Harrogate is a beautiful town in the heart of Yorkshire. Regularly voted the happiest place to live in Britain, this spa town is a popular tourist attraction and is popular for its iconic attractions, popular events and history.
With the Tour De Yorkshire taking place through Harrogate this week and with Springfield Court located in the town centre, we have put together a list of 5 reasons why we love Harrogate…
Harrogate's history
One of the reasons Harrogate is such a popular tourist attraction is down to the history this town proudly embraces. Harrogate is said to have grown 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 and later became known as a popular health treatment, which brought significant visitors and wealth to the town. To provide entertainment for the growing number of visitors, the Georgian Theatre was built in 1788 and the Royal Pump Room was later built in 1842.
The Harrogate Train Station was introduced in 1862 and remains a popular connection point to larger towns and cities, including York, Leeds and London.
Great food all in one place
Harrogate has a vast number of fantastic restaurants available to tickle anyone’s taste buds and it has been said that Yorkshire has the largest number of excellent restaurants in the UK, outside of London.
Treat your taste buds with a visit to The Ivy and peruse their classic British menu. Harrogate is renowned for the famous Betty’s tea rooms, which was first established in 1919 and therefore recently celebrated its 100th birthday!
Why not discover authentic Thai dishes at Sukhothai, known as one of the premier fine dining establishments in the region, or discover fantastic Italian cuisine in a tapas style menu so you can enjoy all your favourite Italian classics in one meal?
Beautiful walk’s right on its doorstep
Harrogate sits perfectly within the Yorkshire Dales and embraces the beautiful parks and outdoor space, both within and surrounding the town centre.
The Valley Gardens is the town’s main park and is beautifully maintained all year-round. Another central area of open parkland is The Stray, a tree lined, 200-acre, protected area that wraps around the town centre.
Further afield is a number of peaceful waterside walks including Fewston and Swinsty Reservoir and a short walk from Glasshouses Mill to Pateley Bridge.
An educational town
Harrogate is home to some fantastic schools and colleges, making it a popular town for growing families. Harrogate College offers a wide range of technical and professional courses designed to enhance skills and careers for a wide number of ages and professions.
Harrogate Grammar School first opened in 1903 with just 44 pupils and has continued to grow to over 1,800 students and specialises in languages.
Should you want to learn more about the town itself, free walking tours take place on a regular basis from the War Memorial, outside Bettys Tea Rooms.
The seasonal events
Harrogate’s events calendar is full of fantastic events throughout the year. Due to the popularity of the events that take place, they come back time and time again for visitors and locals to enjoy each year.
One of the most popular events each year is the Great Yorkshire Show, which brings over 130,000 visitors and 8,500 animals to the Harrogate showground for the biggest agricultural show in the UK. This year’s event takes place on the 9th – 11th July.
To highlight a few others, events such as the Tour De Yorkshire which is a regular event that comes through Harrogate and later this year is the UCI Road World Cycling Championships. Summer brings many outdoor events to the town from music festivals to delicious food festivals.
Towards the end of the year Harrogate comes together to hold a series of traditional events around Halloween and bonfire night, but a favourite for the locals and further afield is the Christmas market.
These are just a few reasons why we love Harrogate, now it’s your turn…. What makes Harrogate your go to destination?