted service in this venerable café cum tea-room, founded in 1919 by the Swiss confectioner Frederick Belmont, is as indulgent as it is formal. Our waiter, Carl, didn’t raise an eyebrow when my companion ordered a sausage with her vegan full English. Neither did he baulk at my request for oat milk with my coffee. And while I couldn’t resist the chocolate torte with ice cream at afternoon tea, I was glad that my friend popped in Bettys’ bakery for a box of the famous Fat Rascals to take home. On the train back south we ended up splitting one of the large fruity scones with a face made from glace cherries and almonds– a tasty tribute to our trip.
Bettys, 1 Parliament Street, HG1 2QU, www.bettys.co.uk.
Photo © John Corry/Shutterstock