Blooms and buns on a trip to the neighbours
Sometimes we don’t realise what we have on our own doorstep. I know that, like everyone else, I am always trawling the internet in search of low-cost fares to far-flung locations. So why on earth would I want to go to the Lake District, say, when I could be pottering around a red-roofed town in Tuscany? Or how could the likes of Bath possibly hold me in its thrall when I could be walking the banks of the Danube in Budapest? And, depending on how lucky I strike it, for not very much more money, either.
Two weekends ago I was in Leeds. Staying with my niece and her young family on the outskirts of the city. Fifteen minutes away was the lovely town of Ilkley, the market town of Skipton just a short distance from there. The glories of Bolton Abbey, the little village of Burnsall and Grassington, all lying to the north within the wonderful national park that constitutes the Yorkshire Dales, were all within easy striking distance.
Iused to visit this part of England a great deal when my sister lived there for decades. I still pop over and back to see her daughter – my niece – taking advantage of the Ryanair times (and prices – you can’t beat €19.99 return, the incredible fare that I have often snapped up) which mean that I can easily visit as a day-trip, landing in Leeds on a Saturday at 9am and flying back home again on a 7.30pm flight. I rarely stay overnight, never mind any longer, but my recent jaunt was for two nights, meaning I was able to get out and about a bit and see more of the countryside and the local attractions.
I had forgotten what a lovely town Ilkley is. With its Victorian architecture, its Roman fort remains and its pretty setting on the River Wharfe, this spa town is also famous for its location right on the edge of the moors with the distinctive Cow and Calf Rocks a famous Ilkley landmark. Another claim to fame is that it was Ilkley that inflicted Marco Pierre White on us, giving him his ‘start’ in the Box Tree restaurant there.
I also like the fact that the town still boasts plenty of independent shops – including a gorgeous old-fashioned book shop where the staff couldn’t be more helpful. There’s also a Betty’s there – one of the five or six outlets of the famous Yorkshire tearooms.
From Ilkley, on my recent visit, we then headed towards Harrogate, not to the town itself (another Yorkshire gem) but rather to a place called Harlow Carr.
Essentially this is a public garden that nowadays comes under the auspices of Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society.
Truly beautiful, it is not just one garden but several. From the scented garden to the kitchen and streamside displays, there is so much to see and appreciate here.
And it’s a place that takes full account of the fact that families will be visiting with children – my two grand-nieces had great fun playing on all the child-friendly attractions dotted throughout the huge 58-acre site.
I’d been to Harlow Carr before but it must only ever have been in the depths of winter because this time I was blown away by the colour.
Everywhere I looked there was a profusion of oranges and reds and purples and whites, all giving testimony to the fact that summer might be behind us but it’s not quite dead yet.
And, rounding a corner at one particular spot during our tramp through the place, I was surprised to see that our own Diarmuid Gavin has created a lovely display garden.
Inevitably, especially with kids in tow, refreshments were required, so we stopped in a woodland glade and ordered hot chocolates and buns from the little Betty’s outpost that’s set up there.
Sitting there in the sunshine, with the beauty of Harlow Carr all around, it really was idyllic.
Sometimes we really don’t realise what we have on our own doorstep.
Long may those €19.99 returns continue.