Are you planning a holiday to Harrogate?
Are you looking for a break that offers award-winning attractions, beautiful scenery from rolling countryside to dramatic hills and mountains, loads of challenging activities to have a go at and a warm North Yorkshire welcome?
If so, then you’ve come to the right place.
Harrogate enjoys a superb setting on the doorstep of the stunning North York Moors National Park, which boasts 554 square miles of wonderfully diverse landscape, including captivating moors, epic hills and mountains, ancient woodlands and enchanting coastlines. Visit during the late summer, and as the heather comes into flower, the moors turn a breathtakingly beautiful purple. The park is also home to many creatures and bird life, so it is a real Mecca for nature lovers.
There is a raptor viewpoint at Wykeham Forest and bird hides at Scaling Dam, Howsham Mill and Danby Lodge National Park Centre, with opportunities for dolphin spotting along the coast. In the woodlands, it is worth keeping an eye out for foxes, badgers, stoats, weasels and shrews, and you might even catch sight of an elusive pine marten. Just don’t forget your camera!
Continuing with the nature theme, Harrogate is renowned for its beautiful gardens. Make sure to visit Valley Gardens in the centre of Harrogate. It boasts 17 acres of Grade II listed parkland and showcases some of the best seasonal blooms you’ll find anywhere.
Another place of interest to anyone who loves their garden is the Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden Harlow Carr. Here, you will find an amazing 58 acres of gardens to explore, with constantly evolving landscapes ranging from woodlands to wildflower meadows. If you’re inspired to recreate your own award-winning garden, there is an on-site garden centre where you’ll find everything you need.
A short drive outside Harrogate is Ripley Castle and Gardens, a Grade II listed fourteenth-century country house boasting stunning walled gardens, a kitchen garden, ancient woodlands, and a deer park. It is the perfect spot to get out and about exploring. Dogs on leads are welcome, too, so there is no need for your precious pooch to miss out on the fun.
Harrogate has a wonderfully compact town centre that is easy to navigate. It is worth heading into town if you fancy browsing around some beautiful independent shops and boutiques. You will also find the Royal Pump Room Museum, where it all began. Spa water was dispensed from here in the nineteenth century, when Harrogate was first put on the map as the UK’s premier spa town. The museum offers a fascinating insight into the spa with replica treatment rooms and displays helping to bring the town’s history to life. Also in the town centre are the iconic Turkish Baths Harrogate, and no trip to Harrogate would be complete without paying a visit to the world-famous Betty’s Tea Rooms, which first opened in the town in 1919 and since then, the tea rooms have been built up an intentional reputation for the best afternoon tea anywhere.
Other attractions near Harrogate worth checking out include Fountains Abbey, Nidderdale Museum, Mercer Art Gallery, Brimham Rocks, and Whittaker’s Distillery Tour. There are also many delightful towns and villages to visit nearby, including Knaresborough, Northallerton, Grassington, and Ripley.
Harrogate is without doubt one of the UK’s prettiest towns, so if you want to book a caravan break within a short drive of this endearing spot, then check out Lido Leisure Park, Goosewood Holiday Park, Cote Ghyll Caravan Park, Gallaber Park and Bowland Fell Park. See you there!