If you live in Harrogate or surrounding areas…

[MintyCedric]

What do you get up to on your days off?

I’m looking to move next spring/summer and going up for a recce at the end of the month.

Going to check out the leisure centre and do some coffee shop people watching, walk the old railway line between Bilton and Knaresborough and hopefully get up in time to do market day at the latter (I’m driving up from the south coast on Wednesday and only staying four nights on this trip).

I’m thinking cheap/free local stuff rather than touristy days out. I want to try and get a feel for what everyday life might be like and how easy it will be to meet new people.

Its the Great Yorkshire Show this week I think so everywhere might be busier than usual so you may need to factor that in for getting places

Gosh - never done any of that!
Today is rush everywhere trying to dodge the cattle / livestock trucks.
Tomorrow is obviously dont leave the house day unless you are going into the town centre which will be deserted.

Where in Harrogate do you want to live? It is a bit like little villages.

The OP is coming at the end of the month though.

@Peoneve I misread and thought this week :)

I live fairly nearby and visit Harrogate a few times a year. I'll go walking in the area, eg park at Harlow Carr Gardens and walk through woods and parks for a wander around. The walk ends at a nice park on the edge of town.

Knaresborough is lovely for a visit and loads of countryside and reservoirs in the area for hiking. Lots of other little towns and villages in the area like Otley, Pateley Bridge and also Ripon and York are fairly nearby.

The Stray in Harrogate is famous in spring for the cherry blossoms, which are beautiful.

Next time I visit I'm going to go to the Pump Rooms because I've never been and it's free with the national art pass that I've currently got. I'm also going to get a takeaway afternoon tea from Mama Doreens - I can never eat it all in one go so I might as well start with it boxed up and go through it at my leisure.

Of course, Harrogate is famous for Bettys afternoon tea, which is nice enough but expensive and there's long queues.

I'm not a local but a huge fan of Harrogate and its on my retirement shortlist!. If I lived there I'd stroll regularly through Valley Gardens, sometimes continuing through the woods to RHS Garden Harlow Carr (free if you join RHS), become a regular at the Turkish baths, try paddleboarding on the Nidd at knaresborough - I saw a group doing this at sunset last summer and it looked idyllic!

One of the first things I'd do is join a WI, as it is great way to make friends. There will be several groups in the area, so 'shop around' to find one which feels like a fit - some are. You can usually attend one meeting as a visitor for a small donation to see if you like it.

Good luck with your move!

yorkshire-north-west.thewi.org.uk/find-wi

I really like Bilton…don’t mind being a bit nearer town (New Park) and want to take a look at Jennyfields and Knaresborough.

I’ve heard that Starbeck is possibly a ‘less naice’ area but have seen a couple of really nice houses there.

Conversely have heard that Pannall is a bit cliquey.

Don't really know anything about Killinghall.

Happy to check out all three of I can manage it though.

Killinghall used to be a village with limited facilities- now it is a large housing estate with even more limited facilities. Transport is an issue.

Pannal is for families who cant afford to live in the inner Harrogate Grammar School catchment within admission distance so that they can spend 11 years moaning about how unfair it all is.

I don’t do much in Harrogate itself, NT membership = free parking at Fountains Abbey, parkland is free to enter anyway. Always seems to be an artisan market somewhere locally at weekends. Walk in the hills, anywhere from a drive up Wharfedale to Hackfall woods.

There are a couple of nice meet for walking groups locally if you like walking. Age range 30-55 I’d say.

I’m nearer Ripon which has a really good community vibe/lots of groups for different interests. I’d choose Ripon over Harrogate if I wanted to be in the middle of everything (no train station though). Houses tend to be a bit more expensive in the middle price bracket due to the grammar school.

That’s good to know. Killinghall is probably a bit further out than I’d like to be if I go for Harrogate itself tbh.

Pannal sounds fun…I work in secondary education 😬

I’m quite keen to get involved with HIF so think Ripon might be a bit far out for living but am planning a visit as want to check out Booths!

I love Masham but probably a bit too small and rural for me as I’ll be on my own.

If you like classical music it's a great area to be in. The Wesley chapel has a really good concert series every year. World famous musicians perform there February - June and the tickets are cheap as chips. In summer Ripon and surroundings just down the road from you have concerts in various churches that are also very good. I'm not sure how it's all funded but you definitely get more than you pay for and in glorious surroundings.

@Coldia more of a crime fiction girl but happy to broaden my horizons!

If you can afford Harrogate then classical music is definitely not too posh for you!

What’s HIF, OP?

Harrogate International Festivals - they run the Theakston Crime Awards/Festival among many other events and they have a team of volunteers which I thought would be a fun way to meet new people.

I’m also a member of an online crime fiction group based in Leeds.

I'm moving to Yorkshire mainly because I love it but also because I can’t afford to keep living down south anymore.

I’m divorced with a mortgage and a daughter at uni and working 55+ hours a week atm which isn’t sustainable long term, and the downsizing options available to me here either wouldn’t make a significant financial difference or would be a massive downgrade too.

Harrogate is fab! There's a chap that does free walking tours (he takes tips at the end) which take in the pump rooms, Spa & the hotel where Agatha Christie disappeared to in the 1920s. There's lots of cultural stuff (2 theatres, the international centre and numerous churches & school venues putting on concerts & recitals. Harrogate Operatic Players (HOPS) stage musicals that are of a really high standard - their latest production was Made in Dagenham. There's the international and literary festivals that have big names & interesting stuff.

Outdoors there's some lovely local walks - as mentioned upthread the walk through Valley Gardens to Harlow Carr is great, and the Harrogate Ring is a circular walk around the town. Further afield there's some nice walks around Harewood and in Knaresborough, and Harrogate is of course the gateway to the Dales.

Lots of nice independent shops & eateries in town. Gianni Brios near the conference centre is a great Italian, and the Starling Café is great for lunch & drinks. There's a great farm shop (Fodder) near the show ground on the south side of town - well worth a visit.

Fair play, hope it works for you. Harrogate is Posh Yorkshire - no point pretending otherwise.

Oh, I know the some of what International festival does, they do a lot outside Harrogate too.

Sounds like a good plan for you, I wish you the best of luck, enjoy your trip.

I was born in Harrogate and grew up in Bilton. When you say the old railway line between Harrogate and Knaresborough, I think you are thinking of the walk by the river through Nidd Gorge. You have to cross the river on a bridge and end up on a road in Knaresborough. There is also a pathway from Bilton along the old railway line where you end up in Starbeck.

I live about 15 mins walk from the stray.
Today I've done house jobs then went for a quick walk around Harlow Carr and a drink in Bettys.
Tomorrow I'm volunteering in the morning at the Yorkshire show so will browse round there.
Last week I went to burlesque evening and silent disco at the spiegeltent which was excellent. Saturday I walked at fountains Abbey. Later this week I've got WI meeting and next week I'm going to mama Doreen's.
If you look there's loads to do. I joined a WI and it's been wonderful for meeting people.
Message if you need any advice

Bilton and Starbeck are on a par.

Pannal Ash is lovely as is Pannal Village.

Which ‘Leisure Centre’ are you referring to @MintyCedric?

@Bananalanacake yes the walk to Knaresborough is the one, I think it comes out near Bebra Gardens?

I’m hoping to get some half decent weather (I know, it’s Yorkshire!) and pick up a some takeaway goodies from Mama Doreen’s, walk the path and have an picnic and a mooch.

@christmaself2020 @AngelasEyelash lots of great suggestions - thank you!

Love the sound of volunteering at the Yorkshire Show. I grew up backing onto a farm at the foot of the South Downs - it’s long gone and been built on but I used to love their open days.

@Sasqwatch I’ll definitely have a look around Pannal but I suspect it might be slightly out of my budget.

I’m probably going to get a day pass for Brimhams…I’m trying to get a really realistic picture of the place 😁. I know there’s a David Lloyd down the road and if I manage to completely clear my existing mortgage by moving I might investigate that but starting with the basics!