We booked into the 3* White Hart Hotel and Conference Centre in Harrogate via the Late Rooms website. The good thing about Late Rooms is that you do not pay any extra booking fees and you actually pay at the Hotel. We paid £70 bed and breakfast for the room and would definitely recommend Late Rooms and the White Hart Hotel. It is in a great location and is only a few minutes walk from the town centre and the breakfast was buffet style and there was loads of choice. The White Hart Hotel has ample parking which is free for residents and the staff were friendly and helpful.
On the way to Harrogate, we stopped off at Skipton to have a look around and visit the market. Skipton is a market town which has a castle, Canal and the famous Market which takes place on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday on the High Street. It was very busy and car parks spaces are scarce but it is a nice place to have a wander round and is a good gateway for exploring the Yorkshire Dales.
After our lunch in Skipton, we continued onto Harrogate which took us about forty minutes or so to get there (once we figured out the one way system.). Harrogate is a lovely spa town and gateway to the Yorkshire Dales. I had been to Harrogate before, but only for the day so was looking forward to my weekend here. We were very lucky with the weather as it was lovely, sunny and very warm. The one way system in the town centre can be a bit of a nightmare to navigate but if you know exactly where you are going then it is fine. After checking into the Hotel, we went into the town centre do some shopping. There are plenty of High Street shops to browse around such as Debenhams, Monsoon, Kath Kidston to name a few.
There are also lots of other specialised shops such as The Cheeseboard, Hoopers Department Store, Montpellier Quarter, Whites of Harrogate (selling designer clothes such as Armani, Amanda Wakeley and La Perla among others) and The Urban Retreat plus many more. Once a month there is a local farmers market in the centre of Harrogate, usually the second Thursday of the month from 9am until 3pm selling local produce.
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There are also lots of cafes and tea rooms such as Betty's Tea Rooms, and Jenny's' tea rooms. Harrogate is a spa town and has a beautiful Spa and Turkish Baths which is well worth a visit and also feature in 'The Good Spa Guide'. Other attractions in Harrogate are a visit to the Mercer Art Gallery which has over 2000 works of art and hosts various exhibitions throughout the year and The Royal Pump Room Museum. (Currently hosting 'Only Human' until 3rd January 2010)
If museums are not your thing, but gardens are then Harrogate also has beautiful gardens such as Valley Gardens situated in Regal Low Harrogate and are said to be Alan Titchmarch's favourite public garden and RHS Garden Harlow Carr which is near to Harrogate.
There is plenty to if you have children also. For young children under the age of 10, there is Kidzplay which is a children's indoor play area, and there are outdoor games in the park such as bowls, crazy golf, and tennis and you can hire boats. There is also Pots 2 Go which is a ceramic cafe that lets you paint your own pots. There are other activities not far from Harrogate such as Hesketh Farm Park at Bolton Abbey and Monk Park Farm at Thirsk.
We bought an Eating Out guide from the Tourist Information as we wanted to find a child friendly restaurant and we found it very helpful. It tells you which make children welcome and have highchairs and baby changing facilities. We opted for Damn Yankee. It was very busy and the food was reasonable and there was lots of families in. They offer Steaks, Mexican, Vegetarian and burgers within the menu.
On the Sunday we decided to visit Knaresborough which not fare from Harrogate. Knaresborough is a market town famous for Mother Shiptons Cave and Historic Park. It also has lovely walks along the river with cafes and ice cream stalls. You can hire boats on the river and if feeling energetic there are cycleways and you can hire bikes. For children, there is Halycon Leisure club karts , Knaresborough Castle Museum as well as Skate parks and picnic areas. We were very lucky with the weather as it was a beautiful sunny day and very warm.
We took a lovely leisurely walk along the river and made the mistake of going to Marigolds Cafe for some lunch. The views from the cafe across the river were stunning however we felt it was overpriced, rushed and the staff didn't seem to bother and the service was bad. You queue up like at Mcdonalds and they bring the food to your table. I think what really did it for me was when the waitress brought my glass with her fingers inside of it and maybe its just me but I found it very unhygienic. We noticed the business was for sale so maybe that's why the service was bad because they just weren't bothered.
The further we walked we found lots more riverside cafes but at least we know for next time. The railway bridges are very picturesque and the views stunning. We walked right along the river and up to the city centre which has a lovely cobbled square and had lots of nice little shops. I would liked to have had more time to explore Knaresborough as what we did see of it was lovely so will have to go back soon and do a little bit more sightseeing. They have a bed race in June each year which runs through the town and there will be a christmas Edwardian market on 5th and 6th December 2009. If you are in the area then I would recommend a visit as there are lots to see and do and I will definitely be going back soon.
